Guts.—The deputation of the term as used by hog packers is—everything inside a hog except the lungs and heart, or in other words, the abdominal viscera complete. The material is handled as follows :—
When the hog is split open the viscera are separated by cutting out the portion of flesh surrounding the anus, and taking a strip containing the external urino-generative organs. The heart is thrown to one side and the fatty portions trimmed off for lard. The rest goes into the offal tank or sausage. The lungs and liver go into sausage. The rectum and large intestines are pulled from the intestinal fat and peritoneum, and, along with the adhering flesh and genito-urinary organs, sent to the trimmer. All flesh on the above-mentioned organs are trimmed off, and the intestine proper is used for sausage casings. The trimmings, including the genito-urinary organs, are washed and dumped into the rendering tank. The small intestine is also pulled from the
fatty membranes surrounding it and saved for sausage casings. The remaining materials, consisting of the peritoneum, diaphragm, stomach, and adhering membranes, together with the intestinal fat, constitute the "guts," and undergo the process of washing, which is conducted usually in three or four different tanks.
As the "guts" pass into the first tank the stomach and peritoneum are split open, and also any portion of the intestines which sometimes adhere to the peritoneum. After receiving a rough wash they are passed from tank to tank, when, after a third or fourth wash, they are ready for the rendering tank. The omentum fat is cut from the kidneys, and the kidneys with a little adhering fat go into the rendering tank. Spleen and pancreas go into the rendering tanks, as do also the trachea, vocal chords, and oesophagus. To sum up, it is safe to say that everything goes into the rendering tank, with the following exceptions:—
1. The intestines proper, which are saved for sausage casings.
2. The liver and lungs.
3. That part of the heart free from fat.
HAGGIS (Scotch).—Take fresh killed sheep's stomach; wash well and soak for two hours in cold salt water. After which clean by immersing in scalding water of 150° F., and scrape with a knife till all excrement is removed, and the stomach appears clean and white. Leave it immersed in clean water until wanted for use. Take sheep's pluck and clean it thoroughly—washing free of all blood—boil the liver and lights fifteen minutes, then change the water. Add the pluck and boil for an hour and a quarter. Trim away skins, gristle, or discoloured parts, grate half the liver, chop the pluck fine with 1 lb. Suet, 1 onion, 2 teaspoonfuls salt, 1 tea-spoonful pepper, ½ nutmeg, grated, a grain of cayenne, and 2 lbs. oatmeal. Moisten with about a pint of good gravy made from bones. Mix thoroughly and sew up loosely in the stomach (to allow for swelling). (The stomach may be cut into any size required, if a full sized haggis is not wanted). Boil gently, first pricking well to let out the air; 1 lb. sizes require about forty-five minutes, and larger sizes in proportion.
Haggis should be served as hot as possible without sauce or gravy, and should be boiled for twenty minutes before serving.
Scotch haggis although apparently simple, is difficult to make to suit the public taste, and requires great care and a considerable amount of judgment on the part of the manufacturer.
Ham Curing.—The curing of hams is carried on in various parts of the United Kingdom, by methods which all have a strong resemblance the one to the other. Hams are cured largely in Yorkshire, Suffolk, and the Eastern counties of England, Cumberland, Ireland, and to a limited extent only, in Scotland. The " cure " is practically the same everywhere, but it may be varied to some extent to suit local fancies. Thus, in Ireland a very large quantity of hams are cured for export to France as York hams. These hams are small—averaging 12 lbs. in weight—aud mild cured. They are smoked lightly and are meant for quick consumption. In Yorkshire the ham cured is of a heavy character, averaging 30 to 50 lbs. in weight. It is altogether a very salt ham. In Suffolk the hams cured are sometimes very small, and they are smoked until nearly black. In Scotland ham curing does not exist to any great extent,
No. 1 Recipe.—For curing hams where the legs of pork are bought by themselves. In such establishments only legs of pork are handled, and these are purchased from those who handle the whole pigs. The general conditions under which hams may be successfully cured, may be
stated as follows :—
1. The fresh hams should be chilled to a uniform temperature of 38° Fahr 2. The curing cellar should have a constant temperature varying between 40° and 42° and should be humid. Primarily it may be stated that there is some disadvantage in collecting hams at a distance from the curing factory inasmuch as in warm weather there may be some of these of high temperature and predisposed to taint. That difficulty may be minimised by instructing the consigners of the hams to press out the excess of blood from the blood veins and to dust the hams over with food preservative (dry antiseptic). When the hams are received, they should all be pressed to see if any excess of blood remains in the blood vein. If there is any pressed out, it should be wiped off with a damp cloth which has been soaked in a solution of 1 lb. dry antiseptic to 1 gallon of water. The hams should be hung up in a chill room where there is a constant circulation of dry cold air, and the temperature of the room should not be allowed to exceed 38°. The time which the hams are allowed to hang in the chill room must be regulated by means of the meat testing pocket thermometer. This little instrument is pressed into the ham and the temperature then read off.
As soon as the hams are sufficiently chilled, they are nicely trimmed and shot down into the curing cellar, never getting into the outer atmosphere again until they issue, cured. The hams, as soon as they reach the cellar, are at once plunged into a pickle formed as follows :—
Recipe for Purging Pickle for Hams.
Take the following quantities—
55 lbs. salt.
5 lbs.. saltpetre.
5 lbs. dry antiseptic.
5 lbs. pure cane sugar.
And add sufficient water to make a total bulk of 20 gallons. Stir all together and wait till all is dissolved. Allow to settle, and when clear, decant off the liquor into pickle tanks in the cellar. Another way of treating this liquor so as to clarify it is to boil it till clear. The liquor, however made, is run into the pickle tanks which are made of a convenient size and placed in the cellar. The pickle should be allowed to remain there until on the floating thermometer it registers 40° to 42° F. The density should be about 100° on the Douglas salinometer. Plunge the hams into this pickle and keep them down beneath the surface by means of a hard wood grating on which stones or weights are placed, Take the hams out the following day after they have been put in, and squeeze them so as to rid the blood vein of final traces of blood. Immediately then lay the hams on cellar floor, or on slate or flag stone shelving, which may be also used in cellar. Put a bank of salt about four inches high along the line where hams are to be laid, and place the thick end of the hams with rind downwards on this bank pointing the shanks downwards. The shanks should touch the floor. The hams should be laid down symmetrically all in line, and with the shanks at equal distances apart and pointing diagonally to the bank of salt. When the line is complete, lay a long lathe of hard wood on the shanks and fill the spaces with salt, then proceed as before. This process is carried out until each day's hams are laid down. Each day's hams should be kept separate in a square or other section by themselves, and a lane provided between them and other day's hams. A tally bearing date and other particulars should be placed in each section.
When the hams are being laid down in the way described, each line should be salted in the following manner:—
Prepare an equal mixture of dry antiseptic and granulated saltpetre, and sprinkle this mixture lightly with a horse-hair sieve all over the cut surface of the hams. Take an extra pinch of the mixture and press it into the blood vein opening. Now cover the whole over with fine salt—a layer of half-an-inch at least is necessary. This treatment should be followed with each row of
hams. The remainder of the process of curing must be regulated to a large extent by judgment.
If the hams are averaging 14 lbs. in weight, they may be taken out of salt in fifteen days from date of putting in. These hams will be mild cured and must be consumed immediately. If, however, keeping hams arc wanted, then 14 lb. hams will require twenty-one days for the cure, and many people would keep them thirty days. It depends altogether on the market to be supplied. The old fashioned farm-cured York ham would be allowed to remain in salt thirty days if 14 lbs. in weight.
For modern curing it is safe to say that 1 lb. in weight requires one day in salt to cure for hams for immediate consumption. But where hams are to be kept until they develop a " bloom," then two days per lb. weight is the rule to follow.
When the hams are cured, they are taken up and washed in luke warm water, and are then hung up in a drying room kept at 85° Fahr. to dry. About two to three days will be sufficient length of time required for drying, but this again is a matter of judgment. To make pale-dried hams look white, plunge them for a few seconds in boiling water (212° Fahr.) and then proceed to dry them.
If the hams are wanted smoked, they are hung up in a properly constructed smoke-stove with the heat capable of being regulated. This regulation is effected by means of steam gilled pipes. The temperature of the smoke-stove should not exceed 90° Fahr. The smoking material may consist of any hardwood sawdust. This is spread over the floor of stove and lighted either in centre or at four corners.
In Ireland, peat is frequently used for smoking. It gives a rich flavour much appreciated by connoisseurs. Smoking requires generally about three days. To put the final gloss on smoked hams rub the skin well with a cloth on which there is some vaseline. Hams for shipment to France must not be cured by the aid of dry antiseptic or by anything except salt, saltpetre, and sugar.
No. 2 Recipe.—For curing hams by the wet process.—The curing of hams in the old fashioned way is rather a complicated matter, and the old notions have long ago been exploded. Thus, it was the custom to rub the skin every three or four days ; this custom has been proved to be simply waste of time, as no effect takes place at all. What is required is as follows :—
To Cure Hams.—See that the ham is pretty free from blood in the blood vein, and then throw into a pickle composed of—
50 lbs. salt.
5 lbs. saltpetre.
5 lbs. antiseptic.
5 lbs. Sugar
Made up to twenty gallons with water, and boiled until pretty clear. As this pickle purges the hams it will become vitiated with blood and organic matter. When this is so, boil again adding salt and other ingredients in proportion as the pickle becomes weak. The strength should be
maintained at about 95°-98° on the Douglas salinometer.
The above pickle is the first or purging pickle only, and is kept solely for that purpose. After the hams have been in this pickle for about twenty-four to thirty-six hours, according to size, take out and press out the remainder of blood from blood vein. Now, you may throw the hams into a fresh pickle in another tub, the pickle being made exactly as the former one, but to this may be added a bag containing some juniper berries and some coriander seeds—about 2 lbs. Of each to about twenty gallons. Some people also add bay leaves for the bitter flavour, so much admired in Westphalian hams. The hams may be kept in this pickle for about twenty-one days if averaging, say 15 lbs. in weight, longer if heavier, and shorter if lighter in weight. They are then removed and dried, either pale dried in a room kept at 85° Fahr., or dried and smoked in a smoke-house; the material used for smoking being oak sawdust, the temperature 85° F., the length of time in drying three days. This completes the "wet cure."
No. 3 Recipe.—For curing hams by the dry process (West of England).—Clean the floor of your cellar, lay your hams out flat on the floor skin downwards. Get some finely powdered saltpetre in a small sieve, and dust the faces of the hams over with it. Then sprinkle over with fine dry salt (to have salt perfect, keep it in a dry place). Let the hams lie until the next day, then take each ham, brush off the old salt (never leave any old salt on, for the salt is spent and has done its work, tainted hams are caused by leaving a quantity of spent salt on them). (Iet some fine dry salt to which add five per cent. saltpetre, five per cent. dry anti-septic, and six per cent. best raw sugar. Get your ham in a trough or something of that sort, to save your salt from being wasted on the floor. Get some of the mixture and rub very hard into the thick part and back of ham, pressing down with the blood vein on the flank side of aitch or lift bone, until you see the blood run out from cud of the vein. If the blood does not come out freely, serve the same way next dressing. If you intend to lay your hams from the back wall of cellar, or say from any part of cellar, get a long piece of timber three inches thick (hams should never be laid flat after the first rubbing), then start laying the thin end of hams on timber, hock slanting downwards on to the floor. Place hams close together when your row is finished; place the thin ends of next hams on top of first hocks and so on. By being placed in this position the melted salt runs into the thick inside of ham, if laid flat the salt would be half wasted off the sides of ham. Your floor should be well covered with dry salt before laying your hams on. When you have laid your first row, sprinkle over with your salt, etc.; serve every row the same way. Let them remain two days. Then rub them with a coarse brush to clean off all spent salt, and rub them in same manner as before. Let them remain another four days, and brush old salt off again. No more rubbing is required. Sprinkle over with fresh salt, and let them remain for another week. Then brush off old salt, and sprinkle with a good layer of coarse salt and five per cent. of dry antiseptic powder. Let them lie until their time for curing is out. Hams of 14 lbs. to 16 lbs. take twenty-one days. Larger hams according to weight. When taken out of cellar for drying, wash in warm water, trim them nicely, then pump them—that is, dip them in boiling water for the double purpose of making them look white, and drawing out the wrinkles in the skin, and to give the skin a smooth polished appearance.
To Smoke Dry-Cured Hams.—When dry-cured hams are needed for smoking, steep them in cold water for six hours then pump them, trim and hang in smoke for about three days, according to colour required.
Pumping Hams.—The old way was to drop the whole ham into boiling water for a few minutes. Now, this was altogether wrong, for the boiling water hardened the lean on the face of the ham, and, in a few days drying, went hard and dark coloured. Now hams, especially when smoked, require the lean to look a nice bright cherry red colour, and free from that dark crusty outside. Dip the ham knuckle end first into the boiling water, not allowing the water to touch the lean face of the ham, and withdraw it again. The wrinkles, if any, will be smoothed out, and the fat will be nicely white and firm. The lean will not be darkened.
Ham Dressing.—A dry friable powder made from flour baked and calcined. It is used extensively for dusting on the surface of boiled or steamed hams, so as to suck up the free globules of fat that are present, and also to lend to the appearance of the ham.
Ham Frills.—Ornamental pieces of frilled paper used for decorating shanks of cooked hams.
Ham in Bladders.—Take hams too fat for ordinary use. Separate the meat from the bone, trim the ham nearly round, leaving one inch of fat, pack and pickle the same as with ordinary hams, then wash clean and put in hog bladders, tie up and hang in the smoke for two weeks.
Hams (Deer).—Use the ham of a deer, remove the bone, rub with 17 ozs. salt, 2 ozs. pulverised sugar, place in a vessel, take 24 ozs. salt, a very small quantity cloves, ginger, sage, and juniper berries, boil in five pints of water, when cool pour this over the ham, let it remain covered with the pickle for one week; remove and smoke. They may be eaten raw, or boiled in broth for two or three hours.
Hams for Drying.—see Drying.
Hams (Pickling).— No. 1 Recipe.—Remove the hams twelve hours after killing, each ham is thoroughly rubbed with 2½ lbs. salt, 1 oz. saltpetre, and put in a water-tight cask. If the hams are closely packed, enough brine will form from themselves to cover them, but if more brine be needed use 17 ozs. salt boiled in two quarts of water. Allow them to remain covered with pickle for three weeks, then take out, wash and hang in the air for several days. Smoke for three weeks.
No. 2 Recipe.—To each ham use 1 lb. Salt, ½ oz. Saltpetre, 2 ozs. sugar, rub well and lay in a water-tight cask. Add 1 lb. salt, 2 ozs. juniper berries, ½ oz. Pepper, ½ oz. Cloves, all whole, and boiled in two quarts of water. When cold, pour over the hams; a small quantity of garlic may be
added if wished. Allow the hams to remain under the brine for three weeks, then remove, wash and hang in the open air for eight days. Smoke for three weeks. If the hams are to be immediately boiled, three days smoking is sufficient.
Ham Roll.—From either a hind leg or fore leg of ham remove the bones and rind. If it is a hind leg, cut it so that it is in one large thick piece. Lay this piece or pieces in a salt pickle for ten or twelve days, then steep in cold water for an hour. Allow to drip, and then roll up tightly, keeping the fat side outermost. Bind up each piece with strong cord, and roll each in a clean cloth, fastening the ends securely, and binding all up with twine. Boil gently for three or four hours, and press tightly between two boards.
Hams (Smokeless).—The ham is cut from the pig while yet warm, and 1½ lbs. salt previously heated in an earthen vessel is entirely rubbed into it. A leather mitten may be worn as the salt must be rubbed in while very hot. The hams are then hung in the open air from three to four
weeks, and can be eaten without being smoked.
Hams to Ornament—A German method.—Take a newly smoked ham, trim it, and remove the bones. Then take a knife and cut out in the rind, as if drawing right round the ham at an equal distance from the edge, all round a border of alternating squares like a chess-board, and fill up with grease (lard). Then take some red and white jelly, and put it on each of the squares turn about, and mark out a face on the ham with the two jellies. Then ornament here and there with lard, and red and white jelly here and there between the face and the border, and ornament round the dish with laurel leaves and lemon. Put on a frill at the leg piece.
Ham, Chicken, and Tongue Sausage.—
10 lbs. Pork,
4 lbs. Veal.
2 lbs. Ox-tongue.
4 lbs. Fat.
4 lbs. granulated rice, scalded.
2 lbs. sausage meal.
2 ozs. food preservative (dry antiseptic).
12 ozs. seasoning (as below).
The meat from a chicken and six eggs may be added.
A stock of seasoning may be made from following table—
9 lbs. salt.
6 lbs. ground white pepper.
½ lbs. ground mace.
£ lbs. ground parsley.
¼ lbs. thyme.
Cut the pork, veal, and ox-tongue into pieces of about two inches square. Mix in the scalded rice and put the mixture through meat cutting machine. Add slowly the sausage meal, and then the other ingredients. Mince all very fine and fill into weasands. Boil for an hour at 200 Fahr., and dye with either poloney dye or ham, chicken, and tongue dye. Either of these is used in the same way as in the dyeing of poloneys.
The ox-tongues used are those imported from the United States. Chicken is a mere name, and is rarely added to the mixture owing to its costliness. Some makers add a small quantity of chicken in order to be truthful, but the quantity is quite inappreciable in the sausages.
Ham, Tongue, and Chicken Sausage Dye.—Use
2 parts poloney dye (No. 2).
1 part bismarck brown. [no longer used in Good Food Manufacturing Practices - SI}
1/10 part majenta (crystal roseine). [no longer used in Good Food Manufacturing Practices - SI}
Boil and use when boiling. When the solution is boilingit distends the fat inside of skin and makes it firm and tight.