PORK.
SIDE OF A PIG, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS
In the country, where, for ordinary consumption, the pork killed for sale is usually both larger and fatter than that supplied to the London consumer, it is customary to remove the skin and fat down to the lean, and, salting that, roast what remains of the joint. Pork goes further, and is consequently a more economical food, than other meats, simply because the texture is closer, and there is less waste in the cooking, either in roasting or boiling.
In fresh pork, the leg is the most economical family joint, and the loin the richest.
Pork, to be preserved, is cured in several ways,—either by covering it with salt, or immersing it in ready-made brine, where it is kept till required; or it is only partially salted, and then hung up to dry, when the meat is called white bacon; or, after salting, it is hung in wood smoke till the flesh is impregnated with the aroma from the wood. The Wiltshire bacon, which is regarded as the finest in the kingdom, is prepared by laying the sides of a hog in large wooden troughs, and then rubbing into the flesh quantities of powdered bay-salt, made hot in a frying-pan. This process is repeated for four days; they are then left for three weeks, merely turning the flitches every other day, After that time they are hung up to dry. The hogs usually killed for purposes of bacon in England average from 18 to 20 stone; on the other hand, the hogs killed in the country for farm-house purposes, seldom weigh less than 26 stone. The legs of boars, hogs, and, in Germany, those of bears, are prepared differently, and called hams.
The practice in vogue formerly in this country was to cut out the hams and cure them separately; then to remove the ribs, which were roasted as “spare-ribs,” and, curing the remainder of the side, call it a “gammon of bacon.”
Small pork to cut for table in joints, is cut up, in most places throughout the kingdom, as represented in the engraving. The side is divided with nine ribs to the fore quarter; and the following is an enumeration of the joints in the two respective quarters:—
| Hind Quarter— | 1. The leg. | |
| 2. The loin. | ||
| 3. The spring, or belly. | ||
| Fore Quarter— | 4. The hand. | |
| 5. The fore-loin. | ||
| 6. The cheek. |
The weight of the several joints of a good pork pig of four stone may be as follows; viz.:—