—Another formula used extensively, where beef hams are packed and cured exclusively in barrels, is as follows: Dissolve 150 pounds of saltpetre in hot, 88-degree pickle, made from Ashton or dairy salt, a sufficient amount of pickle being used to make fifty-two gallons when dissolved. It is necessary to heat the pickle in order to dissolve this amount of salt. Add 450 pounds of granulated sugar and sufficient cold 88-degree pickle to make 200 gallons of the finished solution. This is then chilled to a temperature of 40° to 45° F. One gallon of this solution is put into each barrel before commencing to pack the meats.
When packing the meat in barrels, use twenty-three pounds of Ashton, or dairy salt, sprinkling between the layers as they are put in. When the barrel is needed, water at a temperature of 40° to 45° F., barrels to be rolled in ten, thirty and fifty days after being packed. They should be stored in a temperature of from 38° to 40° F. if they are to be used in ninety days. If they are to be held for five or six months they should be kept at a temperature of 35° to 39° F. for the first thirty days and thereafter at a temperature of from 28° to 29° F. until used. Meats cured with this formula will be found to have a very good color and flavor and at the same time will not be too salty. In putting the meat in packages, pack 215 pounds green weight per barrel.
Smoking.
—The smoking of beef hams is treated in the chapter on the [Smoke House].
Tests.
—The following are three smoking tests on regular beef hams, given to illustrate yields in the finished product from a sample lot of each cut:
| REGULAR OUTSIDES FOR SHIPMENT. | ||||
| Packed | Wt. lbs. | Per cent. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty-three tcs. dry packed 449 lbs. each, marked weight 440 lbs. each | 1,127 | pcs. | 10,327 | |
| Twenty-three tcs. dumped to smoke, actual weights | 1,127 | pcs. | 10,215 | |
| Pounds loss while in storage | 112 | |||
| Per cent loss while in storage | .0128 | |||
| Culls not smoked | 44 | pcs. | 235 | |
| Actual weights to smoke | 1,083 | pcs. | 9,980 | |
| Smoked weights | 1,083 | pcs. | 7,099 | |
| Shrinkage in smoking | 2,881 | |||
| Per cent shrinkage in smoking | .2887 | |||
| Smoked 108 hours, temperature 112° to 128° F. | ||||
| REGULAR INSIDES FOR SHIPMENT. | ||||
| Packed | Wt. lbs. | Per cent. | ||
| Sixteen tcs. dry packed, 449 lbs. each, marked weight 440 lbs. each | 497 | pcs. | 7,184 | |
| Sixteen tcs. dumped to smoke, actual weights | 497 | pcs. | 7,027 | |
| Pounds loss in storage | 157 | |||
| Per cent loss in storage | .02119 | |||
| Culls not smoked | 8 | pcs. | 73 | |
| Actual weights to smoke | 489 | pcs. | 6,954 | |
| Smoked weights | 489 | pcs. | 5,351 | |
| Shrinkage in smoking | 1,603 | |||
| Per cent shrinkage in smoking | .2304 | |||
| Smoked ninety-six hours, temperature 112° to 124° F. | ||||
| REGULAR KNUCKLES FOR SHIPMENT. | ||||
| Packed | Wt. lbs. | Per cent. | ||
| Eight tcs. dry packed 408 lbs. each, marked weight 400 lbs. each | 389 | pcs. | 3,264 | |
| Eight tcs. dumped to smoke, actual weights | 389 | pcs. | 3,190 | |
| Pounds loss in storage | 74 | |||
| Per cent loss in storage | .0227 | |||
| Culls not smoked | 1 | pc. | 4 | |
| Actual weights to smoke | 388 | pcs. | 3,186 | |
| Smoked weights | 388 | pcs. | 2,388 | |
| Shrinkage in smoking | 798 | |||
| Per cent shrinkage in smoking | .2505 | |||
| Smoked ninety-four hours, temperature 112° to 128° F. | ||||
Glass Jar Beef.
—A great deal of dried beef is put up in glass jars under a vacuum, as well as in tin cans. Beef handled in this manner is cured by formulas given, but in smoking it is handled somewhat differently, being smoked less and dried more, it being necessary to have all the pickle and moisture evaporated from the meats to insure keeping.
After the meat has been handled as described it is generally put in smoke houses equipped with steam coils, the heat brought up to 110° to 120° F., and left to dry from three to four days. It then shows a shrinkage anywhere from 35 to 42 per cent. It is necessary to dry beef in this manner in order to make it keep satisfactorily when put in cans.