Secrets of meat curing and sausage making / how to cure hams, shoulders, bacon, corned beef, etc., and how to make all kinds of sausage, etc. to comply with the pure food laws

by B. Heller & Co.

CAUSE OF FAILURE IN CURING BACON.

Query.—T. K. writes: “We have been having trouble with our bacon. We put it down in second-hand lard tierces which we got from the large bakers here. We thoroughly cleansed them with boiling water before using them, and have been careful to weigh everything and measure the water we made the brine out of. We used brown sugar, the same as we have always used previous to this time. Our bacon was thoroughly cooled out before it was salted, and was never frozen. After being put in the pickle, we let it stand in the back part of the shop, where the temperature was often below freezing, but never cold enough to freeze the meat in the brine. We repacked it by moving from one tierce to another, always putting the same brine on the meat. We usually let our bacon in the brine for six weeks, unless it is very heavy, then we let it in a longer time. We usually keep four tierces full, and by moving from one to another always have the last one ready to take out and smoke. We used just the common barrel salt and have always had good results until now; in fact, this time the meat is perfectly sweet, but the fat of it is very dark colored, while heretofore it has always been nice and white. We do all our own killing. If you can tell us what we have done wrong, we would like to know, as we are always trying to improve whenever we can.”

Ans.—You have been very fortunate indeed to have escaped trouble if you have always cured your bacon as you explain. There are many things which you have done while curing which are likely to cause you serious trouble, and which should never be done in the future. You are lucky that some of the meat did not spoil completely. It is never advisable to use lard tierces for curing, as the lard is run into the tierces while hot, and the fat naturally soaks into the wood. This fat in time becomes rancid, and is likely to contaminate the brine and also the meat, even though you scald out the tierces, you do not get the grease out of the pores of the wood. It is always best and safest to use new tierces for curing purposes; in fact, there is great risk in using anything else. You should never use brown sugar for sweet pickle, but the very best grade of granulated sugar. Brown sugar is always more likely to contain foreign substances detrimental to the brine, and in most cases causes the brine to turn ropy, sometimes even causing it to ferment. The purest of sugar should always be used for sweet pickle. You have deviated from one of the greatest essentials to successful curing by not observing the most important of all requirements and that is an even temperature of about 38 degrees during the entire period of curing. You state that your meat was sometimes in a temperature below freezing point, but never cold enough to freeze the meat in the brine. Such a degree of temperature is enough to ruin your meat, as the curing room should never be allowed to go below 36 degrees. The moment you get the temperature below 36 degrees, the meat ceases to take on salt and will not cure; besides, it is likely to spoil in the brine. It is all right to cure heavy Breakfast Bacon six weeks, but bacon from light or small hogs will cure perfectly in twenty to twenty-five days. The meat, however, at a temperature below freezing point would not cure in six weeks or even in a much longer time. We, of course, understand that the temperature in your curing room was not always below the freezing point, but it should never be that cold.

We are going to send you free of charge our book, “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,” and we will ask you to read carefully all we have to say on “General Hints for Curing Meats,” which covers the entire process, including chilling, overhauling, pumping, packing, temperature, etc. You will also note that we advise against the use of molasses and syrup barrels, as they are liable to cause ropiness of the brine. Also note what we have to say in regard to the handling of meat in curing, the chilling room, the condition of the meat, and the proper time to slaughter. If you will read carefully all we have to say in reference to curing in this book and will follow our methods and instructions, you cannot fail to turn out the finest kind of mild cured sweet pickled meat, having a most delicious flavor and a beautiful appearance. We ask you to make the trial and report results.