A small piece—eight or ten pounds—of pork or beef will require six or seven days; a large piece may be allowed a fortnight.
Pickling meat.—Many prefer to boil the meat in water, instead of rubbing dry salt in. The proportions of this pickle are, two gallons of water, three pounds of salt, half a pound of coarse brown sugar, two ounces of saltpetre. Boil together and skim very well while boiling. Let it become quite cold before putting in the meat, which must be carefully wiped from slime or blood and any pipes or kernels removed.
All meat, while salting, should be kept closely covered.
Dutch beef.—Get a fine piece of round of beef; rub it well with one pound of coarse sugar. Do this twice a day for three days, using same sugar. When the sugar has thoroughly penetrated the meat, wipe dry, and salt with the following mixture: Common and bay salt, of each four ounces; saltpetre and sal prunel, of each two ounces; black pepper and allspice, of each one ounce. Rub well and continue to do so for a fortnight, then roll the beef tight in a cloth, sew it up, and it is ready for smoking. The smoking should be long enough to thoroughly and slowly dry the meat, but not long enough for the covering to separate.
This beef may be cut and boiled as wanted. It should be pressed with a weight till cold. This will keep two or three months after it is boiled, if it is rubbed all over with hot fat (lard or suet melted), and a layer of fat put over a fresh-cut surface. This is delicious if a piece is cut off, put to dry slowly, and grated for sandwiches.
Mutton hams.—Coarse sugar, bay salt, and common salt, equal parts, and to each pound of this mixture add, of saltpetre and sal prunel, one ounce each, of black pepper, allspice, juniper berries, and coriander seeds, all bruised, half an ounce each. Dry them all before the fire, and rub into the meat while hot. This is an excellent pickle for tongues. Smoke as any other ham. Mutton hams are usually fried or broiled in rashers, or thin slices as you would pork ham.
Worcestershire sausages.—These are made entirely of beef. Choose a fine, juicy round steak; chop it extremely fine. Allow two parts lean, one part fat, and one part bread crumbs; season pretty high with pepper and salt (and allspice if liked). Allow to each pound eight sage leaves, dried and rubbed fine, with half a salt-spoonful of knotted marjoram. Put them in skins if you can, and cook as any other sausage.
Red beef for slicing cold.—The best part for this purpose is the thin flank. Take off the skinny inside, and salt the meat for a week or ten days with the following mixture rubbed in and turned morning and night: Common salt, one pound; saltpetre and bay salt, each one ounce; coarse brown sugar, a quarter of a pound. Pound and mix, using of the mixture more or less according to the size of the meat. When salt enough, wipe the meat dry; sprinkle over it black pepper, a little powdered mace and cloves, an onion chopped fine and some parsley. Roll it up, bind it tight with a strip of muslin, and boil it slowly three hours, or longer if large. Press with a heavy weight without removing the band. When cold remove the band and cut in very thin slices as required.
“Well, I think now if Mrs. Lennox and I get meat in large quantities this winter, we shall not need to let any of it spoil for lack of ways to keep it,” said Molly, as she prepared to copy the recipes she had read.
“No; but remember that mutton will keep for six weeks in cold, dry weather, even when not frozen, if it is well floured and a little ginger is put in the crevices. If it freezes and then thaws, it will generally need cooking, but the longer you can keep it the better it will be, so that it does not taint. The outer skin may even get mouldy, but you will only scrape the skin and trim it. If very mouldy and likely to give a taste, plunge it, after scraping, into boiling water; dry it thoroughly and bake in a very sharp oven. But all meat for keeping must hang, not lie, and hang in a current of pure air.”