Ice Water
Never use the drip water of melted ice from a cooler for making Pickle, as it contains many impurities, and therefore should never be used.
We highly recommend pumping Hams, Shoulders and other kinds of Cured Meats. It is a safeguard in Hams and Shoulders against shank and body souring, should they, through some carelessness, be insufficiently chilled all the way to the bone, and is a protection against sour joint, and insures a uniform cure. It is also of great advantage to pump Breakfast Bacon, Corned Beef, Dried Beef, Dry Salt Meats, etc. Packers and curers, who do not use a pump and the Freeze-Em-Pickle Process, are suffering losses from sour meats, which during a year’s business would mean a large profit to them.
There is a mistaken idea among many butchers and packers that pumping Hams and Shoulders is injurious to the meat. The facts do not warrant such a belief, as the best cured and the best flavored meats are those that have been pumped. When Hams and Shoulders are not pumped, it requires weeks for the pickle to penetrate through to the bone, which is the vital spot of a Ham or Shoulder. If the joints, tissues and meat around the bone are not wholly and thoroughly cured, the entire Ham or Shoulder is inferior and no good; because it furnishes a favorable seat for the development of the germs of putrefaction, which render the meat unfit for human food.
In order to always have a mild cure, sweet flavor at the joints, and uniform color, they should be pumped. Pumping with the Freeze-Em-Pickle Process is a safe-guard against shank and body souring; it gives the inside of a Ham or Shoulder a delicious flavor, a good color, and insures a uniform cure; it cures the joints and the meat around the bone thoroughly, and greatly reduces the period of curing. The secret and principal feature in pumping Hams and Shoulders, is to have the right kind of pumping brine. When common brine, or ordinary sweet-pickle is used for pumping, the Hams or Shoulders usually become pickle-soaked, and if the refrigerator under such conditions is not the very best, or if the Hams or Shoulders are not thoroughly chilled, the smallest degree of animal heat which may be remaining in them will start fermentation, causing the meat to sour next to the joints. It is, therefore, plain to be seen that pumping, under such conditions, instead of doing good, will in reality result in injury, and this is the reason why so many who have tried pumping meats have failed. On the other hand, when the pumping brine is made as shown herein, all of these objections are overcome, and the meat will not be pickle-soaked, nor will it become soft and flabby. The brine will be absorbed by the meat around the bone and joints so thoroughly as to leave no trace of it after the Ham is cured; it also gives the inside meat a fine red color, and a delicious flavor. Hams that have been pumped with Freeze-Em-Pickle and cured by the Freeze-Em-Pickle Process, will not dry up and become hard when fried or cooked; when sliced cold they will not crumble, but will slice nicely and have a delicate and pleasing flavor.
One gallon of pumping brine is sufficient for pumping one tierce, or 285 lbs. of meat. Make the pumping brine as follows:
½ lb. of Freeze-Em-Pickle.
1 lb of Pure Granulated Sugar.
2 lbs. of Salt.
1 gal. of Water.
The sugar used must be Pure Granulated Sugar; yellow or brown sugar must not be used. When adulterated sugar is used, the brine becomes thick and would spoil the meat in two weeks. Stir the above thoroughly before using. As this will make a thick brine which is more than saturated, it will precipitate when left standing, therefore, when mixed in large quantities, it should be stirred occasionally. Meats should never be pumped with anything but a solution that is thoroughly saturated.
Pump the Hams or Shoulders just before they are packed, and if it is desired to rush the cure, pump them every time that the meat is overhauled. The pumping solution must be cold when pumped into the meat. Ordinarily, three insertions of the needle in the Hams are sufficient; once at the shank to the hock joint as shown at A, once to the thigh and along the bone, Fig. B., and once from the butt end to the joint under the hip bone and into the fleshy part, Fig. C. Solid lines show needle up to point of insertion and dotted line shows direction taken by needle after insertion. In a very heavy Ham as many as six insertions should be made, and the same with very heavy Shoulders. Three insertions of the needle into a medium size Shoulder are sufficient; one at Fig. D, one to the shoulder joint at Fig. E, and one under the blade from the end, or diagonally from the back of the shoulder toward the end at Fig. F. More insertions may be made without injury to the meat, but the above are all that are required for good results. One cubic inch of solution is enough for each insertion, and after withdrawing the needle, the hole must be squeezed shut with the thumb to prevent the solution from oozing out. Stir the solution well before starting to pump. The Pumper must be careful not to pump air into the meat. Never allow the Pickle to go below the end of sucker of pump.
It will be noted that, in all of our directions for the sweet pickling of meat, we lay great stress upon the importance of using only pure sugar, free from adulterations. The very best and purest of granulated sugar should always be used, if the best results are expected. Sugar, as is well known is a great nutrient and, as a food, possesses practically the same value as starch; it is however, much more readily digested. Therefore the use of pure sugar assists in making meat food products more digestible. In preparing a sweet brine, the one great object sought to be attained is that the brine shall have the highest possible penetrative quality. Any adulterant in the sugar tends to prevent the penetration of the sweet pickled brine and lessens its efficiency in proportion as adulterants are contained in the sugar. It is only by the use of pure granulated sugar that a well-keeping brine can be produced. Many adulterants, even though they are natural adulterants, resulting from lack of proper refining of the sugar, tend to create fermentation in the brine producing a slimy and ropy condition. As is well known to those best experienced in the sweet pickling of meat, ropy and slimy brine is almost always sure to cause meat to sour.
Impurities in sugar used for producing sweet pickle will prevent the proper coagulation of the albumen in the meat juices. Coagulation does and should take place in all well cured meat. The impurities and adulterants, in other words, positively counteract the effect of the curing agents in the brine. Therefore use only the best pure granulated sugar in making all sweet pickle. The general conditions for obtaining pure granulated sugar at the present day are very much improved over those of a number of years ago, prior to the passage of the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. For instance, you can form a good idea of the purity of your sugar by dissolving a quantity in water to make a fairly thick syrup, but not using more than the water will take up. Cork this tightly and place in a dark room over night. We have seen tests made in this way, which in twenty-four hours would show a deposit of blue coloring at the bottom of the bottle, and also a considerable quantity of insoluble salts. This comes from what is known as “bluing” the sugar, but where you purchase one of the well known manufacturers products marked, “pure granulated sugar”, these difficulties are seldom met with at the present time. There was a time also when sugar was frequently adulterated with crystallized glucose or as is commonly known “grape sugar.” This was a very serious adulterant from the view point of the sweet pickle curing of meat, as glucose tends to ferment in brine very quickly and consequently the brine would become ropy and slimy within a very short time. This resulted in sour and soggy hams, bacon, etc., so that the purchase of cheap sugar containing impurities was never a saving, but proved very costly to the manufacturer who was persuaded to purchase low grade sugar.
It has been a common practice with some butchers in preparing sweet pickle to use molasses or syrup. This method we strongly urge our friends not to adopt. The saving will be many times lost by meat which will have to be thrown away because of ropy, fermented and sour pickle. We cannot urge upon our friends too strongly that they use only pure granulated sugar. Not only from the standpoint of keeping sweet pickle brine in good, clean condition, but from the view point of flavor and thorough cure, the use of pure granulated sugar is absolutely necessary for producing the proper kind of finished meat food products.
Sugar is considered as a natural preservative, but it must be borne in mind that sugar is used in the sweet pickle method of curing meat, not only as a preservative, but also as a flavor. Pure sugar has the property of combining with the other curing agents and by its penetrative property carries the other curing agents into the cells of the meat tissue more thoroughly. This results in the uniform action of the curing agent, producing even flavored meat as a result of the cure. Another peculiar property of pure sugar is that by its combination with the salt used in the brine it has a great tendency to prevent fermentation, thus keeping a clean, clear, sweet, penetrative brine, which will do the largest amount of work with the smallest amount of material, in producing evenly cured meat. To sum up, we will state that pure granulated sugar should take the place of molasses, syrup or any other form of sweetener because it imparts a better flavor and assists in making the brine more penetrative, thus producing best results.
The calf’s stomach is divided into four compartments. The first one is known as the paunch; the second as the honeycomb stomach; the third is called the many-plies stomach and the fourth is known as the rennet bag.
The proper way to handle the rennet bag is to remove it from the balance of the stomach, turn it inside out, and clean with fresh water so as to remove the adhering contents. Great care must be taken not to scrape off or in any way remove the mucous membrane (by this is meant the many folds of thin skin) as this is the part of the stomach which has a market value. Of course the stomach must be gently and carefully washed to remove the undigested portions of food which may be contained therein, as otherwise it would very quickly decompose and become putrid. It would then be of no value whatever for any purpose. After cleansing them, dust the rennet bags all over with finely ground salt, and blow them up after having turned them inside out. Then hang them in a dry place in a current of air so that they will dry as quickly as possible.
Occasionally brine that has been made with sugar will become ropy and thick like jelly, but yet will be somewhat stringy. This is called “Ropy Brine,” and can always be traced to either the use of unsuitable sugar or improper temperature of the curing room.
Yellow or brown sugar and glucose sugar will never do for curing meat. It must be Pure Sugar, and the Refined, Granulated Sugar is the best, because the impurities have been taken out.
However, even if Pure Granulated Sugar is used and the temperature of the Curing Room is too high, the brine is liable to turn “Ropy” anyway. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary for anyone who intends to cure meat in sweet brine not only to use the proper kind of sugar but also to cure in the proper temperature. Otherwise, the results will not be satisfactory, no matter what kind of a curing agent is used.
In buying sugar for curing purposes, it is advisable to order it from the wholesale grocers or from the manufacturer, and have it guaranteed to be Pure Granulated Sugar put up Especially for Preserving Purposes. This grade of sugar is on the market and is used for preserving fruits, and is the best kind of sugar to use for curing meats.
If brine has become ropy in a curing package and it is desired to use that package again, it is absolutely necessary to thoroughly scald out such package, and it is well to use Ozo Washing Powder for that purpose so as to prevent the possibility of fermentation. Otherwise, the unclean package will cause the fresh brine to turn “Ropy” even though it is made with the right kind of sugar and kept in the proper temperature.
Boiling the brine improves it some, but not enough to pay for the extra trouble it makes. We recommend boiling the water, if one has the time, as it purifies it. When there is reason to believe that the water is impure, or when it is known to be tainted with vegetable matter, the brine should always be boiled, and the impurities will then float on the surface, and can be skimmed off.