OLD BARRELS INFECTED WITH GERMS WILL CAUSE ROPY BRINE
Question.—W. & Sons write: Can you advise us about our corned beef pickle? We made it according to directions given in your book, “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making.” But our brine gets “ropy” as you call it. We use pure cane sugar. We keep our cooler at 38 to 40 degrees Fahr., and are at a loss to know what is the cause of our trouble. Please advise us in this matter.
(Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden.)
Answer.—Ropy brine can come about even when pure cane sugar is used in curing. This condition is caused by germs which develop in the brine and cause the brine to thicken. You will find that the barrels which contain your brine are infected with germs. The best way to get rid of these germs is to first empty the barrels; then put the barrels into a vat and boil them. Also scrub the barrels inside and outside. For this purpose they should be rinsed with boiling water to which has been added Freeze-Em, 4 ounces to each gallon, and afterwards a last rinsing with our Ozo washing powder, or soda, in the water that you use for washing the barrels. After the barrels are thoroughly washed and rinsed with cold water, they should then be put out of doors where the sun can shine upon them and in them for several days before they are again used and placed in the cooler.
Barrels in which corned beef is cured should be made of hardwood. If you are using a syrup barrel or a molasses barrel, you will find that the pores of the wood have become filled with syrup or molasses, which causes the brine to become thick. We think this is the cause of your trouble.
The best barrels to use are tierces that are made of oak, such as lard is shipped in by the packers. The wood of these tierces becomes saturated or filled with lard, and the lard prevents the brine from penetrating or soaking into the wood. Be sure that whatever barrels you use are made of hardwood, and not of white wood or other soft wood, of which many kinds of barrels are made.