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Title: Butchering and curing meats in China
Author: Levine, Carl Oscar
Language: English
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IN CHINA ***
Canton Christian College
BULLETIN NO. 27
BUTCHERING AND CURING
MEATS IN CHINA
BY
CARL OSCAR LEVINE
Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry
Canton, China
1921
Butchering and Curing Meats in China
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Origin of Meat Foods
Food Animals in China Section
Hogs 1
Cattle 2
Water Buffalo 3
Sheep and Goats 4
Poultry 5
Selection of Animals for Slaughter
Health 6
Condition 7
Breeding 8
Feeding 9
Age and Size for Killing 10
Preparation of the Animals for Slaughter
Bleeding and Dressing Hogs
Tools 11
Scalding Equipment 12
Killing the Hog 13
“Watered” Meat 14
Scalding and Scraping 15
Gutting 16
Cooling the Carcass 17
Cutting up the Carcass 18
Shoulders 19
Middle Part 20
Hams 21
Trimmings 22
Head 23
Feet 24
Killing and Dressing Beef
Tools 25
Stunning 26
Bleeding 27
Skinning and Gutting 28
Treatment of Hides 29
Killing and Dressing Sheep
Stunning and Bleeding 30
Skinning 31
Gutting 32
Bleeding and Dressing Poultry
Bleeding and Picking 33
Keeping Meat Fresh
Curing Meats: American Methods
Preparing the Meat for Curing 34
Vessels for Curing 35
Curing Agents 36
Wet and Dry Cures Compared
Recipes for Curing Meats
Corned Beef 37
Dried Beef 38
Plain Salt Pork 39
Dry Cured Pork 40
Sugar Cured Pork 41
Pork Sausage 42
Mixed Meat Sausage 43
Bologna Sausage 45
Smoked, or Country Sausage 46
Frankfort, or Vienna Sausage 47
Liver Sausage 48
Summer Sausage 49
Headcheese 50
Scrapple 51
Snow Packing 52
Partial Cooking 53
Rendering Lard 54
Smoked Meats 55
The Smoke House 56
The Fuel 57
Preparing Meat for Smoking 58
The Fire 59
Keeping Smoked Meats 60
Recipe for Yellow Wash 61
Chinese Meat Recipes
Bean Sauce Sausage (腊腸) 62
Pickle for Bean Sauce Sausage 63
Preparing the Meat for Sausage 64
Sausage Casing (腸衣) 65
Softening the Casing 66
Filling the Casing 67
Sunning and Drying 68
Season and Weather for Making Sausage 69
Lean Pork Sausage (瘦肉腸) 70
Liver Sausage (潤腸) 71
_Tung Koon_ Sausage (東莞腊腸) 72
Oyster Sauce Sausage (蠔油腸) 73
Catsup Sausage 74
Roast or Baked Sausage (火腸) 75
Cured Ham 76
Sun Dried Pork (瘦𦡳肉) 77
Pickled Pig’s Feet (札蹄) 78
Pickled Beef 79
Dried Rice Birds (腊禾花雀) 80
Pork Stuffed Liver (金銀潤) 81
_Lo Mei_ (鹵味) 82
Roast Meat (燒肉) 83
Dried Duck (𦡳鴨) 84
Puffed Pig Skin (豬皮) 85
Preface
This bulletin discusses the different methods, both Chinese and
foreign, of butchering and curing meats. The aim has been to present
the material in a practical way so as to be of value to the general
public as well as of special service in connection with the courses in
Meats offered at the Canton Christian College.
The writer realizes that this bulletin is not complete, in that the
subject, especially in regard to curing meats in different parts of
China, is far from exhausted. However, it is thought best to publish
in this form, and in a later edition to include additional material
which may be secured on the subject. Constructive criticism on this
bulletin will be received gladly.
The writer is especially indebted to the United States Department of
Agriculture for permission to use material from its publications.
Special acknowledgment is also due to Mr. Taam Sik Hung and Mr. W. L.
Funkhouser of the agricultural staff of the Canton Christian College,
who have made valuable suggestions in the preparation of the
manuscript, to agricultural students who have taken the course in
Meats under the writer’s supervision and have assisted in securing the
data on Chinese methods of curing meats, and to Mr. A. H. Holt,
Instructor of English in Canton Christian College, for his assistance
in reading the manuscript.
C. O. Levine
Butchering and Curing Meats in China
Introduction
The Chinese, like most people, are lovers of pork, beef, mutton, and
poultry, and consume these meats, both fresh and cured, in large
quantities each year.
Fresh meat is practically all consumed within a few miles of the
locality in which it is butchered. However large quantities of cured
meats, especially cured pork and duck, are shipped long distances from
the localities where they are cured. Cured hams and bacon are shipped
from Kuling north to Peking, and south to Canton. Yunnan exports to
Canton and other parts of China, to the Philippine Islands and other
countries to the south, a considerable quantity of home cured ham,
which is quite popular with the Chinese in those regions. On the other
hand, a good deal of cured ham and bacon is imported, chiefly from
Australia and England, to the various ports of China and finds its way
inland.
For a number of years Canton Christian College has been studying the
butchering and curing problems as they exist in southern China,
particularly in the region of Canton. Meats of various kinds have
been butchered and cured by the College. Both the foreign and
Chinese methods of handling the meat have been practiced and
studied. In this work special attention has been given to the
butchering and curing of pork.
The climate of Canton is one not especially well adapted to
curing meat. This is due to the fact that the temperature never falls
below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the coldest winter season.
Further, this low a temperature is not maintained more than a few
days of the winter season, and only at night. Before noon it usually
rises to 50 or 60, following even the coldest nights. In spite of the
fact that the temperature never gets very low, the work at the College
has demonstrated that it is possible to produce good cured meat, if
done properly, even without the use of ice. However there is some
risk of the meat spoiling without ice, and it is recommended,
especially in curing large pieces of meat, such as hams and shoulders,
that ice be used to facilitate the cooling of the meat before the cure
is applied.
Origin of Meat Foods
Man uses for his meat diet almost all classes of animal life. However,
the principal classes of animals that supply the human race with meat
food are: cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry, and, in China and southern
Europe, the buffalo. In Northern China the camel and in Western China
the yak are also used to some extent for food. Such animals as birds
(other than poultry), rabbits, fish and other forms of water life,
while of importance, do not provide as large a supply of meat food as
do the domesticated animals mentioned above.
Food Animals in China
The animals in China from which the main supply of meat comes are
swine, cattle, water buffalo, and poultry (including chickens, ducks,
and geese).
§ 1. Hogs
Hogs in China are of both the bacon and lard types. The lard type is
the most common, except in the provinces of Yunnan, Szechwan, and some
regions in central China, where the bacon type is found.
The Chinese lard hogs are characterized by their large, pendulous
bellies, sway-backs, light hams, and by their slowness in maturing.
They are inferior hogs when compared with the improved breeds of
Europe and America, but as a rule are better than the native hogs
found in other parts of the Orient. Their large bellies and low backs
are largely due to the fact that from the time the pigs begin to eat
until they are butchered, all concentrate feeds are given in the form
of a very wet swill, and they are allowed to drink all they can hold
of such feed twice a day. Such feeding stretches the digestive tract
to an abnormal degree, and permanently enlarges the belly and pulls
down the back. By giving less water with the feed, and not allowing
the pigs to fill up with all they can possibly hold, this abnormal
development can largely be prevented. Intelligent breeding for several
generations, by mating animals with the most desirable conformation,
such as straight backs, wide, deep hams, long, deep bodies, short
heads, and short legs, should bring about further improvement.
Breeding for fast growing and early maturing animals should also be
practiced, as the most profitable feeding is with young animals.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Heifer two years old of the native humped
variety]
[Illustration: Fig. 2. Beef-draft water buffalos with calves a few
weeks old]
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Chinese “fat-tailed” variety of sheep]
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Chinese lard hogs ready for butchering raised
at Canton Christian College]
It is interesting to note that years ago the native lard hog of
southern China was used to secure desirable characters in two of our
most important modern breeds, the Berkshire and the Poland China
breeds. However, since that time these western breeds have been
further greatly improved by intelligent selection and breeding, while
the Chinese hogs have been very little improved, if at all. To-day, in
comparing the native Chinese lard hog with the modern western breeds,
there is no resemblance in the Chinese hog to the wide, slightly
arched back, deep, long sides, deep, full hams, small heads, short
legs, and rapid growth of these modern breeds which have, in their
origin, blood of the native Chinese lard hog.
Due to slow maturity and undesirable conformation, the Chinese hog is
not as economical in converting feeds into meat as is the improved
western hog. However, the meat is of good flavor and can be
successfully cured. An exception to this is the case of animals that
have been largely fed on rice bran, which produces a soft, oily pork,
although no difficulty is experienced in curing such pork. Wheat bran
produces a firm flesh. If a firm flesh is desired, it is important
that rice bran or polish not be fed to hogs during the last six to
eight weeks of the fattening period.
§ 2. Cattle
The main source of beef in China is the native “humped” cow, called by
the people of southern China _Wong Ngau_ which means “yellow cow”.
This native variety of humped cattle is a good beef animal, although
there is room for a great deal of improvement by breeding for early
maturity, greater size, and development of a more distinctly beef type.
§ 3. Water Buffalo Beef
The water buffalo, while chiefly used for draft purposes, is an
important source of beef in China. There is very little difference in
quality between the Chinese buffalo beef and ordinary beef. However,
the lean meat of the buffalo is considerably darker in color than the
lean meat in ordinary beef.
Young stock, up to three years old, that have not been used for draft
purposes, are best for beef. Beef from buffalos or cattle that have
been used for work for some time before butchering is generally tough,
and less palatable than beef from animals that have not been worked.
§ 4. Sheep and Goats
In northern China, especially in the provinces of Shantung and Chihli,
the fat-tailed variety of sheep is raised to a considerable extent,
both for mutton and for wool. The covering of wool is light, however,
when compared with that of the wool breeds, and this sheep is properly
classed as a mutton sheep. They are so called because of their large
fat tails, which are about three to four inches thick, six to eight
inches wide, and eight to ten inches long. Fat-tailed sheep are
shipped by rail and by boat to many parts of China from the regions in
which they are raised.
The goat, while of less importance than the sheep as a source of meat,
is raised in limited numbers in many parts of China for meat purposes.
Meat from the goat is considered inferior to that from sheep.
§ 5. Poultry
The most common of all animal food in China is probably poultry. Many
varieties of chickens, ducks, and geese are raised. Some of the best
breeds of chickens for meat are the Langshang, from the Shanghai
region, of which there are two varieties, the black and the white; and
the Swatow, of which there are also two varieties, the white and buff.
These breeds are large and meaty, individuals weighing from five to
eight pounds. There is a number of other distinct breeds and varieties
of chickens, which, while they are not as good for meat as the above,
due to their smaller size, are used extensively for food.
In the region of Canton, the common variety of chickens used for
meat, and also for egg production, is a small buff-colored variety,
generally more or less mixed with other varieties. This variety,
which is called _wong kai_ (黃雞) by the Cantonese, is becoming very
popular in the Philippine Islands, where it is called the
“Cantonese” chicken because of its introduction from Canton.
The most common ducks of southern China are of a dark colored variety.
In north China the white Peking duck is the common variety. Both are
excellent for meat.
There are three varieties of Chinese geese; the grey, white,
and brown. The grey variety is probably more generally used for
meat than are the other two varieties. It is the only variety raised
on a large scale in southern China, and its meat is of excellent
quality. Chinese geese are distinguished from other breeds of geese
by the fleshy protuberance at the base of the bill and front of the
skull.
Selection of Animals for Slaughter
§ 6. Health
In the selection of animals for slaughter health should be given first
consideration. Even though the animal has been fairly fed and carries
a prime finish, the best quality of meat cannot be obtained if the
animal is unhealthy. If the animal has fever or serious derangement of
any kind, the meat will not be wholesome. There is little direct
evidence of harmful results from the use of animals in the first
stages of such diseases as tuberculosis, cholera, plague, rinderpest,
and such diseases, but the only safe course is to discourage the use
of any animal for food that is known to be in imperfect health. The
keeping qualities of meat are always impaired by fever or other
derangements of the system. Bruises, broken limbs, and like accidents
all have the same effect on the meat as ill health, and unless the
animal can be dressed immediately after such accidents, it is best not
to use the meat for food. This is especially true if the rise in
temperature, which usually results from such accidents, has been 2
degrees F. or more. A rise in temperature just before slaughtering
usually results in a stringy, bluish meat, which is difficult to cure.
Animals should not be butchered while in heat, as the meat of such
animals will be strong, and cannot be cured, as it sours quickly.
§ 7. Condition
First class meat cannot be obtained from animals in poor flesh.
The proper amount of fat must be present to give juiciness and
flavor to the meat. It is more important, however, that the animal
should be in good physical condition than that it should be very
fat. “Never kill an animal when it is losing flesh” is a maxim
followed by butchers. There is a good deal of truth in the saying.
When the animal is losing in flesh, the muscle fibers are shrinking
in volume and contain correspondingly less water. As a result, the
meat is tougher and drier. When an animal is gaining in flesh, the
opposite condition prevails, and a better quality of meat results.
Also, a better quality of meat will be obtained from an animal in
medium flesh, but gaining in weight, than from a very fat animal
that is neither gaining nor losing in flesh.
§ 8. Breeding
Because of careless selection of breeding stock, most of the hogs in
the region of Canton have low backs, large bellies, scant hams, never
produce the best quality of meat, and have a low dressing percentage.
The improved hog with a level or slightly arched wide back, long,
deep, smooth sides, full hams, and short neck and head, has meat of
the best quality, and such hogs have the highest dressing percentage.
Fine bone, soft hair, and mellow flesh, qualities generally found in
well bred animals, are desired in all animals used for meat, as they
indicate meat of a good quality, with a minimum of waste.
§ 9. Feeding
The kind of food the hog gets during the last six or eight weeks of
the fattening period largely determines the flavor and the character
of the meat. During that period, it is best not to feed very much of
rice bran, or peanut cake, as when such feeds are given they produce
very soft, oily fat. Wheat bran and corn produce a firm fat, and one
or the other, or both together, should constitute a large part of the
grain ration for the fattening hog.
§ 10. Age and Size for Killing
It is a well known fact that meat from an old animal is very likely to
be tough and difficult to cook sufficiently to make it tender. On the
other hand, meat from very young animals is watery and often lacks
flavor. An old animal in good condition is to be preferred to a young
one in poor condition. Hogs can be killed for meat any time after six
weeks, but the most profitable age at which to slaughter is from eight
to ten months. Hogs at that age have a higher dressing percentage than
when younger. Gain in weight is made at a lower cost in young animals
than in older animals. For this reason, it is not advisable to keep a
hog much longer than twelve months, or a beef animal more than two
years, unless feed is very cheap.
If the pork is to be cured, the hogs for butchering should weigh from
one hundred and thirty to two hundred pounds. Larger hogs can be
butchered conveniently, although a hog much heavier will be more
difficult to handle.
In southern China, where the day temperature is seldom below sixty
degrees Fahrenheit during the butchering season, a difficulty in
cooling the meat will be experienced, unless ice is used, and if the
meat is not properly cooled it will not cure well.
Chickens have the most tender meat at the age of three to six months,
depending on the variety, and at that age sell for the highest price.
Poultry that have just reached maturity are best for curing.
Preparation of the Animals for Slaughter
It is important that the animal to be slaughtered should not be given
food from twenty to thirty hours before slaughtering. If kept on full
feed until just before it is killed the circulatory system is gorged,
and the blood, loaded with assimilated nutrients is driven to the
extremities of the capillaries. In such condition, it is impossible to
drain the veins thoroughly, and a reddish colored, unattractive
carcass will result. Food in the digestive tract decomposes very
rapidly after the animal is killed, and when the dressing is slow the
gases from such decomposing food are apt to flavor the meat.
Water should be given freely up to the time of slaughter, as it helps
to keep the temperature normal and helps to wash the waste matter from
the system, resulting in a nicely colored carcass.
The care of the animals before slaughter has considerable effect on
the meat. They should not be excited in any way sufficiently to raise
the body temperature. Excitement will prevent proper draining of the
blood vessels, and, if extreme, will cause souring of the meat on
curing. An animal should never be killed immediately after it has been
heated by a hard run. It is better to let such an animal rest until
the next day rather than to run the risk of the meat spoiling, as the
meat of an animal that has been overheated will not keep well. Such
meat is usually of pale color and very often will become sour or
putrid within three or four days after it has been dressed, even
though kept near the freezing point while it is being cured.
Care should be taken not to bruise the animals in handling them just
before killing. Bruises cause the blood to settle in the part of the
carcass affected, presenting an uninviting appearance, besides
affecting the curing qualities of the meat.
Before killing, a twenty-five hour fast, plenty of clean water,
careful handling and rest, are all important items in securing the
best quality of meat, either for cooking fresh or for curing purposes.
Bleeding and Dressing Hogs
§ 11. Tools
The essential tools for doing good work at killing time are: A good
sticking knife, a cleaver, a 14-inch steel on which to sharpen the
knives, hog hooks, bell-shaped scrapers, meat saw, and gambrel. More
than one of each tool is necessary if many hogs are to be butchered
and handled efficiently. A block and tackle will reduce labor in
hanging the hog for gutting.
§ 12. Scalding Equipment
In China, the water for scalding is heated in a sort of a furnace
commonly called _t’ong chue ts’o_. (劏豬灶). The furnace is made of
brick and concrete, or concrete only. It is usually about thirty-six
inches wide, six feet long, and twenty-eight inches high at one end,
gradually sloping to about twenty-six inches high near the other end,
where a large brass or iron basin for holding water is placed over a
fire grate. The basin in which the water is heated is usually about
twenty inches in diameter, eight inches deep in the center, and
diminishing in depth from the center to the rim. The shallow basin
with large contact with the fire obtains quick heating and saving of
fuel. The top of the furnace is made to slope from all sides toward
the bowl so that, when hot water is poured on the hog which lies on
the table, the water runs back into the basin.
§ 13. Killing the Hog
All tools and apparatus used in killing and handling the animal should
be ready before it is killed. The knives and saws should be sharp and
clean. The water should be near the boiling point and the block and
tackle ready, if one is to be used.
The common and most satisfactory method of killing the hog is by
severing the large arteries and veins in the neck of the animal with a
sticking knife about nine inches long. The animal should be laid on
its back and held firmly while it is being stuck. Two men can handle
a large hog if they work intelligently. By reaching under the animal and
grasping the opposite legs and suddenly jerking the legs, a heavy hog
can be easily turned over on its back. One man standing astride the
animal with his feet close against its sides, and holding the front
legs, can easily control it while the other does the sticking.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. Tools Used by Chinese in Butchering.
Lower Row Right to Left.
Sticking knife.
Cutting and scraping knives.
Heavy knife for cutting meat.
Knife for cutting bone.
Cleaver.
Funnel for Stuffing sausage casing.
Hook used in handling meat that is being roasted.
Tool used in roasting meat.
Upper Row Right to Left.
Cork with needles for pricking casing when it is being filled
in order to let out the air.
Hooks for handling carcass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Hog scraped and hung up for gutting]
[Illustration: Fig. 7. Scraping the hog on the “_t’ong chue t’so_”]
It is a common custom with Chinese butchers to lay the hog across a
narrow bench for sticking. This requires more handling of the animal
then when the animal is simply turned over on its back on the floor,
or on a low table or box for the sticking.
The sticking knife should have a blade eight or nine inches long. In
America, a knife with straight edges, which at the end tapers to a
point is used, while in China, a knife tapering from two inches wide
at the handle to a long, narrow point is used. Either type of knife
will do. The knife should be thrust diagonally into the neck for about
six to eight inches of its length, depending on the size of the hog.
It should be inserted on the middle line of the body, about three or
four inches in front of the sternum, with the sharp edge of the knife
toward the rear and the knife pointed in the direction of the loin of
the hog. One hand of the operator should be held on the lower jaw of
the hog to help hold the animal steady. It will require a little
practice to stick properly. If rightly done, the large blood vessels
will be severed, the animal will bleed quickly, and be dead in less
than five minutes.
In large packing houses, where each man has a certain piece of work to
do, the hogs are hung by one leg upon a moving over-head track. As the
hogs move by the killer, he grasps one front leg with one hand, and,
with the other hand, does the sticking. Such an arrangement is
practical where a large number of hogs is killed daily.
§ 14. “Watered” Meat
There is a very common practice in China of increasing the weight of
the dressed hog carcass by forcing water into the meat as soon as the
blood has drained away and the scraping is finished. Water is forced
in through the large blood vessels leading away from the heart. To do
this properly, care is taken in sticking not to sever the large blood
vessels from the heart. This is accomplished by using a long, narrow
sticking knife, which is thrust into the heart itself. The animal thus
stuck bleeds into the chest cavity, which is not desirable, as the
bleeding will not be as thorough as when the large blood vessels only
are severed. The carcass of the hog may be increased several pounds by
this treatment. It is difficult to detect from the appearance of the
pork whether or not it has been watered. On roasting, watered meat
shrinks more than normal meat. Watered meat will spoil quicker than
normal meat, and will not cure well. The practice of “watering” meat
should be discouraged.
§ 15. Scalding and Scraping
An soon as the hog is dead, it must be scalded and the hair and scurf
quickly removed. The animal is then placed on the top of the _t’ong
chue ts’o_. The head and shoulders are scalded first. They should be
immersed in the water, which should be from 185 to 190 degrees
Fahrenheit. If the water is hotter, the hair will set. Care should be
taken to keep the carcass constantly moving by turning it from side to
side, in other to get a uniform scald and not to allow the carcass to
stay in contact with the bottom of the bowl in which the water is
being heated. Occasionally it should be removed from the water and the
hair “tried”. As soon as the hair and scurf slip easily, the scalding
is complete. The hind quarters are scalded in the same manner. The
head and feet should be scraped first, as the hair sets on those parts
first. Two or three pounds of wood ashes put in the water will help
loosen the scurf. Proper scalding and scraping require fast work. If
the carcass gets cold before the hair has been removed, the hair will
set and have to be removed by shaving with a sharp knife. For
scraping, the candle-stick or bell-shaped scraper is best. What cannot
be removed with it, can be removed with a sharp, curved knife.
In America when only from one to three hogs are butchered
at a time the custom is to heat the water in a large kettle over a stove
or out-door fire. The hot water is poured into a barrel which is
tipped at an angle with the top of the table, the top of the table being
level with the lower side of the top of the barrel. The hog is
slid into the barrel, first the head end, and then the rear end. The
body is kept in motion by pulling it up and down until it is scalded,
and the hair and scurf slip well. This is a quick method of scalding
as much of the hog can be immersed in the water at one time,
but it requires more labor than does the method of scalding with the
_t’ong chue ts’o_.
In large packing houses, the hogs are automatically scalded and
scraped, by being drawn through a tube filled with water of the proper
temperature. Stiff brushes on the inside of the tube remove the hair
and scurf as the hog passes through.
§ 16. Gutting
The entrails of the hog may be removed with the hog lying on a table,
as is the common practice in the Canton region. The hog should be
propped so that it lies on its back. However, it is more conveniently
done with the hog hung up by its hind legs. To hang up the hog
requires what is known as a gambrel, which may be simply a strong
stick, pointed at the ends, about an inch and a half in diameter and
eighteen inches long, a block and tackle, and a secure place
over-head, about nine feet high, for attaching one end of the tackle.
With a sharp knife, the cords in the hind legs just above the
dew claws are separated from the bone enough to allow inserting the
sharpened end of the gambrel, and thus spreading the legs. The gambrel
should have a hook or ring in the center for attaching it to one end
of a block and tackle. The carcass is then lifted so that the head end
clears the floor or ground about four inches. A better and more
convenient gambrel may be made of iron and adjustable for hogs of
different sizes.
After the hog is hung up, clean water should be poured on it and it
should then be scraped clean of all remaining patches of hair, scurf,
or dirt. The head should then be removed by cutting through the flesh
to the atlas joint where the neck joins the head, cutting entirely
around the neck about an inch back of the ears. If the head does not
drop off, it can be easily removed by grasping it by the ears and
twisting it.
If removing the entrails, first cut through the flesh between the hind
legs, to the bone, and split the pelvic bones with a saw or cleaver.
Cutting through the bone is easily done if the cut through the flesh
is made on the midline between the hind legs, as the bone is very thin
at that point. Cut through the flesh down the midline of the belly
toward the head, to the breastbone. In doing this, care should be
taken not to cut the intestines, which lie just beneath the thick
layer of fat meat. By shielding the point of the knife with the left
hand and guiding it with the right, there is little danger of cutting
the intestines. The entrails are now exposed, and the fat from around
the stomach should be removed. This fat is strong in flavor and should
not be mixed with the leaf fat. Cut around the anus close to the tail
and strip the rectum from its attachment to the back bone. A string
should be tightly tied around the end of the rectum and the urethra so
that there will be no danger of the contents of the intestines or
bladder soiling the meat. If the animal is a male, care should be
taken not to cut the penis in making the cut down the midline of the
body and between the hind legs. The penis should be stripped from the
fat in which it is embedded, and thrown over the back of the animal
out of the way of the butcher. Then remove the stomach and intestines
by cutting across the gullet, after first pulling the gullet up into
the chest cavity. Remove the liver from its attachment to the
intestines and remove the gall bladder from its attachment to the
liver. Care should be taken not to cut the gall bladder. Now cut
through the breast bone, beginning at the front end and cutting upward
with a knife through the flesh to the bone. The bone is best cut with
a saw, and the cut should be made upward. The “pluck”, which consists
of the heart, lungs, and gullet, is removed by cutting across the
artery which can be easily seen running down the backbone, and by
cutting around the diaphragm close to the ribs. Split the backbone
with a saw to facilitate cooling. In cutting, a knife should always be
used for cutting through the flesh before the saw is used. If the saw
is used for cutting the meat, the cut surface of the meat will have a
rough, unattractive appearance.
§ 17. Cooling the Carcass
As a rule, the butchers in Canton cut up the carcass immediately after
gutting. This may be necessary in a warm climate where no ice is used
to facilitate cooling, in order to prevent the meat from souring, but
the meat handles much better if it is cooled before it is cut up. This
may be done during the cold weather of the winter season by butchering
in the evening and allowing the carcass to cool over night, or by
placing the meat in a refrigerator, at a temperature of from 34 to 40
degrees Fahrenheit. Freshly killed meat absorbs odors very readily and
there should be no fresh paint, tar, kerosene, or like substances near
the fresh meat.
[Illustration: Fig. 8. A good lard hog. Note the full back and hams,
short neck, deep sides, short legs, and excellent quality]
[Illustration: Fig. 9. Dressed carcass: 1, hams; 2, bacon; 3, fatback;
4, shoulder; 5, jowl; 6, shoulder butt; 7, leaf lard; 8, ribs;
9, fat back and chops; 10, head.]
§ 18. Cutting up the Carcass
After the two halves of the carcass have been cooled, they may be
placed on a table with the meat side up. The front legs are removed
about an inch above the knee and the hind legs about an inch above the
hock. Immediately remove the leaf lard and the kidneys, all in one
piece, so as to facilitate cooling, using the hands to strip the leaf
lard from its attachment to the sides. Strip out the tenderloin.
Divide each half of the carcass into three parts, the shoulders,
middle and hams. For cutting through the flesh, a heavy knife with a
curved blade is best. A saw should be used in cutting through the
bone. Cutting should be across the grain of the meat as much as is
possible, in order that the meat will carve better after cooking.
§ 19. Shoulders
The shoulder cut is made between the fourth and fifth ribs, where the
ribs leave the backbone. The cut should be made at right angles with
the top and bottom edges of the middle piece in order to make a
rectangular middle piece. This necessitates a diagonal cut across the
end of the fourth rib. If the shoulders are to be cured, remove the
ribs and the backbone from the shoulder piece. Cut close to the ribs
in removing them in order to leave as much meat on the shoulder as is
possible. Cut off the top of the shoulder with about one and one-half
inches of the cartilage and bone at the top. This removes most of the
fat meat and trims the shoulder for curing. The shoulder should be
further trimmed by cutting off rough parts with a sharp knife.
§ 20. Middle Part
Separate the hams from the middle by cutting just back of the
beginning of the rise in the backbone. The ribs should be separated
from the side meat. If it is desired to make pork chops, care should
be taken to leave the long muscle on either side of the backbone
attached to the backbone and ribs. The end of the ribs should then be
cut off with a cleaver, leaving about three inches of the ribs
attached to the backbone to form part of the chops. In preparing the
chops for roasting, cuts should be made through the meat between the
ribs and between the vertebrae.
It is the custom for butchers in Canton to remove all the meat from
the ribs and backbone. The sides are then cut into strips about one
inch wide, cutting from the top to the bottom, and used, fresh or
cured. The ribs and backbone are then cut into small parts and
prepared in a very tasty way with a sweet dressing. The dish prepared
in this manner is known as _chue p’aai kwat_ (豬排骨).
If the side meat is to be made into cured bacon, the first method of
separating the ribs from the meat is followed. This leaves the side
meat about one and a half to two inches thick. The strip of pure fat
meat along the top, known as the fat back, the strip of belly fat at
the bottom, up to, and including the teats, should be removed. The
middle piece which is left after thus trimming, is used for making
cured bacon. The fat back and the belly strip can be used for lard.
§ 21. Hams
If the hams are to be cured, all sharp points should be smoothed off,
giving a neat, rounded shape to the ham.
§ 22. Trimmings
The small pieces of meat cut from the shoulders, hams, and middle
pieces in trimming, maybe used fresh, or made into sausage. The fat of
the trimmings may be used for making lard.
§ 23. Head
The fattest part of the head may be used for lard, or cut into strips
about three quarters of an inch wide and cured, or it may be used for
making sausage or head cheese. The snout, ears, and tongue may be used
fresh or pickled.
§ 24. Feet
The small amount of meat on the feet is considered very delicious. The
feet may be either cooked for immediate use, or they may be pickled.
Killing and Dressing Beef
§ 25. Tools
The following tools are necessary for killing and dressing cattle: an
ax, an 8-inch sticking knife, a skinning knife, a steel for sharpening
the knives, a 28-inch meat saw, gambrel, and a block and tackle for
hoisting up the carcass.
§ 26. Stunning
The first step in killing and dressing beef is to secure the animal so
that it cannot possibly break loose. A strong halter, or new half-inch
rope, tied around the neck and with one end tied to a ring in the
floor, or to a tree, works very well. If the animal has a ring or a
bar through the nose, as most cattle have in China, it should be
further secured by tying with a strong rope attached to the ring or
bar. The animal should be tied very short so that it cannot move its
head to any extent.
Stunning is done in two ways. One method is to strike a heavy blow
with a stunning ax, weighing about three pounds, made especially for
the purpose, with an extension head about an inch in diameter which
readily crashes through the bone covering the brain, and into the
brain itself. The blow should be struck in the center of the forehead.
An ordinary ax with a long handle, can be used, although the kind
described above is best, in that it is sure to stun the animal, and
thus is most humane. The other method which is commonly used in
southern China, is to strike just back of the poll, and dislocate the
atlas joint. This is just as effective as a blew on the forehead, if
the blow is struck with enough force. Water buffalos have a very hard
skull and for this reason are sometimes shot. The end of the gun
should be held close to the head and carefully aimed at a point in the
center of the forehead, where lines would cross if drawn from the base
of the right horn to the left eye, and from the base of the left horn
to the right eye.
§ 27. Bleeding
The animal should be bled immediately after stunning or shooting. To
do this properly requires practice. With the stunned animal lying
stretched out on the floor, stand at its throat with the back toward
its body. Place one foot against the jaw, and with the other hold back
the front legs of the animal. Reaching down between the feet, lay open
the skin from the breast toward the chin for a distance of about ten
inches, using the ordinary skinning knife. Insert the knife with the
back against the breastbone and the tip directed toward the spinal
column at the top of the shoulders, cutting just under the windpipe,
and about five or six inches deep. The vein and the artery cross at
this point, and if they are severed, the blood will flow out very
rapidly. When the vein has been cut below the windpipe, run a knife in
on top of the windpipe and sever the blood vessels on that side also.
If stuck too deep, the pleura will be punctured and the blood will
flow into the chest cavity, causing a bloody carcass, which is not
desirable.
The animal will bleed out if the blood vessels on one side only are
cut, but it will bleed more quickly if those on both sides are
severed. A little practice is required to do it properly, but when
once learned it is not easily forgotten.
Bleeding can be accomplished, but not so rapidly, if the throat of the
animal is simply cut, just back of the jaws.
§ 28. Skinning and Gutting
Begin skinning the carcass as it lies on its side, by splitting the
skin down the face from the poll to the nose. Skin the face back over
the eyes on both sides and down over the cheeks. Cut around the base
of the horns, leaving the ears on the hide. Split the skin from the
chin down the throat to meet the incision made in bleeding. Skin jaws,
sides of neck, and a little distance back of poll. Remove the head by
cutting from just back of jaws to the depression back of the poll. The
atlas joint will be found at this point, and may be easily unjointed
by cutting the ligaments which hold it in place.
The carcass should then be rolled on its back and held there by a
small stick about three feet long, with a sharp spike at the ends. One
end should be stuck in the floor, and the other end braced against the
brisket.
Split the skin over the back of the fore legs from between the dew
claws to a point three or four inches above the knee. Skin around the
knee and the shin, unjointing the knee at the lowest articulation, and
skin clear down to the hoof. The brisket and forearms should not be
skinned until the carcass is hung up. Cut across the cord over the
hind shin to release the foot. Split the skin from the dew claws to
the hocks, and up the rear part of the thigh to a point four or six
inches back of the cod or udder. Skin the hock and the shin, removing
the leg at the lowest joint of the hock. In splitting the skin over
the hock, the knife should be turned down flat with the edge pointing
outward to avoid gashing the flesh. While the carcass is stretched
flat, it is well to skin down over the rear of the lower thigh, but no
attempt should be made to skin the outside of the thigh until the hind
quarters are raised. After the legs are skinned, split the skin over
the midline from the breast to the rectum.
Begin at the flanks and skin along the midline until the side is
nicely started. Then, with a sharp knife held nearly flat against the
surface, and the hide stretched tightly, remove the skin down over the
sides with steady, downward strokes of the knife. It is important that
the skin be stretched tight with no wrinkles in it. Care should be
taken to leave the covering of muscle over the abdomen on the carcass.
Its presence on the hide is not entirely objectionable, but the
carcass looks better and keeps better with it on. In “siding” a beef,
it is customary to go down nearly to the backbone, leaving the skin
attached at the thighs and at the shoulders. Skin over the buttock and
as far down the rump as possible. Care should be taken at all times to
avoid cutting into the flesh, or tearing the membranes covering it. If
the meat is to be kept fresh for any length of time, mould will form
in such cut places and will be hard to clean off. A coarse cloth and a
pail of hot water should be handy while skinning, and all blood spots
should be wiped from the surface. The cloth should be wrung nearly dry
for this purpose, and the less water used the better.
Open the carcass at the belly with a knife and pull the small
intestines out to one side. Open the brisket and pelvis with a saw or
sharp ax. Raise the windpipe and the gullet and cut loose the pleura
and diaphragm along the lower part of the cavity. The carcass is now
ready to raise. Make an opening with a knife between the large tendon
and the bone just above the hocks. Insert the ends of a single tree in
the openings thus made. Hook one end of a block and tackle in the ring
in the center of the single tree and hoist until the hind quarters
clear the ground several inches. A gambrel, similar to the one used in
hanging up a hog carcass, though larger and stronger, may be used
instead of a single tree.
While the carcass is in this position, loosen the rectum and small
intestines and allow them to drop down over the paunch. The fat lining
the pelvis and the kidney fat should not be disturbed or mutilated.
The intestines are attached to the liver, from which they may be
separated with a knife. The paunch is attached to the back at the left
side. It should be pressed down with sufficient force to tear it
loose. Let it roll out on to the ground or floor, and cut off or draw
out the gullet. Raise the carcass a little higher and take out the
liver, first removing the gall bladder. Remove the diaphragm, lungs,
and heart, and finish skinning over the shoulders, arms and neck. Wipe
off all blood and dirt with a cloth. Split the carcass into halves
with a saw, a cleaver, or a sharp ax. Wash out the inside of the chest
cavity with warm water, and wipe it dry. Trim off all bloody veins or
any scraggy pieces of the neck, and leave the beef to cool before
cutting it into quarters.
§ 29. Treatment of Hides
The skins of cattle represent considerable value if properly treated.
To save them in the north where cold weather prevails during the
butchering season is not difficult, as they can be rolled up and kept
frozen until disposed of. However, in the warm seasons, they should be
spread out flat, hair side down, the legs, flanks, etc. stretched, and
all parts rubbed thoroughly with salt. Particular pains should be
taken to treat the entire surface of the skin. If more than one skin
is to be salted, they should be salted one at a time and should be
spread one on top of the other, with the hair sides together, and the
skin sides together. Where only one hide is handled, the legs and head
should be folded in and the hide rolled up. Enough salt should be used
to cure the hide thoroughly if it is to be kept for any length of
time. Ten to twelve pounds of salt will be sufficient for an ordinary
hide.
Killing and Dressing Sheep
Much of the sheepy flavor of mutton comes from the generation of
gases in the stomach after the sheep is killed. For this reason, the
sheep should always be dressed as rapidly as possible. A platform
about eighteen inches high is convenient to work on and aids in
keeping the blood away from the body, insuring a cleaner carcass. A
clean, dry place is necessary for neat work. Water or blood on the
wool makes it very difficult to dress the animal nicely.
§ 30. Stunning and Bleeding
If the sheep is an old one, it may be stunned before bleeding. If a
young one, the same purpose is served by dislocating the neck. This is
accomplished by putting one hand on top of the head or poll and the
other hand under the chin and giving a sharp twist upward. Then lay
the sheep on its side on the platform, with its head hanging over one
end. Grasp the chin in the left hand and stick a knife through the
neck just back of the lower jaw. The cutting edge of the knife should
be turned to the spinal column and the cut be made through the flesh
to the bone. In this way it is possible to sever the blood vessels
without cutting the windpipe.
§ 31. Skinning
Split the skin over the back of the front legs from the dew claws to a
little above the knees. Open the skin over the windpipe from brisket
to chin, starting it slightly on the sides of the neck. Split the skin
over the back of the hind legs to midline, and skin the buttock. The
skin should also be raised over the cod and flanks. Skin around the
hocks and down to the hoofs, cutting off the hind feet at the toe
joints. No attempt should be made to skin the legs above the hocks
until after the carcass is hung up. Hang the sheep up by the hind legs
and split the skin over the midline. Start at the brisket and “fist
off” the skin. This is done by grasping the edge of the pelt firmly in
one hand, pulling it up tight and working the other close between the
pelt and the body. The “fisting off” should be downward over the fore
quarter and upward and backward over the hind quarters and legs. It is
unwise to pull down on the skin over the hind legs, as the membrane
covering the flesh is sure to be ruptured and an unsightly appearance
given to the carcass. The wool should always be held away from the
flesh for the sake of cleanliness. The skin on the legs should be
pulled away from the body, rather than toward it, in order to preserve
the covering of the meat. When the pelt has been loosened over the
sides and back, it should be stripped down over the neck and cut off
close to the ears. The head may then be removed without being skinned
by cutting through the atlas joint.
§ 32. Gutting
Begin removing the entrails by cutting around the rectum and allowing
it to drop down the inside of the carcass. Do not split the pelvis.
Open down the belly line from the cod to the breastbone, and take out
the paunch and the intestines, leaving the liver attached to the
diaphragm. The heart, lungs and diaphragm may either be removed or
allowed to remain in the carcass. Reach up into the pelvis and pull
out the bladder. Wipe all blood and dirt from the carcass with a
coarse cloth wrung nearly dry from hot water. Double up the front legs
and slip over the ankle joint the little cord which is found by
cutting into the fleshy part of the forearm.
Bleeding and Dressing Poultry
§ 33. Bleeding and Picking
When only a few chickens are to be dressed, the simplest way of
bleeding is to chop off the head with an ax or cleaver. They should be
scalded at once and picked. Scalding causes the muscles at the base of
the feathers to relax, so the feathers come out easily. After picking,
the skin can be made firm by plunging the bird in cold water. The crop
and intestines should be removed as soon as the skin is cooled.
If the bird is to be dry picked, it should be bled by cutting the
blood vessels in the head and puncturing the brain. For this
purpose, a scalpel or a small knife, is used. The instrument must be
pointed and very sharp. The bird is grasped by the head with the
left hand, and with the right hand the scalpel is thrust upward
inside the mouth at the back of the throat. If done properly, the
bird will bleed almost as fast as when the entire head is removed.
The knife should be thrust clear through to the brain so the bird
will be stunned. Stunning the bird in this way has the same effect
as scalding, in that it causes the muscles at the base of the
feathers to relax so that the feathers can be easily plucked out. If
the bird is not stunned, the feathers will not pull out so readily.
The bird should be hung up by the feet and picked immediately,
before the body gets cold and the feathers set. A few at a time
should be grasped between the thumb and first finger, and the pull
should be upward and backward, in the direction which the feathers
naturally lie.
Turkeys, geese and ducks are usually bled and dry picked. Immediately
after bleeding they should be suspended from a hook and picked, in the
same way that a fowl is dry picked.
Owing to the thickness of the feathers on ducks and geese, dry picking
with them is usually a slower process than with other birds. After
bleeding, a cloth should be wrapped around the head to catch the
blood, so that the feathers will not become bloody. The goose or duck
should then be laid on a board on the top of an open barrel or jar,
and the feathers dropped into the vessel as they are picked. The
coarse wing feathers should be kept separate from the softer feathers.
When the feathers have been removed the short down may removed by
singeing with a gasoline or alcohol flame. A hot flame should not be
used, as it will give an oily appearance to the skin.
When it is not desired to save the feathers, quicker work may be done
by scalding the birds and wrapping them for a few minutes in a sack or
blanket to steam. Since there is danger of their being steamed too
much, they should be closely watched, and, as soon as the feathers
come out readily, they are ready to be picked, singed, and then cooled
by plunging into cold water. The sudden cooling hardens the skin.
Keeping Meat Fresh
In the sub-tropical climate of Canton, it is difficult to keep meat
fresh for any length of time without the use of ice. With a room
temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and above, meat will keep fresh
but a few hours. If placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of
from 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it will keep fresh for a week to ten
days. Dry air should circulate freely through the refrigerator.
Moisture in the refrigerator tends to develop mould, which is apt to
cause decomposition of the meat. A little decay will soon contaminate
a large amount of meat.
In the north, meat may be kept fresh during the cold season by
freezing it solid. The carcass may be cut into quarters or smaller
pieces and hung in an open outbuilding where it will freeze solid, and
remain frozen until the weather begins to warm up in the spring.
Whenever a piece is wanted it can be removed with a saw. Rapid thawing
of frozen meat greatly injures its flavor. If the meat is thawed out
slowly in a cold room, the flavor of the meat will not be injured.
Meat can be kept frozen for months if kept in cold room, or in a
refrigerator with a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and with
proper ventilation provided.
Curing Meats: American Methods
§ 34. Preparing the Meat for Curing
Meat should be thoroughly cooled before it is cured, or it will spoil.
The proper time to begin curing is when the meat is cooled and still
fresh. Twenty to thirty hours after killing is the proper time to
begin the cure. If salted before the animal heat has left it, the
shrinkage of muscles causes a retention of gases, and gives an
offensive odor to the meat. The meat should not be frozen, as the cure
will not penetrate such meat evenly, and an uneven curing will result.
Tainted meat may be cured so that it will keep, but no system of
curing will bring back the natural flavor of the meat, if it is once
lost.
§ 35. Vessels for Curing
Vitrified clay jars, with straight sides, similar to the jars used for
fermenting beans in making soy bean sauce, are the best vessels for
containing the meat. These jars, large enough to hold conveniently the
hams, shoulders, and sides of two hogs, are best for curing meat for
the first time, and the meat can be watched and cared for better in
small jars than in large jars containing more meat. In America, where
such jars are expensive, it is the custom to use a clean, hardwood
barrel for the purpose. One that has been used for syrup or molasses
is best. If a kerosene or tar barrel is used, it should be first
thoroughly burned out, and used as a water barrel for some time before
it is used for meat. Vitrified clay jars are preferred to wooden
barrels as they are cleaned more readily. If meat has once spoiled in
a wooden barrel, the vessel should not be used again for containing
meat. Vessels that are used repeatedly for curing meat should be
scalded thoroughly each time before packing with fresh meat.
§ 36. Curing Agents
Salt, saltpeter, sugar or molasses, and a variety of spices are the
principal preservatives used in curing meat. Borax, formalin,
salicylic acid, and other chemicals are sometimes used. However, as
they are considered by many authorities to be injurious to the health,
their use should be avoided. Baking soda is used in wet pickles to
check the growth of mould.
When salt alone is applied to meat, it draws out the meat juices and
contracts the muscle fibers, making the meat very hard and dry. The
action of the sugar or the molasses is to soften the muscle fibers and
improve the texture and flavor of the meat, hence the combination of
sugar and salt make a good cure. Saltpeter is used to preserve the
natural red color of the meat. It should be used in small quantities
only, as it is very astringent, and, if used in large quantities is
apt to be injurious to the health.
Wet and Dry Cures Compared
A wet cure is more convenient than a dry cure. It is less trouble to
pack the meat in a jar or barrel and pour on the prepared wet pickle
than it is to go over the meat three or four times and rub in the
spices. The brine method also gives protection from insects. However,
in warm weather, the brine has to be watched very closely, and, if
mould forms on the surface of the pickle, it should be removed every
day or two. The brine also needs to be recooked every week or ten days
in warm weather to prevent undesirable bacteria from growing in it. A
cool, dry room is the best for either brine or dry curing. In a dry
atmosphere below 60 degrees Fahrenheit there is very little danger of
the meat becoming sour, although a temperature below 40 degrees is
better.
Recipes for Curing Meat
§ 37. Corned Beef
Any piece of beef can be used for corning, but the cheaper cuts are
the parts generally used for this purpose. The plate, rump, and parts
of the chuck are generally used, although the ribs, loin, and round
may also be used. The pieces for corning should be cut into pieces of
convenient size, say four or five inches square. If they are cut much
larger, they well not cure very well as the pickle will not work in
soon enough. They should be cut as nearly the same size as is possible
so they will pack in even layers in the barrel or jar.
When as the meat is thoroughly cooled, it should be corned as quickly
as possible. Weigh the meat and allow 10 pounds of salt for each 100
pounds of meat. Sprinkle a layer of salt a half inch deep over the
bottom of the jar in which the meat is to be placed. Rub each piece of
meat with good, clean salt. Pack each layer of meat closely in the
bottom of the jar, and sprinkle a layer of salt one-fourth to one-half
inch deep on each layer of meat before the following layer of meat is
placed in the jar, and cover the top layer of meat with a good layer
of salt. After it has stood over night, cover with a brine made as
follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, use four pounds of
sugar, six ounces baking soda, and eight ounces of saltpeter. Dissolve
in a gallon of water that has been boiled and cooled until it is
tepid. Three gallons more of boiled, tepid water should then be added.
Meat from fat animals makes choicer corned beef than that from poor
animals. Under no circumstances should meat be corned while it is
frozen.
In case of more or less than one hundred pounds of meat to be corned,
make the brine in the proportion given. The meat should be weighted
down with a board and stone so that all the meat is well beneath the
surface of the brine. In case any of the meat projects above the
surface, decay will commence in a short time.
It is best to cook the brine, or the water used in making the
brine solution. If the weather is warm, the brine is apt to get sour
and ropy. In that case, wash each piece of meat in cold water,
scald the vessel and repack in a new brine. If the brine is reboiled
every few days before it gets ropy, it is not necessary to make new
brine so frequently. To test the brine for freshness, dip the fingers
into it, and if it does not drip freely from the fingers, but appears
stringy or ropy, it should be turned off, the meat washed, and new
brine added. In the spring of the year, the brine should be watched
closely, as it is more likely to spoil at that time than during the cold
winter months. If kept in a cool place, with a uniform temperature
of below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and above freezing, there should be
little trouble from this source. To secure thorough corning, the
meat should be kept in the brine for twenty-eight to forty days, the
exact length of time depending on the size of the pieces of meat and
on the weather.
§ 38. Dried Beef
The round and shoulders are the parts most commonly used for dried
beef. The pieces should be cut with the grain, so that the muscle
fibers will be cut crosswise when the dried beef is sliced for table
use. It should be cut in about the same sizes as for corned beef, and
packed in vessels in the same manner. The pickle should be made as
follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out six pounds
table salt, three pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of
saltpeter. Mix these pieces thoroughly. Before the meat is placed in
the jar, each piece should be well rubbed with the spice mixture.
Dissolve the remainder of the spices in four gallons of boiled water
that has been allowed to cool. Pour this pickle solution over the meat
in the jar until it is completely covered. Weight the meat down, as in
the case with corned beef. The pickle solution should be watched and,
in the case of tendency to become ropy, should be handled as in
corning beef.
After ten days, the meat should be removed from the pickle and hung up
in an airy out-house to drip and dry. When dry, which should be in
about 24 hours, it can be smoked, as in the case of smoking ham. The
drier the climate, the more easily can the meat be dried and smoked.
It is difficult to dry and smoke meat in the Canton region unless done
in December and January, before the rains begin.
§ 39. Plain Salt Pork
Rub each piece of meat with fine common salt and pack closely in a
barrel. Let stand over night. The next day, weigh out twelve pounds of
salt and three ounces of saltpeter to each one hundred pounds of meat,
and dissolve in four gallons of boiling water. When cold, pour this
pickle over the meat, cover and weight down to keep the meat under the
brine. The meat will pack best if cut into pieces about six inches
square.
§ 40. Dry Cured Pork
For each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh cut eight pounds of salt,
two pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix
thoroughly, and rub the meat once every three days, using a third of
the mixture at each rubbing. Keep the meat on a shelf, or in a vessel,
while curing. After the last rubbing, allow the meat to remain in a
vessel for about ten days, when it is cured and ready to smoke. To
cure nicely, it is desirable to have a cool and rather moist place in
which to keep it.
This recipe should not be used where the meat must be kept in a warm
dry place, as the preservatives will not penetrate easily and
uniformly under such conditions.
§ 41. Sugar Cured Pork
Rub each piece with salt and allow to remain over night. A wet pickle,
or brine, may also be forced into the hams and shoulders close to the
bone with a special pump, using from 5 to 10 ounces of the pickle or
brine for each piece, the amount depending on the size of the piece.
The following morning pack in a vessel with the hams and shoulders at
the bottom and the bacon on the top. For each one hundred pounds of
meat, weigh out eight pounds of salt, two pounds of brown sugar, two
ounces of saltpeter, and one-half pound baking soda. Dissolve all in
four gallons of water, and cover the meat with this wet pickle. In
warm weather, the pickle should be boiled and thoroughly cooled before
using. A board and stone should be used to weight down the meat. Bacon
strips should remain in the pickle from three to four weeks, and the
hams and shoulders five to seven weeks, depending on their size. If
desired, the meat may then be smoked. Before being smoked meat should
be soaked for several hours in clean water at about 80 degrees
Fahrenheit to remove the excess salt on the surface of the meat and
thus make the meat more palatable. In soaking the meat about one-half
pint of water should be used for each pound of meat.[1] The Canton
Christian College has had very good success with this cure.
§ 42. Pork Sausage
Pork sausage should be made from clean, fresh pork only. The parts
generally used are the shoulder, neck, and lean meat trimmings. About
three pounds of lean meat should be used to one pound of fat meat. Mix
the fat and lean meat together in chopping. With some cutters it is
necessary to run the meat through twice in order to make it fine
enough and to mix thoroughly the lean with the fat meat. After it has
been cut the first time, spread thinly and season. For each 100 pounds
of meat, use one and one-half pounds of pure, fine salt, four ounces
of ground black pepper, and two pounds of pure leaf sage, rubbed fine.
The seasoning should be sprinkled over the meat, and the meat again
run through the cutter, in order to mix the spice thoroughly with the
meat. For immediate use, the sausage may be packed away in jars. It
may be kept for some time in a jar if melted lard is poured over the
top, so as to exclude the air. The sausage may also be stuffed into
muslin bags about two inches in diameter. If the stuffed bags are
coated with paraffin, they will keep for some time.
§ 43. Mixed Meat Sausage
Mixed sausage may be made from a mixture of pork and beef in almost
any proportion. Sausage should not contain too much fat. A good
proportion is two pounds of lean pork, one pound of fat pork, and one
pound of lean beef.
§ 44. Bologna Sausage
To each ten pounds of lean beef, use one pound of fat pork or bacon.
Chop finely and season with three ounces of salt, two ounces pepper,
and a little ground coriander. Stuff casing, and tie every ten or
twelve inches. Hang the stuffed casings straight. Smoke for ten or
twelve hours. Cook in boiling water until the sausage floats. Dry on
clean hay or straw in the sun and hang away in a cool place until
wanted.
§ 45. Blood Sausage
Blood sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds of
cured pork or shoulder fat, seven pounds cured fat skins, six pounds
of blood, one-half pound onions, one pound salt, one-half ounce white
pepper, one ounce sweet marjoram, and one-half ounce cloves.
Cook the fat for one hour and the skins two hours at a temperature of
200° Fahrenheit. When cooked, put through a grinder, grinding quite
fine. Then add the blood and seasoning and mix thoroughly. Stuff into
large beef casings and boil in the same water in which meat was cooked
until the sausage floats. Then dip the sausage in cold water and hang
up to cool.
§ 46. Smoked or Country Sausage
The following ingredients are used in making smoked or country
sausage: 85 pounds lean pork, 15 pounds beef, one and one-half to two
pounds salt, four ounces black pepper, and one ounce sweet marjoram.
Cut the meat into small pieces and sprinkle seasoning over it. Then
grind finely. Put away in a cool place for twenty-four to thirty-six
hours, then add a little water, and stuff into hog casings and smoke
in a very cool smoke until a dark mahogany is obtained.
§ 47. Frankfort or Vienna Sausage
This popular sausage is made with the following ingredients: 70 pounds
beef, 30 pounds fat pork, 20 pounds water, one and one-half to two
pounds salt, two ounces red pepper.
Cut the beef into small pieces, salt, and allow it to cure for
forty-eight hours in a cool room. Cut the pork into small pieces and
put the beef and pork through a grinder together. Put into a vessel
and add the water and spices. After it is all mixed, put it through a
grinder again and grind fine. Stuff into sheep casings. Then, by means
of the forefinger and thumb, press the stuffed casing together about
four inches from one end, and give this first link two or three
twists. Do the same about every four inches, twisting each succeeding
link in the opposite direction from the preceding link, in order to
prevent untwisting. Then hang in a smoke house for about two hours at
a temperature not to exceed 125° Fahrenheit. After smoking, boil for
five or ten minutes, then plunge into cold water and hang in a cool
place.
§ 48. Liver Sausage
Odds and ends, resulting from trimming up the various cuts
of the hog carcass, as well as the liver itself, can be used in making
liver sausage. If the head is used, it should first be cleaned, as for
headcheese. The jowl, which is practically all fat, may be cut off
and made into salt pork, or used for rendering lard. The remainder
of the head meat, trimmings, liver cut into slices, and some beef or
veal, if such meat can be had, should be boiled. Skin that is free
from hair, and from which the fat has been removed, is also sometimes
used. The skin will cook before the meat, so it should be
put in a cloth sack and removed when thoroughly cooked. Liver
cooks in a very short time, and should be removed before the rest of
the meat. The meat should cook until it readily falls from the
bones. All the meat should then be ground in a meat grinder. For
40 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces
sweet marjoram, one ounce allspice, one ounce black pepper, and
about one gallon broth in which the meat was cooked. Garlic or
onions can be added, if desired. The seasoning should be well worked
into the meat. It can then be put into jars, covered with paraffin,
or stuffed into beef casings or rounds. When stuffed into casings
or rounds, it should be cooked in the same water the meat was
cooked in until it floats. Then it should be placed in cold water
until the sausage is thoroughly cooled.
§ 49. Summer Sausage
Summer sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds cured
beef free from sinews, 15 pounds pork trimmings, four to six ounces
white pepper, one ounce whole black pepper, and one ounce whole
mustard seed.
This sausage can be made in cold weather only. All the meat is put
through the grinder, and spices added. No salt is needed as the cured
beef is salty enough. Mix it all thoroughly until it is evenly
seasoned. Spread it out in a cool place for thirty-six to forty hours.
Then stuff into hog casings and let it hang over night. Smoke with
cold smoke for several days. If kept in a dry place, it can be kept
the year round. It if gets moldy, simply wipe off the mold before using.
§ 50. Headcheese
The head of the hog, and trimmings, are used for making headcheese.
The head should be shaved clean and nostrils cut off just in front of
the eyes. Cut out the eyes and ear drums. The fattest part of the head
is generally used for lard. Clean the head by soaking it in water for
some time to extract all blood and dirt. After the head is thoroughly
cleaned, cover with water and boil until the meat separates from the
bones. Lungs and heart may be cooked with the head. When it is
thoroughly cooked, take out the meat, saving the liquor for future
use. Chop the meat finely. Season with one and one-half pounds salt,
three ounces black pepper, four ounces allspice, and four ounces
ground cloves, together with two gallons of the liquor for every 50
pounds of meat. The mixing should be done thoroughly, so that proper
seasoning is secured. Stuff the meat into large beef casings
thoroughly cleaned, hog stomach, or muslin bags about three or four
inches in diameter. After stuffing into casings, it should be boiled
until it floats on the top, then place in cold water for a short time.
Store away in a clean, cool place on a shelf or table. If there are no
casings or muslin available in which to stuff the meat, it can be kept
in shallow pans.
§ 51. Scrapple
The head and feet of hogs are generally used in making scrapple, but
scrapple can be made from any hog meat. The heads should be split
through the middle and placed in a kettle with sufficient water to
cover them. They should be cooked until the meat falls from the bones.
Drain off the broth. Separate the bones from the meat, then chop the
meat fine and add it to the broth, and boil. Corn meal should be added
until it is as thick as mush. Add the corn meal slowly and stir
vigorously, so as to avoid lumpiness. Stir the mixture well for ten or
fifteen minutes, and allow it to boil one hour. Pour the scrapple into
shallow pans or molds. When cold, it should be sliced and fried.
§ 52. Snow Packing
Snow packing is a method that can be used only in localities where
snow and continued dry cold weather prevails during the winter months.
The carcass should be cut into steaks, roasts, and boiling pieces. All
trimmings for the table should be made before freezing the meat. Lay
the pieces out to freeze. Be sure they freeze solid to the center. In
the bottom of a box large enough to hold all the meat, pack a layer of
snow. Put in a larger of the frozen meat, packing in such a way that
the pieces do not touch each other. Cover with a layer of snow, and
continue with alternate layers of meat and snow. Set the box in a room
where it will not be subject to changes in temperature. For
convenience, it is well to pack the steaks in one section or end of
the box, and the roasts and stews in another. The meat will then be
but little disturbed when a supply is taken from the box. Only snow
should be used in packing. Be sure the meat is frozen solid before
packing, and it will keep through the winter, unless the weather gets
very warm. In preparing the meat for the table, it should not be
thawed out too rapidly.
§ 53. Partial Cooking
Partial cooking and packing in jars is a method of preserving meat
which is sometimes used on the farm. It has the advantage over snow
packing in that it can be done in warm weather and is a most
satisfactory way of keeping fresh pork. However, it requires
considerably more work than other methods of preserving meat.
The loin and side meat, or any part of the carcass, may be used. Cut
into slices about one-half inch thick, and fry until a little more
than half done. Pack the slices in a jar and cover with hot lard. As
the meat is wanted, it can be removed from the jar and warmed up. If
the jar is to stand any length of time without using, after it has
been opened, it is best again to cover the top with lard. It is better
to use several small jars than one large one. They should be kept in a
cool, dark room to insure safe-keeping of the meat.
§ 54. Rendering Lard
The leaf lard, fat back, and fat trimmings from the hams, shoulders
and neck make good lard. Intestinal fat should never be mixed with the
other fat parts, as it makes a strong smelling lard of an inferior
grade, but should be rendered by itself. By thorough washing and
soaking in cold water for several hours, part of the offensive odor
will leave it.
First of all, remove the skin from the fat trimmings. To do this,
place the meat on a table, skin side down, and cut the fat from the
skin, using a strong knife. When a piece of skin large enough to grasp
is freed from the fat, take it in the left hand, and, with the right
hand, insert the knife between the skin and fat. Pull the skin and cut
with the knife slightly slanted downward. With a little practice, the
fat can be cleanly removed from the skin in this way with one clean
cut of the knife. The strips of fat should then be cut into cubes of
one to one and one-half inches, making them about equal in size so
they will try out evenly.
Pour into the kettle about a quart of water or melted lard, and then
fill it nearly full with the cubes of fat meat. The fat will then heat
properly and the lard will be brought out without burning. Keep a
moderate fire until the cracklings are brown and light enough to
float. Frequent stirring is necessary to prevent burning. When done,
remove from the fire and allow to cool slightly. Then strain through a
muslin cloth into a jar. Stir it occasionally, until it is cool enough
to begin to solidify. Stirring while it is cooling tends to whiten the
lard and make it smoother. A quarter of a pound of saleratus added to
each one hundred pounds of fat has a like effect.
When removing lard from a container for use, take it evenly from the
surface. Do not dig down into the center of the lard, for when this is
done, it will leave a coating of lard around the sides of the
container which will become rancid very quickly by the action of
bacteria in the air.
§ 55. Smoked Meats
The process of smoking helps to preserve meat, and, if smoked
properly, and with the right kind of fuel, adds a desirable flavor to
meat. The creosote formed by the combustion of the wood closes the
pores to some extent, and excludes the air. This also helps to keep
out the insects.
§ 56. The Smokehouse
The size of smokehouse to build depends on the amount of meat that is
to be smoked. In a house eight feet square and ten feet high, the
hams, sides, and shoulders of three to five hogs can be smoked at one
time. Ventilation should be provided to carry off the warm air in
order to prevent overheating the meat. A chimney, made by placing a
six inch tile in the roof, makes a good ventilator. The smoke house
walls may be built of lumber, brick, or concrete. Lumber would be the
cheapest, but least permanent, and concrete the most costly. Brick is
no doubt the most satisfactory material for a small smoke house in
southern China. Mud bricks may be used, but burnt clay bricks are more
lasting. The roof should be made of tile. The best material for the
floor is large square tiles, called in Chinese _taai ch’uen_ (大磚).
Concrete or brick may also be used, but would be more expensive then
_taai ch’uen_.
A good arrangement is to have the fire box outside the smoke house,
with a flue to carry the smoke into the smoke house. When this cannot
well be arranged, a fire may be built on the floor of the house, and
the meat shielded from heavy smoke by a sheet of tin, about four feet
square, placed over the fire between the fire and the meat, about
three feet above the floor.
§ 57. The Fuel
Lychee, or any other hard wood, makes good fuel for smoking meat.
Resinous woods, such as pines and cedars, should never be used as they
give an objectionable flavor to the meat due to turpentine which they
contain.
§ 58. Preparing Meat for Smoking
Meat that is to be smoked should be removed from the brine and
thoroughly washed in tepid water in order to clean off the coat of
pickle that has formed on the surface of the meat. It can then he hung
up in the smokehouse, but should be allowed to drain for a day or two
before the fire is started. The pieces of meat should be hung so that
the air can pass freely between them.
§ 59. The Fire
For the first day or two, the fire should be slow, in order that the
warming of the meat may be gradual. In clear, dry weather, smoking may
continue from the day the smoking begins until it is completed, which
should be in one to three weeks, the length of time depending on the
size of the pieces of meat and on the weather. When sufficiently
smoked, the meat will have a characteristic straw color. Meat should
never be smoked on a damp day, because in a damp atmosphere moisture
will condense on the meat, and moist meat will not smoke well. Light
smoking for two weeks is better than heavy smoking for one week. With
a longer period of smoking the smoke will enter the meat more
thoroughly.
§ 60. Keeping Smoked Meats
During cool weather smoked meats may be left in the smokehouse for
some time after the smoking process is completed. The house should be
kept dark in order to keep out flies, and it should be well ventilated
so as to prevent dampness. A dry, cool cellar, with free circulation
of fresh air, will be a satisfactory place for keeping smoked meats.
If the smoked meat is to be kept only a short time, it needs only to
be hung up without covering. For longer keeping, it is well to wrap
first in paper, and then in burlap, canvass or muslin, and bury the
meat in a grain bin or box of sand. The object of this is to provide a
condition which will be uniform in temperature and keep out insects.
A coat of ground pepper, rubbed into the meat before wrapping, will be
distasteful to insects.
After smoked meat has become thoroughly dry, it may be wrapped in
parchment paper and enclosed in a heavy muslin or canvass, which
should be covered with yellow wash or ordinary lime white wash with
glue added.
§ 61. Recipe for Yellow Wash
For one hundred pounds hams or bacon, take: three pounds barytes
(barium sulphate), .06 pound glue, .80 pound chrome yellow (lead
chromate), .40 pound flour, and twelve pounds water.
Put the flour in the water, dissolving all lumps thoroughly. Dissolve
the chrome in a quart of water in a separate vessel, and add the
solution and the glue to the flour and water. Bring the whole to a
boil, and add the barytes slowly, stirring constantly. Make the wash
the day before it is required. Stir it frequently when using, and
apply with a brush.
Chinese Meat Recipes
§ 62. Bean Sauce Sausage (_Laap Ch’eung_ 腊腸).
Sausage is a very popular meat with the Chinese, especially during the
winter season. It is probably the most widely used of all cured meats,
although as a rule it is quite expensive compared with other meats.
§ 63. Pickle for Bean Sauce Sausage
For every catty of meat, use:
Saltpeter (_siu_ 硝) 1 mace[2] (_ts’in_ 一錢)
Salt (_shuk im_ 熟鹽) 3 mace (_ts’in_ 三錢)
Sugar (_ping fa t’ong_ 冰花糖) 2 mace (_ts’in_ 二錢)
First-drawn bean sauce (_t’au ch’au yau_ 頭抽油) 2 mace
Raw bean sauce (_shang ch’au yau_ 生抽油) 1 mace
Mixture of spices (_ng heung fan_ 五香粉) 1 mace
The mixture of spices is made up of the following:
Red pepper (_ch’un tsiu_ 春椒) 10 mace
Ground anise seed (_taai wui_ 大回) 10 mace
Cloves (_ting heung_ 丁香) 10 mace
Cinnamon (_yuk kwai_ 玉桂) 10 mace
These spices should be purchased separately and never ready mixed, as
ready made mixtures are often worthless.
Sometimes two orange peelings, finely cut or ground, fresh or dried
are used for every ten catties of meat. Two mace of double distilled
wine (_sheung ching tsau_ 雙蒸酒), or treble distilled wine (_saam ching
tsau_ 三蒸酒), and a wine called (_fan tsau_ 汾酒), are sometimes added
for each catty of meat. The wine helps preserve the meat.
The above spices should be carefully mixed and the mixture thoroughly
stirred into the meat. In mixing the spices the usual method is to use
the hands as mixers. A better way is to use a large spoon, or some
similar utensil.
§ 64. Preparation of the Meat for Sausage
Use hams, shoulders, chops, fat back, and neck. Sometimes the liver is
added to give a dark color. No belly meat or tough parts should be
used. Separate the lean from the fat meat. Chop into pieces about
one-quarter inch in diameter, or run through a sausage mill. One part
fat and one part lean meat is generally used, though the proportion
may vary either way, to suit the taste and demand.
§ 65. Sausage Casing (_Ch’eung I_ 腸衣)
Sausage casing is generally made from the middle coat of the small
intestines of sheep although it is also made from the intestines of
the hog. The casing is very thin and transparent. Some casing is
prepared in Canton, but most of what is used in Canton comes from
Shanghai, as there are comparatively few sheep or goats slaughtered in
Canton. The dried casing sells for $3.00 to $6.00 a catty.
§ 66. Softening the Casing
When ready to be used, the casing should be immersed in luke warm
water for a few minutes to soften it. If the walls of the casing
adhere to each other so that it is difficult for the meat to enter,
water should be forced through to distend the casing.
§ 67. Filling the Casing
Insert the small end of the filler (a tin funnel about six inches
long) into the end of the casing. Hold the casing tightly to the
filler with the left hand, and with the right hand force the meat
through the filler into the casing. It is customary to use the hand
for this, but a large wooden spoon would work just as well.
A sausage stuffing machine can be purchased for a few dollars, and
will do the work of stuffing in a much more satisfactory manner than
it can be done by hand. The end of the casing is tied around a tube at
the bottom of a jar containing the sausage meat. A disc the size and
shape of the inside of the jar is then pressed down on the meat with a
lever, and the meat is thus forced into the casing. Such a machine
will do the work of five or six men, and if of the right type, can
also be used as a lard press. If it is difficult to force the meat
into the casing, on account of compressed air, the air should be
allowed to escape by punching small holes in the casing with pins. The
stuffed casing is usually tied with a string every six inches, cut
into convenient lengths, and hung up to dry.
§ 68. Sunning and Drying
The sausage should be prepared in the morning, so that it can be hung
up to sun by noon. If it is prepared in the afternoon, there is some
danger of its spoiling, especially if the day is not very cold,
because it has to be stored over night before it gets much sun.
Sunshine and cold north wind are needed to make the best sausage. With
five days of wind and sun, the meat becomes hard and firm. In case of
rainy or damp weather while the sausage is being dried, it must be
hung up in a small room and a small charcoal or wood fire kept burning
underneath. If the sausage is not well sunned or dried, it is very
likely to spoil, and an effort should be made to get it pretty well
dried within five days.
§ 69. Season and Weather for Making Sausage
The time for making sausage is when there is a dry, cold wind blowing
from the north. Such weather usually does not occur before the middle
of November. From this time to the middle of January is usually the
best season. If made earlier, the weather will not be cool enough. If
made later, the chances for sunny weather are lessened, and the meat
is not apt to cure so well.
§ 70. Lean Pork Sausage (_Shau Yuk Ch’eung_ 瘦肉腸)
This sausage is made the same as ordinary sausage, except that only
lean meat is used.
§ 71. Liver Sausage (_Yun Ch’eung_ 潤腸)
In this sausage, duck liver is used instead of lean meat. Otherwise,
it is made the same as ordinary sausage.
§ 72. _Tung Koon_ Sausage (_Tung Koon Laap Ch’eung_ 東莞腊腸)
This is the same as ordinary bean sauce sausage, except that large
casings are used. It is not very popular because of its size.
§ 73. Oyster Sauce Sausage (_Ho Yau Ch’eung_ 蠔油腸)
This is made in the same manner as ordinary sausage, except that
oyster sauce (_ho yau_ 蠔油) is used instead of bean sauce in making up
the pickle.
§ 74. Catsup Sausage
Catsup sausage is the same as ordinary sausage, except that for every
catty of meat, three taels of catsup instead of bean sauce are used.
§ 75. Roast or Baked Sausage (_Foh Ch’eung_ 火腸)
Prepare ordinary sausage, but use large casings. Dip in honey
solution, and bake or roast.
§ 76. Cured Ham
An excellent cured ham is produced in Yunnan Province. This is due to
the fact that the hogs in that region are largely of the bacon type,
and the climate is very favorable for curing meat, being dry and
fairly cool during the meat curing season.
In curing ham, the Chinese use much the same method as is used in
western countries in making dry cured ham, except that sugar is not
used in the pickle. The pickle is made up as follows: Salt (_shuk im_
熟鹽) 20 catties (_kan_ 卄斤), Saltpeter (_siu_ 硝) .05 tael (半錢),
mixture of spices (_ng heung fan_ 五香粉) 2 taels (_leung_ 二両).
Rub each piece of meat for one-half hour. Puncture the meat with
needles so the pickle will work in well. Rub again in two days. For
the two days after the first rubbing with the pickle, keep under
pressure to squeeze out the water. After the second two days, rub
again with the pickle. Rub again after two more days. Then the meat is
packed in salt for fifteen days, when it is taken out and the salt
wiped off and the meat is allowed to dry and harden. Curing should
require forty days. The flavor improves with age.
§ 77. Sun Dried Pork (_Shau Laap Yuk_ 瘦𦡳肉)
Sun drying is a common method of curing pork in the Canton
region. For this purpose, head, side, ham, and shoulder meat is
used. The meat is cut in strips, about eight to ten inches long, and
about one inch thick. It is immersed over night in a pickle which
is the same as the one used in making sausage, and the next day
rubbed with a mixture of honey and water (_mat t’ong shui_ 蜜糖水),
made up of one part honey and one part water, and hung up to dry
in the sun for two days. Again it is soaked in the pickle for a short
time, and dried in the sun for two days. This is done a third time.
Then it is put in a stone jar in a cool, dry place for two days, and
again hung up to dry for one week, when it is cured. When cured,
the fat meat is rather firm.
Pork can be sun dried in the Canton region between the first of
November and the middle of January. Dry, north wind is best for
curing. If cured later than January, it must be consumed immediately
as it will not keep long.
§ 78. Pickled Pig Feet (_Ch’aat T’ai_ 札蹄)
In making pickled pig feet, the bone is first removed from the leg,
leaving only the meat, skin and toes. Boil, and stuff with roast fat
and lean meat to take the place of the bone. Tie up with rice straw,
and immerse in the sausage spice for several hours.
§ 79. Pickled Beef
Cut the beef into pieces weighing about four or five taels. Rub each
piece thoroughly with salt. Place the meat in a jar and cover with
salt. In one or two weeks, the meat is cured and ready to use. Soak in
water for one-half hour before using in order to remove part of the
salt.
§ 80. Dried Rice Bird (_Laap Woh Fa Tseuk_ 腊禾花雀)
Remove the feathers, internal organs, and brain. Then treat same as in
making sun dried pork.
§ 81. Pork Stuffed Liver (_Kam Ngan Yun_ 金銀潤)
Use the liver of hogs. Cut into strips about one inch wide. Use wine
and ginger for flavoring. Half dry it in the wind. It should not be
overdried, as it will then be hard to digest. Prepare fat meat by
cutting strips of it into such sizes that they can be inserted into
the liver. Soak the fat meat in a solution of salt, saltpeter, and
sugar, in proportions of 3-2-1. Finally, half dry the fat by hanging
in the sun for several hours. With a wooden stick, make pockets in the
strips of liver from one end to the other, and insert the strips of
fat meat into the pockets. The strips of stuffed liver should then be
hung up to dry for a half day.
§ 82. Lo Mei (_Lo Mei_ 鹵味)
The tongue, bladder, intestine, and liver, are used in making _lo mei_
although any part of the carcass may be used. It is made by cooking
the meat for ten minutes and then plunging it while still hot into
cold water, cooking for ten minutes again, and then plunging into cold
water. The process should be repeated at least twelve times. The
expansion and contraction of the meat by such handling makes it very
tender, and firm. The process of preparing this meat is called
“crossing the river.”
The boiled meat should be put into a strong solution of spices
prepared before hand, which is the same as the mixture of spices used
for making the pickle for sausages. After remaining in the solution of
spices over night, the meat is ready to be eaten.
§ 83. Roast Meat (_Shiu Yuk_ 燒肉)
Poultry, or pigs weighing up to one hundred catties, frequently are
roasted. Two methods are used. Poultry and small pigs may be roasted
in pans in an ordinary oven. The other method, which is the one
commonly used, is to roast in a special oven. The latter method
requires more skill than roasting in the ordinary oven. The oven is in
the form of a cylinder stood on end, thirty to forty inches in
diameter, and five or six feet high. The poultry or pig is hung on
iron bars across the top of the stove, and the stove or oven is then
covered with an iron lid. Fire is built at the bottom of the cylinder
through an opening at one side. Dry hard wood or charcoal, which
give but little smoke, are generally used for fuel. The meat being
roasted needs constant attention and shifting so that it will roast
through uniformly. It is said that when the meat gives off a white
smoke, it is an indication that it is done. A solution made up of one
part honey and one part water is rubbed on the meat, both inside and
outside the carcass, before the roasting. This honey solution gives
the outside of the meat a desirable rich reddish brown color when
roasted.
§ 84. Dried Duck (_Laap Aap_ 腊鴨)
For one dressed bird, use five taels of salt, which should be well
rubbed into the meat. Then pack in salt for one day. Take up, wash off
the salt, and put between two bamboo mats. Apply pressure for a few
days, and hang up to dry.
The Canton climate is not very favorable for drying duck, as during
the meat curing season it frequently rains. If the meat does not dry
fairly rapidly, it is likely to spoil. In Naam On, Kwong Sai province,
where it is generally dry during the curing season, the ducks are
packed away after two days exposure to the sun. In Canton, it often
takes two weeks. Ducks’ heads, kidneys, feet and other parts of the
bird are also cured in the same way.
§ 85. Puffed Pig Skin (_Chue P’ei_ 豬皮)
In making puffed pig skin, the pig skin is first cooked, and then
thoroughly scraped with a knife in order to remove the oil and fat. It
is then hung up in the sun to dry for about ten days. When it is ready
for the puffing or blistering process, which is accomplished by
roasting the dried skin in hot gravel in a shallow pan over a slow
fire This process whitens and puffs, or blisters, the skin.
The puffed pig skin is cut into small cubes and used in soups. It has
a spongy appearance with very little taste.
The skin on the hams, shoulders, and sides will puff the best, while
the skin on the back, legs, and belly will not puff well on roasting
in the hot gravel, but can be puffed by roasting in peanut oil.
On account of dampness and cloudy weather which interfere with proper
drying, puffed pig skin is best made during the dry, sunny winter
months. The product is on sale, however, throughout the year, as it
keeps well if hung in a fairly dry, airy place. It is commonly seen
hanging in the front of meat shops in Canton.
[1] For further details on smoking, see sections 55 to 61.
[2] Note: 1 mace = 1⁄100 ounce; 16 ounces = 1 catty.
AGRICULTURAL PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
The following agricultural bulletins and publications may be obtained
at the price indicated from College Bookstore, Canton Christian
College, Cantor, China.
Bulletin No. 5. Groff, G. W., Agricultural Reciprocity between America
and China. Illustrated. 40 pp. $0.20.
Bulletin No. 12. Groff, G. W., The Papaya for South China.
Illustrated. 8 illustrations, 7 pp. $0.10.
Chinese edition under title 木瓜. 8 pp. $0.10.
Bulletin No. 18. Levine, C. O., and Cadbury, W. W., A Study of Milk
Produced in Kwangtung. 9 pp. $0.10.
Bulletin No. 20. The 1917–18 Journal of the Lingnaam Agricultural
Society (in Chinese). Illustrated. 150 pp. $0.20.
Bulletin No. 23. Levine, C. O., Notes on Farm Animals and Animal
Industries in China. Illustrated. 8 illustrations, 54 pp. $0.40.
Bulletin No. 25. Graybill, H. B., Lawn Grasses for South China. 6
illustrations, 6 pp. $0.20.
Bulletin No. 27. Levine, C. O., Butchering and Curing Meats in China.
Illustrated. 7 illustrations, 41 pp. $0.20.
Groff, G. W., The Lychee and Lungnan. Canton, 1920. 60 illustrations,
149 pp. Cloth bound. $2.20.
CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
CANTON, CHINA
ADMINISTRATIVE AND AGRICULTURAL STAFF
Charles K. Edmunds, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University), President.
Chung Wing Kwong, Chu Jen, Vice-President.
Owen E. Pomeroy, B.A. (Harvard University), Bursar.
Kenneth Duncan, M.A. (University of Wisconsin), Dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences.
George Weidman Groff, M.S. (Pennsylvania State College), Professor
of Horticulture and Director of Agricultural Work.
Charles Walter Howard, M.S. (University of Minnesota), Professor of
Biology.
Clinton N. Laird, M.A. (University of Pennsylvania), Professor of
Chemistry.
Carl Oscar Levine, M.S. in Agr. (Iowa State College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts), Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry.
Taam Sik Hung, B.S. in Agr. (Kansas State Agricultural College),
Instructor in Animal Husbandry.
Walter Leon Funkhouser, B.S. in Agr. (Pennsylvania State College),
Instructor.
Floyd A. McClure, B.S. in Agr. (Ohio State University), Instructor.
Fu Po Kwong, M.S. in Agr. (Michigan Agricultural College), Instructor.
Edmund A. Gilbert, Instructor.
CO-OPERATING COLLEGE MISSIONS
Pennsylvania State College Mission
Kansas State Agricultural College
TRUSTEES OF CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
156 Fifth Avenue
New York, U. S. A.
W. Henry Grant, Secretary
Transcriber’s Notes.
Minor errors in punctuation have been corrected.
Text contained between underscores was italicised in the original
printed book.
The text “[Illustration: ” indicates the location of an
illustration in the printed book. The text after the “: ” and
up to the final “]” is the caption text.
Table of Contents: “Preface” added to Table of Contents for
completeness.
Table of Contents: “Blood Sausage” added to Table of Contents to
match book text.
Page 10: “in other to get a uniform scald” changed to “in order to
get a uniform scald”.
Page 15: “Killing and Dressing Cattle” changed to “Killing and
Dressing Beef” to match table of contents.
Page 21: “with them be is usually” changed to “with them is usually”.
Page 24: “Recipes for Curing” changed to “Recipes for Curing Meats”
to match table of contents.
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