Pumping Hams and Shoulders
To speed up curing, most commercial packers pump brine into the hams and shoulders. Brine pumping can be used in conjunction with the other methods, or alone. Pumping requires special needles and a pump (hand or electric) to ensure proper distribution of the brine. The brine solution is prepared using the 8:3:1.18 mixture previously outlined. Two pounds of this cure mixture are dissolved in 1 gallon of cold water and the meat pumped with brine equivalent to 10 percent of its weight. Pumping may be accomplished by using the artery or stitch method. The femoral artery of the ham is located above the big flat bone which is cut when the ham is separated from the carcass. The artery is about halfway between the cut surface of the bone and the point of the aitch bone. With small forceps, you can clamp the end of the artery and push tissue and loose fat away so the pumping needle can be inserted. Stitch pumping is not as effective as artery pumping but is more so than either dry or pickle cure. Stitch pumping is accomplished with a spray needle by pumping along the bone, around the joints, and vertically in thicker, lean parts of the ham or picnic. Cuts should be stored for a day to allow the cure to equilibrate prior to smoking.
Smoking
Smoking cured pork improves its appearance and gives it a characteristic aroma and flavor apart from that of any other meat product. Careful attention should be given to smoking and aging procedures to prevent microbial spoilage or insect infestation.
Smokehouses:
The smokehouse can be simple or elaborate in design, depending on the quantity of meat to be smoked. It should be of reasonably tight construction to permit easy regulation of temperature and flow of air and smoke. Special attention during construction should be given to the control of insect and rodent infestations.
Temporary smokehouses for small quantities of meat can be constructed cheaply and easily. Construction should include a ventilated enclosure for hanging and smoking the meat as well as facilities for generating smoke and supplying it to the house. A barrel or drum with both ends removed, connected by a stove pipe or a covered trench to a fire pit, can be used ([fig. 90]). Set the barrel over the upper end of the 10 to 12 feet of stove pipe, which is sloped downward to the fire pit. Control the heat of the fire by covering the pit with a piece of sheet metal and mounding earth around the edges, so as to cut off most of the draft. Clean muslin or burlap hung over the top of the barrel will protect a 1-inch opening between the barrel and the cleated top, which rests on broomsticks supporting the meat ([fig. 90]). This type of smokehouse is large enough for the cuts from one hog. An old refrigerator or a simple frame house can be used rather than a barrel. The fire can also be built in a ventilated barrel which is connected to the smokehouse by a stove pipe.
Figure 90.—Barrel for smoking.