MORE FROM THE MORTON SALT BOOK
(Page 7 of 10)
March/April 1973
By the Mother Earth News editors
The beef should be thoroughly chilled, fresh, and unfrozen. Cut the meat into uniform size pieces, about 6" to 8" squares, for curing.
RELATED CONTENT
MAKING THE CURING PICKLE Make the curing pickle by mixing at the rate of 2 lbs. Tender-Quick per gallon of water; stirring the Tender-Quick until it dissolves. The water should have been boiled and allowed to cool before using.
Use a clean crock or curing container for packing in the meat. After the meat is packed in the container, pour in the Tender-Quick curing pickle until the meat begins to shift. Place a weight on the meat and pour in enough additional pickle to fully cover the meat.
After the meat has been in the cure 5 or 6 days pour off the pickle and repack the meat, changing the position of the pieces by putting those that were on top at the bottom. Then weight the meat down and re-cover with the pickle.
The meat should remain in cure about 2 days per pound; for example 6 lb. pieces 12 days, 8 lb. pieces 16 days, 10 lb. pieces 20 days. etc. Smaller pieces will be ready to use in about a week.
Corned beef that is to be used up in a reasonable time after it is cured can be left in the pickle until used.
Corned beef that is to be kept for a long period of time may be canned, or it may be taken from the pickle, washed in tepid water, and thoroughly dried. Then wrap in parchment paper and hang in a cool, dry place.
Veal is the dressed carcass of a calf six to ten weeks old. The same general steps in butchering, skinning, and cutting beef can be followed for veal, except veal should not be kept off feed for longer than six to eight hours before butchering, and during this time should have plenty of fresh water. Veal from beef type cattle produces the nicest meat, as the calves are broader in form and more heavily muscled. Veal is very tender and is mostly lean meat. It contains very little fat. Veal also contains a high proportion of moisture and for that reason most of the carcass should be used up fresh. The heavier cuts can be lightly cured in a Tender-Quick pickle and canned.
The picture shows guide lines for making veal cuts after the carcass has been chilled. The sweetbreads, brains, and liver are choice parts that are used up first. The neck and shank are excellent for cutting into chunks and using for soups and stews.
The trimmings can be ground for veal loaf.
» wild game «
Much of the wild game harvested annually that reaches the sportsman's table is of low quality and off flavor. The primary cause of low quality, off flavor, taint or actual spoilage of wild game is due to improper field dressing, chilling and handling.
Wild game is highly perishable and as soon as an animal or bird has been felled by shot or arrow the natural bacteria in the blood and flesh start to multiply. These bacteria like to be comfortably warm. Given the right temperature they develop one multiply at a rapid page and taint or spoil the meat . . . chilled and kept cold their action is almost stopped.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 | 7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
Next >>
