—The salt usually used is the “No. 1 Fine” grade of evaporated salt. In first and second saltings the casings must be carefully covered, particularly at the points where the bunch is tied.
Cleanliness.
—It is difficult to properly describe the care necessary in every stage to insure clean casings. Water from inland or murky rivers should be settled of filtered to make clean, bright casings. Every particle of fat or fibre to which any sediment or stain can adhere makes a black spot upon the finished salted casings. There is perhaps no department where such scrupulous care is needed.
Water Temperature.
—Water used in cleaning casings should be about 90° F., in temperature, and kept uniformly so, until the casing has been turned and slimed, when it should be submerged and kept in cool water at a temperature of about 40° F., until passed to the salting boxes.
Machines for Casings.
—Beef casing machines equipped with rice-root brushes are termed “fatting machines,” while those fitted with bristle brushes are termed “sliming machines.”
To process middle guts by machine, they are passed twice through a fatting machine, turned and passed three times through the sliming machine.
To process round guts they are passed through the fatting and sliming machines twice. To obtain the best results the brushes should run 1550 r. p. m. About three horse-power is required to operate a machine. Salt in the sliming water is an advantage.