To Boil Bacon
Put two or three pounds of nice bacon into a pot with plenty of cold water, and let it simmer slowly for an hour before it begins to boil. Skim it well, and when no more scum rises, put in the vegetables which are usually eaten with bacon, and which taste better for boiling with the meat. These are young greens, or sprouts, very young roots and leaves of the poke plant, and green beans—strung and cut in half—not smaller. On no account should any other vegetables be boiled with bacon. When the bacon is so tender as to be easily pierced through with a fork, even in the thickest places, take it up and drain it well in a cullender or sieve. Remove the skin. Then take up the vegetables and drain them also, pressing out all the liquid. Season them with pepper only. Send the meat to table with the vegetables heaped round it, on the same large dish, (the cabbage being chopped, but not minced fine.) Potatos, squashes, peas, asparagus, &c., should never be boiled in the same pot, or served up in the same dish with bacon, which is too plain a dish for any but a country table; while a ham is a delicacy for the city, or for any place.