Butchering and curing meats in China

by Carl Oscar Levine

§ 52. Snow Packing

Snow packing is a method that can be used only in localities where snow and continued dry cold weather prevails during the winter months. The carcass should be cut into steaks, roasts, and boiling pieces. All trimmings for the table should be made before freezing the meat. Lay the pieces out to freeze. Be sure they freeze solid to the center. In the bottom of a box large enough to hold all the meat, pack a layer of snow. Put in a larger of the frozen meat, packing in such a way that the pieces do not touch each other. Cover with a layer of snow, and continue with alternate layers of meat and snow. Set the box in a room where it will not be subject to changes in temperature. For convenience, it is well to pack the steaks in one section or end of the box, and the roasts and stews in another. The meat will then be but little disturbed when a supply is taken from the box. Only snow should be used in packing. Be sure the meat is frozen solid before packing, and it will keep through the winter, unless the weather gets very warm. In preparing the meat for the table, it should not be thawed out too rapidly.

§ 53. Partial Cooking

Partial cooking and packing in jars is a method of preserving meat which is sometimes used on the farm. It has the advantage over snow packing in that it can be done in warm weather and is a most satisfactory way of keeping fresh pork. However, it requires considerably more work than other methods of preserving meat.

The loin and side meat, or any part of the carcass, may be used. Cut into slices about one-half inch thick, and fry until a little more than half done. Pack the slices in a jar and cover with hot lard. As the meat is wanted, it can be removed from the jar and warmed up. If the jar is to stand any length of time without using, after it has been opened, it is best again to cover the top with lard. It is better to use several small jars than one large one. They should be kept in a cool, dark room to insure safe-keeping of the meat.

§ 54. Rendering Lard

The leaf lard, fat back, and fat trimmings from the hams, shoulders and neck make good lard. Intestinal fat should never be mixed with the other fat parts, as it makes a strong smelling lard of an inferior grade, but should be rendered by itself. By thorough washing and soaking in cold water for several hours, part of the offensive odor will leave it.

First of all, remove the skin from the fat trimmings. To do this, place the meat on a table, skin side down, and cut the fat from the skin, using a strong knife. When a piece of skin large enough to grasp is freed from the fat, take it in the left hand, and, with the right hand, insert the knife between the skin and fat. Pull the skin and cut with the knife slightly slanted downward. With a little practice, the fat can be cleanly removed from the skin in this way with one clean cut of the knife. The strips of fat should then be cut into cubes of one to one and one-half inches, making them about equal in size so they will try out evenly.

Pour into the kettle about a quart of water or melted lard, and then fill it nearly full with the cubes of fat meat. The fat will then heat properly and the lard will be brought out without burning. Keep a moderate fire until the cracklings are brown and light enough to float. Frequent stirring is necessary to prevent burning. When done, remove from the fire and allow to cool slightly. Then strain through a muslin cloth into a jar. Stir it occasionally, until it is cool enough to begin to solidify. Stirring while it is cooling tends to whiten the lard and make it smoother. A quarter of a pound of saleratus added to each one hundred pounds of fat has a like effect.

When removing lard from a container for use, take it evenly from the surface. Do not dig down into the center of the lard, for when this is done, it will leave a coating of lard around the sides of the container which will become rancid very quickly by the action of bacteria in the air.