Salt meat

“ Salt meat furnishes less nutriment, a large part having been removed by the brine; notwithstanding, all persons at times, and some frequently, find such food highly beneficial, the effect being doubtless not confined to the alimentary tract.
Meat, according to the heat employed, may be so cooked as to retain the greater part of its juices within it or the reverse. With a high temperature (65° to 70° C.) the outside in roasting may be so quickly hardened as to retain the juices. ”

“ Our ordinary salted meats owe their immunity from decay, as is well known, to the presence in their tissues of common salt. Meat preserved, however, by this means is tough, indigestible, and wanting in many of its most important soluble constituents, which, dissolving part of the salt, run off from the meat and are lost.
Amongst other agents which have been found serviceable as antiseptics, and for which from time to time numerous patents have been taken out, are nitrate of potash, acetate and hydrochlorate of ammonia, the sulphates of soda and potash, and bisulphate of lime. ”

“ Salt Meat.—Salt and saltpetre are the antiseptics most commonly used in the preservation of food, and their use for this purpose dates from long ago. Centuries back, even in the more favoured districts of the south of England, there was no food to keep the cattle all the winter, for the grass was scanty, and turnips were then unknown. In the autumn everyone killed the cattle and salted the meat down for home consumption through the coming months. Fresh meat, winter and summer alike, was a luxury which no one could have, and no one expected. ”

“ The drying of salt meat is effected either by hanging it in a dry and well-aired place, or by exposing it at the same time to wood smoke, which gives it a peculiar flavour, much admired in Westphalia hams and Hamburgh beef, and also tends to preserve it, by the antiseptic action of the pyrolignic acid. When meat is to be hung, it need not be so highly salted. ”

“ Every housewife knows that dry salt in contact with fresh meat gradually becomes fluid brine. The application of salt causes the fibres of the meat to contract, and the juice to flow out from its pores: as much as one-third of the juice of the meat is often forced out in this manner. Now, as this juice is pure extract of meat, containing albumen, osmazome, and other valuable principles, it follows that meat which has been preserved by the action of salt can never have the nutritive properties of fresh meat. ”

“ On the contrary, if the people of Paris should readily adopt the use of salted provisions, the good would result which is before mentioned. Salt meat is not as good as fresh for soups, but it gives an higher flavor to the vegetables boiled with it. The experience of a great part of America, which is fed almost entirely on it, proves it to be as wholesome as fresh meat. The sea scurvy, ascribed by some to the use of salt meat, is equally unknown in America as in Europe. ”

“ The brine in which several pieces of meat have been pickled will almost set into a jelly, so much of the valuable juices has it extracted from the meat, and all these are of course, wasted. It is said that a third of the meat, or even a greater proportion, is lost by salting. The salt can be drawn out of the meat by soaking it in water, but nothing can restore to it what it has lost. Every one knows that salted food cannot be used for any length of time without injury to the health. ”

“ This, as practised in Hampshire, Yorkshire, and in various large establishments elsewhere, consists in merely well rubbing ordinary culinary salt, mixed with a little saltpetre, into the meat, until every crevice is thoroughly penetrated, and, afterwards, sprinkling some over it, and placing it on a board or in a trough, in such a manner that the brine may drain off. On the small scale, in private families, a mixture of salt, 2 lbs., with saltpetre, 11⁄2 or 2 oz., either with or without about an oz. of good moist sugar, is commonly used for the purpose, and imparts a fine flavour to the meat. ”

“ Mere desiccation, indeed, can hardly ever be employed upon flesh. Culinary salt is generally had recourse to, either alone or with the addition of saltpetre or sugar.
These alkaline salts abstract water in their solution, and, consequently, concentrate the aqueous solution of the albumen; whence, by converting the simple watery fluid into salt water, which is in general less favourable to the fermentation of animal matter than pure water, and by expelling the air, they counteract putridity. On this account, salted meat may be dried in the air much more speedily and safely than fresh meat. ”

“ In order to impart redness to the hams, rub on each a teaspoonful of pulverized saltpetre before salting. If the weather is very cold, warm the salt before applying it. First rub the skin side well with salt and then the fleshy side, using for the purpose a shoe-sole or leather glove. No more salt should be used than a sufficiency to preserve the meat, as an excess hardens the meat. A bushel of salt is sufficient for a thousand pounds of meat. For the chine and ribs a very light sprinkling of salt will suffice. ”

“ No people on earth live with less regard to regimen. They eat salt meat three times a day, seldom or never have any vegetables, and drink ardent spirits from morning till night. They have not only an aversion to fresh meat, but a vulgar prejudice that it is unwholesome. The truth is, their stomachs are depraved by burning liquors, and they have no appetite for anything but what is high-flavored and strongly impregnated by salt.”
Salt pork three times a day was regarded as an essential part of American diet. ”

“ On the flesh side it is only necessary to sprinkle the salt over all the surface. Care must be taken to get some salt into every depression and into the hock end of all joints. An experienced meat salter goes over the pieces with great expedition. Taking a handful of the salt, he applies it dextrously by a gliding motion of the hand to all the surface, and does not forget the hock end of the bones where the feet have been cut off. Only dry salt is used in this method of curing. The meat is never put into brine or “pickle,” nor is any water added to the salt to render it more moist. ”

“ Salting is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. The addition of a little saltpetre helps to preserve the color of the meat. Brine is frequently used to temporarily preserve meat and other substances. Corned beef is a popular form of salt preservation. All salted meats require long, slow cooking. They should always be placed in cold water and heated gradually in order to extract the salt. ”

“ Salt beef, served cold, constitutes an excellent sideboard dish for luncheons.
It need only be neatly trimmed all round, care being taken to preserve all the fat so highly esteemed by some. Indeed, a piece of cold salt fat is sometimes added to that already existing around and in the meat, in which case the extra quantity is fixed to the beef by means of a hatelet. ”

“ The beef is salted; and the goodman and his family are shortly put on salt meat, whether they like such fare or otherwise. The thrifty lady all this time takes care, on every occasion, to show off her beef as well worthy of being tasted by visitors; and the short and long of it is, that the said beef is eaten up in half the time it is expected to last; fresh meat begins to show itself more frequently at your table, and the fit is put aside till another opportunity occurs of playing it off. ”

“ Beef and pork should be well sprinkled, and a few hours after hung to drain, before it be rubbed with the preserving salts; which mode, by cleansing the meat from the blood, tends to keep it from tasting strong; it should be turned daily, and, if wanted soon, rubbed. A salting tub may be used, and a cover should fit close. Those who use a good deal of salt will find it well to boil up the pickle, skim, and when cold pour it over meat that has been sprinkled and drained. In some families great loss is sustained by the spoiling of meat. ”

“ Nearly all the rest are out of place on a roughing expedition. Among the most portable kinds of solid food are pemmican, jerked meat, wheat flour, barley, peas, cheese, and biscuit. Salt meat is a disappointing dish, and apt to be sadly uncertain. ”

“ If you pack side meat properly and overhaul it regularly until it is fully cured, and if you keep the temperature of the curing room at about 38 degrees, you will have no trouble in keeping dry salt meat in salt all winter. ”

“ The broth of boiled meat should always be saved for soups, stews or gravies. Salt meats should be put in cold water, which as soon as it boils should be replaced by fresh cold water, repeating if necessary until meat has palatable flavor when done. ”

“ In salting sides, salt the heaviest on the shoulder and along the loin, rubbing the edges of all cuts carefully, seeing that the salt adheres to all parts of the meat before it is piled, for if there are places where there is no salt on the meat, it will discolor and eventually become slippery and in bad condition. ”

“ Salt meat should boil longer than fresh; allow forty minutes for every pound.
A tongue that has been cured with saltpetre and smoked, should soak over night, and be boiled at least four hours; it is not easy to boil it too much, and nothing is more disagreeable or indigestible than a tongue not well boiled. A ham, if very salt, should also be soaked over night, and should be boiled from three to five hours, according to the size, unless you prefer to cook it the last half of the time in the oven, as is directed in the receipt for cooking a ham or shoulder. ”

“ The importance of the salter is better understood when we consider that, as the produce of the land was in Middle Ages almost entirely consumed on the spot, and it was not easy to get supplies of provisions from a distance, immense quantities of victuals of all kinds were salted, in order that they might keep during the whole year round, and were preserved in vast larders and storehouses. This habit of eating so much salt meat would cause meats eaten without salt to be considered insipid. In fact the quantity of salt used in the Middle Ages must have been enormous ”

“ It is most meticulous to cut the head open or to at least poke a hole in the skull, so that the blood will flow out.
(14) We permit meat salted on one side in the case of a great loss. If salt was not covering the entire piece of meat, it is also acceptable even if no great loss will occur.
(15) If the meat wasn’t cooked then the only option is to re-salt it as long as it’s within twelve hours, which is the time period in which meat releases fluids (tzir) .Therefore this new salting won’t affect the side that is in the process of being salted. ”

“ Some persons like salted meat to be red. For this purpose, saltpetre is necessary. Otherwise, the less use is made of it the better, as it tends to harden the meat. Sweet herbs, spices, and even garlic, may be rubbed into hams and tongues, with the pickle, according to taste. Bay salt gives a nice flavour. Sugar is generally used in curing hams, tongues and beef; for the two latter some recommend lump sugar, others treacle, to make the meat eat short. ”

“ Never salt it before the meat is tender (as that hardens and toughens the meat) , especially if the meat is to be eaten. Take off every particle of scum as it rises, and before the vegetables are put in.
Allow a little less than a quart of water to a pound of meat and bone, and a teaspoonful of salt. When done, strain through a colander. If for clear soups, strain again through a hair sieve, or fold a clean towel in a colander set over an earthen bowl, or any dish large enough to hold the stock. ”

“ The beef must be fresh killed, and of the best kind. You must wipe every piece well, to dry it from the blood and moisture. To fifty pounds of meat allow two pounds and a quarter of coarse salt, two pounds and a quarter of fine salt, one ounce and a half of saltpetre, two pounds of good brown sugar, and two quarts of molasses. Mix all these ingredients well together, boil and skim it for about twenty minutes, and when no more scum rises, take it from the fire. ”

“ A piece of meat left to itself soon gives out a bad smell and undergoes putrefaction. The higher the temperature [334] and the damper the air, the more rapid the rate of decay. That is why the approach of winter and as far as possible a dry time are chosen for the annual pig-killing. Salt in liberal quantities is used for preserving the meat, lard, and fat. Salted meat dries without becoming tainted, and keeps for a long time, though not indefinitely, since sooner or later it turns rancid. Nevertheless salting is the best way to preserve meat. ”

“ Everything, as is well known, can be used and abused, and salt, like other natural productions, owing to human avarice, can be put to a purpose so as to derange and render nugatory the laws of health. We know full well that salt completely arrests the formation of putrescent larvæ in meat, if it is rubbed in when fresh, or if it is well soaked in strong brine; and if the meat is bordering on decomposition, we may prevent it proceeding to a more advanced stage by immersing it in brine; still it is not in a condition fit for human consumption. ”

“ The action of these alkaline salts upon animal substances is, as already noticed, to abstract the water in the juices of the meat, and, being dissolved therein, the salts enter the pores of the animal substance; the albumen of the meat, which is more liable to putrefaction than the gelatine and fibrine, is thus rendered less so. There are two methods of salting, dry salting and pickling. In dry salting, the meat is packed in dry salt, or in some cases the surface is rubbed all over with salt. ”