WESTi'UALiAN ii-VMs] AND TllElK A'AKlOuS IJlil^CDS. [yokksiiiuk u.vcox. 



"Nearly every county has, in this respect, a 

 fashion ot* its own. If you possoss tlio means, 

 retnovo your haiu.s suul bat'on to the sinoking- 

 lioiise. They should not bo sulfcrod to touch 

 each other. With this precaution you may hang 

 them as closely iis you please. JSnioke-liousea 

 are of every dimension ; but the smallest an- 

 swer as well as the most extensive. Before 

 euspendiiig the meat in the smoke-house, it 

 should be previously well rubbed over with 

 bran. The fire is made of sawdust, which 

 burns with a low smouldering glow, giving out 

 far more smoke than if actually flaming. In 

 the process of smoking, your meat will lose 

 from about 15 to 20 lbs. per hundredweight — 

 a fact necessar}' to bo borne in mind." 



Sometimes the pigs are killed before they 

 arrive at full size, and their hair removed by 

 singeing; the bacon and hams of those are 

 said to possess peculiar delicacy of flavour. 

 The best sawdust for smoking hams or bacon, 

 is ihat made from oak, and it should be 

 thoroughly dry. The sawdust of common 

 deal imparts a flavour of a disagreeable charac- 

 ter, not unlike that of red herrings. 



"WESTPHALIAN HA:MS. 

 The genuine Westphaliuu bacon is particu- 

 larly good, and the fine quality depends on 

 several causes ; as the healthy and semi-wild 

 life the swine are permitted to enjoy ; their re- 

 lationship to the wild boar; and their not being 

 fattened to the fullest extent previous to kill- 

 ing. A large portion of sugar and juniper- 

 lerries is used in curing, the proportion beiu"- 

 usually 1^ lb. of sugar to 3 lbs. of salt, and 

 2 ozs. of nitre. The smoJce is also applied in a 

 cold state. This is, perhaps, the principal 

 secret. The hams are hung at the top of a 

 very lofty building, and by the time the smoke 

 reaches them it is perfectly cold. Tiiese hams 

 are the most famous in Europe, and are prin- 

 cipally cured at, and exported from, Hamburg. 

 The smoking process which they undergo, is 

 performed in extensive chambers in the upper 

 storeys of high buildings. Some are four or 

 five storeys high ; and the smoke is conveyed to 

 these rooms from fires in the cellar, through 

 tubes, on which the vapour is condensed, and 

 the heat absorbed ; so that the smoke is both 

 dry and cool when it comes in contact with 

 the meat. They are thus kept perfectly dry. 



and acqm'ro a colour and flavour unkuown to 

 those smokeil by tlie common method. Hams, 

 after being smoked, may be kept for any length 

 of time, by being packed in dry aslies or pow- 

 dered charcoal, or by being left in the smoke- 

 liou.se, if that is secure against theft; or a 

 smoke being nj:ide under them once a week. 

 When meat is fully smoked or dried, it mav 

 be kept hung up in any dry room, bv Hlipiiing 

 over it a cotton bag, the neck of which in 

 closely tied around tiie string that supports 

 I the meat, and thus preserving the bacon from 

 bug, Sy, &c. The small part of a iiam or 

 I shoulder should always be hung downward in 

 j the process of smoking, or when suspended for 

 preservation. 



I YORKSHIRE BACON. 



I The mode of curing, in Yorkshire, consists 

 I of hanging the pig for twenty-four hours, until 

 it has become perfectly stilF. It is tlieu cut up 

 in the common way. The large veins which 

 I proceed from the jugular are carefully ex- 

 tracted with a fork. The bacon is then removed 

 to leaden bowls — the salt wiped over the smooth 

 side, and the shanks carefully stopped with 

 salt and saltpetre, from four to six incites deep. 

 The skin siue is then laid downwards, and the 

 whole flesh side covered with salt, and sprinkled 

 with saltpetre. The same is done to the hams 

 and the other sides ; and the proportion of 

 coarse salt — which is always used for the pur- 

 pose, in preference to the more finely pounded 

 — allowed for a 20 stone pig, is 1 stone of 

 salt, and 1 lb. of saltpetre ; and so on in 

 proportion. Two or three pigs may be laid 

 in a leaden bowl, exposed to a northern aspect, 

 with plenty of air, and in a place especially 

 free from all putrefying matter. In three 

 days all the sides are removed, the bottom 

 ones placed uppermost, and the whole of the 

 bare places, in tiie flesh side, again covered with 

 salt. In tliis way the bacon is removed three or 

 four times in a mouth, during which period it 

 is said to be in pickle. It is then taken out 

 of the leaden bowls, set on an edge, and the 

 extraneous salt wiped off". It is hung for three 

 weeks more in the kitchen, and is then fit for 

 storing away. This is generally done in 

 sacks, strewed with bran, where it remains 

 until taken out for use, when it is much 

 esteemed. 



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