Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/738

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Ingredients.—To 2 hams allow 2 lb. of treacle, ½ a lb. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 2 lb. of common salt.

Method.—2 days before they are put into pickle, rub the hams well with salt, to draw away all slime and blood. Throw away what comes from them, rub them with treacle, saltpetre and salt, lay them in a deep pan, and let them remain 1 day. Boil the above proportion of treacle, saltpetre, bay-salt and common salt for 15 minutes, and pour this pickle boiling hot over the hams. There should be sufficient of it to cover them. For a day or two rub them well with it, afterwards they will only require turning. They ought to remain in this pickle for 3 weeks or a month, and then be sent to be smoked, which will take nearly or quite a month to do. An ox-tongue, to be eaten either green or smoked, pickled in this way is excellent.

Time.—To remain in the pickle, 3 weeks or a month; to be smoked, about 1 month.

Ingredients.—3 lb. of common salt, 3 lb. of coarse sugar, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 3 quarts of strong beer.

Method.—Before the hams are put into pickle, rub them the preceding day well with salt, and thoroughly drain the brine from them. Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, and boil for 15 minutes; pour over the hams, and let them remain 1 month in the pickle. Rub and turn them every day, but do not take them out of the pickling-pan, and have them smoked for a month.

Time.—To be pickled, 1 month; to be smoked, 1 month.

Ingredients.—To a ham from 10 to 12 lb., allow 1 lb. of coarse sugar, ¾ of a lb. of salt, 1 oz. of saltpetre, ½ a teacupful of vinegar.

Method.—Rub the hams well with common salt, and leave them for a day or two to drain; then rub well in the above proportion of sugar, salt, saltpetre and vinegar, and turn them every other day. Keep them in the pickle 1 month, drain them, and send them to be smoked over a wood fire for 3 weeks or a month.

Time.—To remain in the pickle, 1 month; to be smoked, 3 weeks or 1 month. Sufficient for 1 ham.

The following is from Morton's "Cyclopædia of Agriculture."

CURING OF HAMS AND BACON.

The carcass of the hog, after hanging over-night to cool, is laid on a strong bench or stool, and the head is separated from the body at the