HOW TO TREAT PORK WHICH IS TOO SALTY.
Query.—F. B. writes: “We have about twenty barrels of pork that have become very salty in the brine. What would you do and how can we get the brine out?”
Ans.—Salt pork is usually put down in very strong brine, therefore it is perfectly proper that pickled pork should be very salty. If it is desired to store the pork for a long time, it should be left in the strong brine and in order to freshen it so that it will not be so salty, the pork should be washed in fresh water. It is best to handle one barrel at a time as it is to be sold or used in the market. The water in which the pork is soaked should be as cold as possible; in fact, it would do no harm to put a little ice in it. By allowing the pickled pork to soak in the fresh water, a great deal of the salt will be drawn from the meat. The meat should be soaked twenty-four hours altogether, and during the daytime the water should be changed every six hours. After the meat has been soaked, it can be placed in a mild brine, which should not be over 40 degrees strength, but if the meat can be disposed of in a few days, it is not necessary to keep it in the brine at all. It will be sufficient to place it on a shelf in the ice box; at the end of three or four days, it might be necessary to wash it off with fresh water.