Butchering and curing meats in China

by Carl Oscar Levine

Cut the beef into small pieces, salt, and allow it to cure for forty-eight hours in a cool room. Cut the pork into small pieces and put the beef and pork through a grinder together. Put into a vessel and add the water and spices. After it is all mixed, put it through a grinder again and grind fine. Stuff into sheep casings. Then, by means of the forefinger and thumb, press the stuffed casing together about four inches from one end, and give this first link two or three twists. Do the same about every four inches, twisting each succeeding link in the opposite direction from the preceding link, in order to prevent untwisting. Then hang in a smoke house for about two hours at a temperature not to exceed 125° Fahrenheit. After smoking, boil for five or ten minutes, then plunge into cold water and hang in a cool place.

§ 48. Liver Sausage

Odds and ends, resulting from trimming up the various cuts of the hog carcass, as well as the liver itself, can be used in making liver sausage. If the head is used, it should first be cleaned, as for headcheese. The jowl, which is practically all fat, may be cut off and made into salt pork, or used for rendering lard. The remainder of the head meat, trimmings, liver cut into slices, and some beef or veal, if such meat can be had, should be boiled. Skin that is free from hair, and from which the fat has been removed, is also sometimes used. The skin will cook before the meat, so it should be put in a cloth sack and removed when thoroughly cooked. Liver cooks in a very short time, and should be removed before the rest of the meat. The meat should cook until it readily falls from the bones. All the meat should then be ground in a meat grinder. For 40 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces sweet marjoram, one ounce allspice, one ounce black pepper, and about one gallon broth in which the meat was cooked. Garlic or onions can be added, if desired. The seasoning should be well worked into the meat. It can then be put into jars, covered with paraffin, or stuffed into beef casings or rounds. When stuffed into casings or rounds, it should be cooked in the same water the meat was cooked in until it floats. Then it should be placed in cold water until the sausage is thoroughly cooled.

§ 49. Summer Sausage

Summer sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds cured beef free from sinews, 15 pounds pork trimmings, four to six ounces white pepper, one ounce whole black pepper, and one ounce whole mustard seed.

This sausage can be made in cold weather only. All the meat is put through the grinder, and spices added. No salt is needed as the cured beef is salty enough. Mix it all thoroughly until it is evenly seasoned. Spread it out in a cool place for thirty-six to forty hours. Then stuff into hog casings and let it hang over night. Smoke with cold smoke for several days. If kept in a dry place, it can be kept the year round. It if gets moldy, simply wipe off the mold before using.

§ 50. Headcheese

The head of the hog, and trimmings, are used for making headcheese. The head should be shaved clean and nostrils cut off just in front of the eyes. Cut out the eyes and ear drums. The fattest part of the head is generally used for lard. Clean the head by soaking it in water for some time to extract all blood and dirt. After the head is thoroughly cleaned, cover with water and boil until the meat separates from the bones. Lungs and heart may be cooked with the head. When it is thoroughly cooked, take out the meat, saving the liquor for future use. Chop the meat finely. Season with one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces black pepper, four ounces allspice, and four ounces ground cloves, together with two gallons of the liquor for every 50 pounds of meat. The mixing should be done thoroughly, so that proper seasoning is secured. Stuff the meat into large beef casings thoroughly cleaned, hog stomach, or muslin bags about three or four inches in diameter. After stuffing into casings, it should be boiled until it floats on the top, then place in cold water for a short time. Store away in a clean, cool place on a shelf or table. If there are no casings or muslin available in which to stuff the meat, it can be kept in shallow pans.

§ 51. Scrapple

The head and feet of hogs are generally used in making scrapple, but scrapple can be made from any hog meat. The heads should be split through the middle and placed in a kettle with sufficient water to cover them. They should be cooked until the meat falls from the bones. Drain off the broth. Separate the bones from the meat, then chop the meat fine and add it to the broth, and boil. Corn meal should be added until it is as thick as mush. Add the corn meal slowly and stir vigorously, so as to avoid lumpiness. Stir the mixture well for ten or fifteen minutes, and allow it to boil one hour. Pour the scrapple into shallow pans or molds. When cold, it should be sliced and fried.