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.

First:—Cut the tongues out of the heads as soon as possible, and with warm water scrub off all the slime and dirt, with a stiff brush; hang up in a cooler on a hook at the gullet, to make the tongues thick instead of long and thin.

Second:—Let them hang for at least 24 hours in a cooler.

Third:—When the tongues are thoroughly chilled and firm, cut off the surplus fat and square the tongues at the gullet by trimming off all ragged pieces.

Fourth:—Put them into a strong common salt brine to beach them, and leave them in this brine from 10 to 20 hours.

Fifth:—Take them out of this brine and rub the slime off the tongues and out of the gullet, and also rub the gullet with dry salt.

Sixth:—If only a few tongues are to be cured make a barrel of pickle, as follows, and simply throw the tongues into it: For every 5 gallons of water, add 1 lb. of Freeze-Em-Pickle, 2 lbs. of Pure Granulated Sugar, and 7 lbs. of Common Salt.

Seventh:—Where large packers wish to pack tongues in tierces, the tongues should be handled as follows: Weigh out 285 lbs.; then mix together in a box or tub the following:

3 lbs. of Freeze-Em-Pickle.
6 lbs. of Best Granulated Sugar.
21 lbs. of Salt.

Eighth:—Rub each tongue with some of this mixture and pack as loosely as possible in the tierce, using about one-half of the mixture of Freeze-Em-Pickle, Sugar and Salt for rubbing, and the other half for making the brine. It will require between 14 to 15 gallons of brine to fill the tierces, some tierces vary in size, therefore dissolve the balance of the mixture of Freeze-Em-Pickle, Sugar and Salt in about 14 gallons of water, and pour over the tongues, should the tierce hold more simply add enough cold water to cover all the meat as the right amount of salt has already been added.

Ninth:—If the tierces are to be headed up, the heads should be put in, and the brine should be poured into the tierce through the bung hole. The overhauling of tongues is just as important, as is the overhauling of hams and shoulders. They should be overhauled in the same manner, and the same number of times. By reference to directions for curing hams and shoulders, which will be found on previous pages, all the necessary instructions can be followed. To give the tongues a proper flavor, they ought to cure from 50 to 60 days.