It was suggested in rec.food.historic that I might be able to get an answer to
my question here. I have found references to this being done, for farm
provisions back in the 1800's but no clear explanation of the process involved.

Long ago sailing ships would load provisions for voyages
that would sometimes last for years (whaleing ships might be out for two or
three years). The sailor would subsist on meat that had been packaged into
barrels and also had dry beans and peas, along with "hard tack" a dry,
bread/cracker to subsist on.
I can find information on 'salt cureing meats for smoking or drying, but
nowhere
can I find information on the process used or what exactly was in those
barrels. I have even asked at various maritime museums and have not been able
to get an answer.
Does anyone here have a handle on this process? or how it would be replicated
today. What exactly was in those barrels? As I understand it the figure of
Uncle Sam was orriginally of a Troy NY meatpacker who marked his barreled meat
for the Union Army in the Civil War, with the marking "U.S." and it was later
said to stand for it being packed by "U.ncle S.am" I know I could just take
some corned beef and maybe have something like what they used after the
de-salting of the meat, but I am interested in what made them able to hold meat
in a useful state without refrigeration for years at a time.

previously, (John213a) wrote:

> It was suggested in rec.food.historic that I might be able to get an
> answer to
> my question here. I have found references to this being done, for
> farm provisions back in the 1800's but no clear explanation of the
> process involved.
>
snip


> Does anyone here have a handle on this process? or how it would be
> replicated today. What exactly was in those barrels? As I understand
> it the figure of Uncle Sam was orriginally of a Troy NY meatpacker who
> marked his barreled meat for the Union Army in the Civil War, with the
> marking "U.S." and it was later said to stand for it being packed by
> "U.ncle S.am" I know I could just take some corned beef and maybe
> have something like what they used after the de-salting of the meat,
> but I am interested in what made them able to hold meat in a useful
> state without refrigeration for years at a time.
>
>


Lurker here...

A little googling came up with some information:

According to http://www.whalingmuseum.org/kendall..._shiplife.html

there was salted beef, pork and horse.

And, according to
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online.../history6d.htm

the process of salting meat for whaling ships is described somewhat:

"...The Reverend William Ellis noted that the first cattle brought by
Vancouver were

at his request, tabued for ten years, during which time they resorted to
the mountains, and became so wild and ferocious that the natives are afraid
to go near them. Although there are immense herds of them, they do not
attempt to tame any; and the only advantage they derive is, by employing
persons, principally foreigners, to shoot them, salt the meat in the
mountains, and bring it down to the shore, for the purpose of provisioning
the native vessels. But this is attended with great labour and expense.
They first carry all the salt to the mountains. When they have killed the
animals, the flesh is cut off their bones, salted immediately, and
afterward put into small barrels, which are brought on men's shoulders ten
or fifteen miles to the seashore..."

Hope some of this helps. There's likely more information on the web, as
well!

-Claudia

John213a > wrote:

> It was suggested in rec.food.historic that I might be able to get an
> answer to my question here. I have found references to this being done,
> for farm provisions back in the 1800's but no clear explanation of the
> process involved.
[-]
> Does anyone here have a handle on this process? or how it would be
> replicated today. What exactly was in those barrels? As I understand it
> the figure of Uncle Sam was orriginally of a Troy NY meatpacker who marked
> his barreled meat for the Union Army in the Civil War, with the marking
> "U.S." and it was later said to stand for it being packed by "U.ncle S.am"
> I know I could just take some corned beef and maybe have something like
> what they used after the de-salting of the meat, but I am interested in
> what made them able to hold meat in a useful state without refrigeration
> for years at a time.

I'm not certain precisely what went into the barrels on ships (although
Patrick O'Brian and C S Forester write poetically of the edibility, or
lack thereof), but I've got some lovely salt belly pork that's been
sitting in brine at room temperature for about three years now. It's
nearly as hard as oak, buried in salt crystals with saltpetre, brine and
spices, and adds superb flavour to stews. I wouldn't want to live on it,
though :-) Recipe from Grigsons's _Charcuterie and French Pork
Cooking_, if memory serves.

More seriously, from my reading, the meat on board ship was nothing like
the 'corned beef' you find in tins, but rather true salt meat more akin
to the slab of wood in my plastic container. It would have been
completely inedible straight from the brine: it was soaked in sweet
water for a day or more to render it edible by the standards of the
time, and I doubt we'd find it edible even so. In times of shortage, the
meat was soaked or even cooked in sea water, which was sweet by
comparison with the brine.

regards
sarah


--
Think of it as evolution in action.

sarah wrote:
> John213a > wrote:
>
>
>> It was suggested in rec.food.historic that I might be able to get an
>>answer to my question here. I have found references to this being done,
>>for farm provisions back in the 1800's but no clear explanation of the
>>process involved.
>
> [-]
>
>>Does anyone here have a handle on this process? or how it would be
>>replicated today. What exactly was in those barrels? As I understand it
>>the figure of Uncle Sam was orriginally of a Troy NY meatpacker who marked
>>his barreled meat for the Union Army in the Civil War, with the marking
>>"U.S." and it was later said to stand for it being packed by "U.ncle S.am"
>>I know I could just take some corned beef and maybe have something like
>>what they used after the de-salting of the meat, but I am interested in
>>what made them able to hold meat in a useful state without refrigeration
>>for years at a time.
>
>
> I'm not certain precisely what went into the barrels on ships (although
> Patrick O'Brian and C S Forester write poetically of the edibility, or
> lack thereof), but I've got some lovely salt belly pork that's been
> sitting in brine at room temperature for about three years now. It's
> nearly as hard as oak, buried in salt crystals with saltpetre, brine and
> spices, and adds superb flavour to stews. I wouldn't want to live on it,
> though :-) Recipe from Grigsons's _Charcuterie and French Pork
> Cooking_, if memory serves.
>
> More seriously, from my reading, the meat on board ship was nothing like
> the 'corned beef' you find in tins, but rather true salt meat more akin
> to the slab of wood in my plastic container. It would have been
> completely inedible straight from the brine: it was soaked in sweet
> water for a day or more to render it edible by the standards of the
> time, and I doubt we'd find it edible even so. In times of shortage, the
> meat was soaked or even cooked in sea water, which was sweet by
> comparison with the brine.
>
> regards
> sarah
>
>
Ahh, the famous "salt horse" of yore. It's simply pickled meat, pickled
in a very salty brine. I'm not sure what baume the brine really is but
it's saltier than is healthy to eat today. The auld salts of the era of
the ships of the line and the hardy whalers of Nantucket could subsist
on the meat soaked in fresh water, aka unsalted water but crawling with
animacules, with the water dumped a couple of times, pease porridge made
of dried peas soaked in salt water, and hardtack, also crawling with
weevils. Some historical logs of the day mention salt horse that had
been ten years in the barrel and was often carved into keepsakes by the
sailors, some exist to this day in museums.

The original poster would do better to find other ways of preserving the
meat for winter, like canning it.

There was another way that was used up until the first quarter of the
twentieth century, mainly for pork. Grind the meat up and make into
sausage patties, fry them done, put a layer of lard in the crock, a
layer of sausage patties, then continue until the crock is full with
layers and top with a final layer of lard. The lard hardens, sealing out
the air, and the crock is kept in the spring house. My father, born in
1911, helped his grandfather to preserve meat in this way in central
Louisiana. Dad said it was mostly uncertain and sometimes the whole
crock of sausage was fed to the hogs in the woods as his grandmother
didn't like the look or smell of it.

I would stick to modern preserving methods if I could, you're more
certain of an edible product in the end.

Sarah has described the process of making "salt horse" somewhat edible
very accurately.

George

sarah wrote:
> John213a > wrote:
>
>
>> It was suggested in rec.food.historic that I might be able to get an
>>answer to my question here. I have found references to this being done,
>>for farm provisions back in the 1800's but no clear explanation of the
>>process involved.
>
> [-]
>
>>Does anyone here have a handle on this process? or how it would be
>>replicated today. What exactly was in those barrels? As I understand it
>>the figure of Uncle Sam was orriginally of a Troy NY meatpacker who marked
>>his barreled meat for the Union Army in the Civil War, with the marking
>>"U.S." and it was later said to stand for it being packed by "U.ncle S.am"
>>I know I could just take some corned beef and maybe have something like
>>what they used after the de-salting of the meat, but I am interested in
>>what made them able to hold meat in a useful state without refrigeration
>>for years at a time.
>
>
> I'm not certain precisely what went into the barrels on ships (although
> Patrick O'Brian and C S Forester write poetically of the edibility, or
> lack thereof), but I've got some lovely salt belly pork that's been
> sitting in brine at room temperature for about three years now. It's
> nearly as hard as oak, buried in salt crystals with saltpetre, brine and
> spices, and adds superb flavour to stews. I wouldn't want to live on it,
> though :-) Recipe from Grigsons's _Charcuterie and French Pork
> Cooking_, if memory serves.
>
> More seriously, from my reading, the meat on board ship was nothing like
> the 'corned beef' you find in tins, but rather true salt meat more akin
> to the slab of wood in my plastic container. It would have been
> completely inedible straight from the brine: it was soaked in sweet
> water for a day or more to render it edible by the standards of the
> time, and I doubt we'd find it edible even so. In times of shortage, the
> meat was soaked or even cooked in sea water, which was sweet by
> comparison with the brine.
>
> regards
> sarah
>
>
Ahh, the famous "salt horse" of yore. It's simply pickled meat, pickled
in a very salty brine. I'm not sure what baume the brine really is but
it's saltier than is healthy to eat today. The auld salts of the era of
the ships of the line and the hardy whalers of Nantucket could subsist
on the meat soaked in fresh water, aka unsalted water but crawling with
animacules, with the water dumped a couple of times, pease porridge made
of dried peas soaked in salt water, and hardtack, also crawling with
weevils. Some historical logs of the day mention salt horse that had
been ten years in the barrel and was often carved into keepsakes by the
sailors, some exist to this day in museums.

The original poster would do better to find other ways of preserving the
meat for winter, like canning it.

There was another way that was used up until the first quarter of the
twentieth century, mainly for pork. Grind the meat up and make into
sausage patties, fry them done, put a layer of lard in the crock, a
layer of sausage patties, then continue until the crock is full with
layers and top with a final layer of lard. The lard hardens, sealing out
the air, and the crock is kept in the spring house. My father, born in
1911, helped his grandfather to preserve meat in this way in central
Louisiana. Dad said it was mostly uncertain and sometimes the whole
crock of sausage was fed to the hogs in the woods as his grandmother
didn't like the look or smell of it.

I would stick to modern preserving methods if I could, you're more
certain of an edible product in the end.

Sarah has described the process of making "salt horse" somewhat edible
very accurately.

George

George Shirley wrote:
>
> There was another way that was used up until the first quarter of the
> twentieth century, mainly for pork. Grind the meat up and make into
> sausage patties, fry them done, put a layer of lard in the crock, a
> layer of sausage patties, then continue until the crock is full with
> layers and top with a final layer of lard. The lard hardens, sealing out
> the air, and the crock is kept in the spring house.

Something similar is still done today--the making of "rilletes"
(ree-YETS). A relative of the pate. Take all the scraps from trimming
meat from various butheries into steaks, etc. Braise them slowly in
their own fat with a mirepoix (carrots, onions, celery, garlic, parsley)
for a couple hours and remove the veggies. Shred or pull apart the
larger scraps, pot, and when solidified pour another layer of fat on top
to seal.

Similar process is used to make duck and goose confits--and I saw plenny
of those on my trip to SW France last year.

B/

In 2000 I scanned, ocr'd and posted 3 or 4 articles about meat curing.
Here they are, again:

In 1861, a Mrs. Isabella Beeton published a cookbook. It is the most
compendious of all the English cookery works. I have scanned in and
OCR'd the text relevant to curing/smoking fish and meat.

This is the first of 3 posts, as the text is sometimes extensive.

PICKLED ONIONS.
487. INGREDIENTS.-l gallon of pickling onions, salt and water,
milk; to each 1 gallon of vinegar, 1 oz. of bruised ginger, 1/4
teaspoonful of cayenne, 1 OZ. of allspice, 1 oz. of whole black pepper,
1/4, oz. of whole nutmeg bruised, 8 cloves, 1 oz. of mace.
Mode. -Gather the onions, which should not be too small, when they are
quite dry and ripe; wipe off the dirt, but do not pare them; make a
strong solution of salt and water, into which put the onions, and
change this, morning and night, for 3 days, and save the last brine
they were put in. Then take the outside skin off, and put them into a
tin saucepan capable of holding them all, as they are always better
done together. Now take equal quantities of milk and the last salt and
water the onions were in, and pour this to them; to this add 2 large
spoonfuls of salt, put them over the fire, and watch them very
attentively. Keep constantly turning the onions about with a wooden
skimmer, those at the bottom to the top, and vice versa; and let the
milk and water ran through the holes of the skimmer. Remember, the
onions must never boil, or, if they do, they will be good for nothing;
and they should be quite transparent. Keep the onions stirred for a
few minutes, and, in stirring them, be particular not to break them.
Then have ready a pan with a colander, into which turn the onions to
drain, covering them with a cloth to keep in the steam. Place on a
table an old cloth, 2 or 3 times double; put the onions on it when
quite hot, and over them an old piece of blanket; cover this closely
over them, to keep in the steam. Let them remain till the next day,
when they will be quite cold, and look yellow and shrivelled; take off
the shrivelled skins, when they should be as white as snow. Put them
in a pan, make a pickle of vinegar and the remaining ingredients, boil
all these up, and pour hot over the onions in the pan. Cover very
closely to keep in all the steam, and let them stand till the following
day, when they will be quite cold. Put them into jars or bottles well
bunged, and a tablespoonful of the best olive-oil on the top of each
jar or bottle. Tie them down with bladder, and let them stand in a
cool place for a month or six weeks, when they will be fit for use.
They should be beautifully white, and eat crisp, without the least
softness, and will keep good many months.
Seaonal: from the middle of July to the end of August.

489. OYSTER FORCEMEAT, for Roast or Dolled Turkey.
INGEFDIENTS.- 1/2 pint of bread crumbs, 1 1/2 oz. of chopped suet or
butter, I faggot of savoury herbs, 1/4 saltspoonful of grated nutmeg,
salt and pepper to taste, 2 eggs, 18 oysters.
Mode.-Grate the bread very fine, and be careful that no large lumps
remain; put it into a basin with the suet, which must be very fluely
minced, or, when butter is used, that must be cut up into small
pieces. Add the herbs, also chopped as small as possible, and
seasoning; mix all these well together, until the ingredients are
horoughly mingled. Open and beard the oysters, chop them, but not too
small, and add them to the other ingredients. Beat up the eggs, and,
with the hand, work altogether, until it is smoothly mixed. The turkey
should not be stuffed too full: if there should be too much forcemeat,
roll it into balls, fry them, and use them as a garnish.
Sufficient for 1 turkey.

TO PREPARE HUNG BEEF.
630. This is preserved by salting and drying, either with or without
smoke. Hang up the beef 3 or 4 days, till it becomes tender, but take
care it does not begin to spoil; then salt it in the usual way, either
by dry-salting or by brine, with bay-salt, brown sugar, saltpeter, and
a little pepper and allspice; afterwards roll it tight in a cloth, and
hang it up in a warm, but not hot place, for a fortnight or more, till
it is sufficiently hard. If required to have a little of the smoky
favour, it may be hung for some time in a chimney-corner, or smoked in
any other way. it will keep a long time.

HUNTER'S BEEF.
631. INGREDIENTS.-For a round of beef weighing 25 lbs. allow 3 oz. of
saltpeter, 3 oz. of coarse sugar, 1 oz. of cloves, 1 grated nutmeg, 1/2
oz. of allspice, 1 lb. of salt, 1/2 lb. bay-salt.

Mode.-Let the beef hang for 2 or 3 days, and remove the bone. Pound
spices, salt, &c. in the above proportion, and let them be reduced to
the finest powder. Put the beef into a pan, rub all the ingredients
well into it, and turn, and rub it every day for rather more than a
fortnight. When it has been sufficiently long in the pickle, wash the
meat, bind it up securely with tape, and put it into a pan with 1/2
pint of water at the bottom; mince some suet, cover the top of the meat
with it, and over the pan put a common crust of flour and water; bake
for 6 hours, and, when cold, remove the paste. Save the gravy that
flows from it, as it adds greatly to the flavour of hashes, stews,
&c. The beef may deglazed and garnished with meat jelly.
Time. -6 hours.
Seasonable all the year.

Note.-In salting or pickling beef or pork for family consumption,
it not being generally required to be kept for a great length of time,
a less quantity of salt and a larger quantity of other matters more
adapted to retain mellowness in meat, may be employed, which could not
be adapted by the curer of immense quantities of meat required to be
preserved for victualling the shipping of this maritime country. Sugar,
which is well known to posess the preserving principle in a very great
degree, without the pungency and astringency of salt, may be, and is,
very generally used in the preserving of meat for family consumption.
Although it acts without corrugating or contracting the fibers of the
meat, as is the case in the action of salt, and, therefore does not
impair its mellowness, yet its use in sufficient quantities for
perservative effect, without the addition of other antispetics, would
impart a flavour not agreeable of many persons. It may be used,
however, together with salt, with the greatest advantage in imparting
mildness and mellowness to cured meat, in proportion of about one part
by weight to four of the mixture; and, perhaps, now that sugar is so
much lower in price than it was in former years, one of the
obstructions to its more frequent use is removed.

BEEF PICKLE, which may also be used for any kind of Meat, Tongues or
Ham.

654. INGREDIENTS -6 lbs. of salt, 2 lbs. of fine sugar, 3 oz. of
powdered saltpeter, 3 gallons of spring water.
Mode.-Boil all the ingredients gently together, so long as any scum or
impurity arises, which carefully remove; when quite cold, pour it over
the meat, every part of which must be covered with the brine. This may
be used for pickling any kind of meat, and may be kept for some time,
if boiled up occasionally with an addition of the ingredients.
Time. -A ham should be kept in the pickle for a fortnight; a piece of
beef weighing 14 lbs., 12 or 15 days; a tongue, 10 days or a fortnight.

Note. -For salting and pickling meat, it is a good plan to rub in only
half the quantity of salt directed, and to let it remain for a day or
two to disgorge and effectually to get rid of the blood and slime; then
rub in the remainder
of the salt and other ingredients, and proceed as above. This rule may
be applied to all the recipes we have given for salting and pickling
meat.

TO PICKLE PART OF A ROUND OF BEEF FOR HANGING.
655. INGREDIENTS. -For 14 lbs. of a round of beef allow 1 1/2 lbs. of
salt, 1/2 oz. of powdered saltpetre; or, 1 lb. of salt, 1/2 lb. of
sugar, 1/2 oz. of powdered saltpetre.
Mode. -Rub in, and sprinkle either of the above mixtures on 14 lbs. of
meat. Keep it in an earthenware pan, or a deep wooden tray, and turn
twice a week during 3 weeks; then bind up the beef tightly with coarse
linen tape, and hang it in a kitchen in which a fire is constantly
kept, for 3 weeks. Pork, hams, and bacon may be cured in a similar way
but will require double the quantity of the salting mixture; and, if
not smoke-dried, they should be taken down from hanging after 3 or 4
weeks, and afterwards kept in boxes or tubs, amongst dry oat-husks.
Time. 2 or 3 weeks to remain in the brine; to be hung 3 weeks.
Seasonable at any time.

Note. -The meat may be boiled fresh from this pickle, instead of
smoking it.

TO SALT BEEF.
66o. INGREDIENTS.-- 1/2 round of beef, 4 oz. of sugar, I oz. of
powdered saltpetre, 2 oz. of black pepper, 1/4 lb. of bay-salt, 1/2 lb.
of common salt.
Mode. Rub the meat well with salt, and let it remain for a day, to
disgorge and clear it from slime. The next day, rub it well with the
above ingredients on every side, and let it remain in the pickle for
about a fortnight, turning it every day. It may be boiled fresh from
the pickle, or smoked.
Time. 1 round of beef to remain in pickle about a fortnight.
Average cost, 7d. per lb.
Seasonable at any time.

Note. -The aitch-bone, flank, or brisket may be salted and pickled by
any of the recipes we have given for salting beef, allowing less time
for small joints to remain in the pickle; for instance, a joint of 8 or
9 lbs. will be sufficiently salt in about a week.

THE DUTCH WAY TO SALT BEEF.
66i. INGREDIENTS. 10 lbs. of lean beef, I lb. of treacle, 1 oz. of
saltpetre, 1 lb. of common salt.
Mode. Rub the beef well with the treacle, and let it remain for 3 days,
turning and rubbing it often; then wipe it, pound the salt and
saltpetre very fine, rub these well in, and turn it every day for 10
days. Roll it up tightly in a coarse cloth, and press it under a large
weight; have it smoked, and turn it upside down every day.
Boil it, and, on taking it out of the pot, put a heavy weight on it to
press it.
Time.-17 days.
Seasonable at any time.

BEEF SAUSAGES.
662. INGREDIENTS. -To every lb. of suet allow 2 lbs. of lean beef;
seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and mixed spices.
Mode. -Clear the, suet from skin, and chop that and the beef as
finely as possible; season with pepper, salt, and spices, and mix the
whole well together. Make it in to flat cakes, and fry of a nice
brown. Many persons pound the meat in a mortar after it is chopped; but
this is not necessary when the meat is minced finely.
Time. 10 minutes. Average cost, for this quantity, 18. 6d.
Seasonable at any time.

SPICED BEEF (to Serve Cold).
665. INGREDIENTS. -14 lbs. of the thick flank or rump of beef, 1/2
lb. of coarse sugar, 1 oz. of saltpetre, I lb. of pounded allspice, 1
lb. of common salt.
Mode. -Rub the sugar well into the beef, and let it lay for 12 hours;
then rub the saltpetre and allspice, both of which should be pounded,
over the meat, and let it remain for another 12 hours; then rub in the
salt. Turn daily in the liquor for a fortnight, soak it for a few
hours in water, dry with a cloth, cover with a coarse paste, put a
little water at the bottom of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven for
4 hours. If it is not covered with a paste, be careful to put the beef
into a deep vessel, and cover with a plate, or it will be too crisp.
During the time the meat is in the oven it should be turned once or
twice.
Time. -4 hours. Average cost, 7d. per lb.
Seasonable at any time.

BAKING MEAT. -Baking exerts some unexplained influence on meat,
rendering it less savoury and less agreeable than meat which has been
roasted. "Those who have traveled in Germany and France," writes Mr.
Lewis, one of our most popular scientific authors, "must have
repeatedly marveled at the singular uniformity in the flavour, or want
of flavour, of the various 'roasts' served up at the table-d'h=F4te."
The
general, explanation is, that the German and French meat is greatly
inferior in quality to that of England and Holland, owing to the
inferiority of pasturage; and doubtless this is one cause, but it is
not the chief cause. The meat is inferior, but the cooking is mainly
at fault. The meat is scarcely ever roasted because there is no coal,
and firewood is expensive. The meat is therefore baked; and the
consequence of this baking is, that no meat is eatable or eaten, with
its own gravy, but is always accompanied by some sauce more or less
piquant. The Germans generally, believe that in England we eat our beef
and mutton almost raw; they shudder at our gravy, as if it were so much
blood.

TO CURE TONGUES.
I=2E
674 INGREDINTS. For a tongue of 7 lbs., 1 oz. of saltpetre, 1/2 oz. of
black pepper, 4 oz. of sugar. 3 oz. of juniper berries, 6 oz. of salt.
Mode. Rub the above ingredients well into the tongue, and let it remain
in the pickle for 10 days or a fortnight; then drain it, tie it up in
brown paper, and have it smoked for about 20 days over a wood fire; or
it may be boiled out of this pickle.
Time. From 10 to 14 days to remain in the pickle; to be smoked 24 days.
Average cost, for a medium-sized uncured tongue, 2s. 6d.
Seasonable at any time.

Note. -If not wanted immediately, the tongne will keep 3 or 4 weeks
without being too salt; then it must not be rubbed, but only turned in
the pickle.


II.
675. INGREDIENTS. 9 lbs. of salt, 8 oz. of sugar, 9 oz. of powdered
saltpetre.
Mode. Rub the above ingredients well into the tongues, and keep them in
this curing mixture for 2 months, turning them every day. Drain them
from the pickle, cover with brown paper, and have them smoked for about
3 weeks.
Time. The tongues to remain in pickle 2 months; to be smoked 3 weeks
Sufficient. -The above quantity of brine suffloient for 12 tongues, of
5 lbs. each.
Seasonable at any time.


TO PICKLE AND DRESS A TONGUE TO EAT COLD.
676. INGREDIENTS. 6 oz. of salt, 2 oz. of bay-salt, 1 oz. of
saltpetre, 3 oz. of coarse sugar; cloves, mace, and allspice to taste;
butter, common crust of flour and water.
Mode. Lay the tongue for a fortnight in the above pickle, turn it
every day, and be particular that the spices are well pounded; put it
into a small pan just large enough to hold it, place some pieces of
butter on it, and cover with a common crust. Bake in a slow oven until
so tender that a straw would penetrate it; take off the skin, fasten it
down to a piece of board by running a fork through the root and another
through the tip, at the same time straightening it and putting it into
shape. When cold glaze it, putting a paper ruche around the root, which
is generally very unsightly, and garnish with tufts of parsley.
Time. From 3 to 4 hours in a slow oven, according to size.

794. PORK, TO BE PRESERVED, is cured in several ways, either by
covering it with salt, or immersing it in ready-made brine, where it is
kept till required; or it is only partially salted, and then hung up to
dry, when the meat is called white bacon ; or, after salting, it is
hung in wood smoke till the flesh is impregnatod with the aroma from
the wood. The Wiltshire bacon, which is regarded as the finest in the
kingdom, is prepared by laying the sides of a hog in large wooden
troughs, and then rubbing into the flesh quantities of powdered bay-
salt, made hot in a frying-pan. This process is repeated for four
days; they are then left for three weeks, merely turning the flitches
every other day. Aftor that time they are hung up to dry. The hog a
usually killed for purposes of bacon in England average from 18 to 20
stone; on the other hand, the hogs killed in the country for farm-house
purposes, seldom weigh less than 26 stone. The legs of boars, hogs,
and, in Germany, those of bears, are prepared differently, and called
hams.

Meat, in barrels, curing, had to be removed, the bottom cuts put back
in the barrel last, with new salt and / or brine. This is (was) known
as: overhauling

John213a > wrote:

> << The original poster would do better to find other ways of preserving the
> meat for winter, like canning it. >><BR><BR>
>
> Being the original poster, I refer back to my original post...
>
> "I am interested in what made them able to hold meat
> in a useful state without refrigeration for years at a time."
>
> I first posted to rec.food.historic and was referred here as I was getting
> no answer there. My interest is not so much 'living on the stuff' as it
> is in getting a handle on the historic material and a 'living example of
> it' as one of the posters had in his plastic bucket. I also have read the
> Patrick O'Brian and C S Forester novels and find the Historical
> perspective fascinating. I am not interested in canning meat, I have a
> freezer to keep things, and plenty of cookbooks for pate and other
> speciality foods ;-) My major concern is how could meat be preserved that
> way, in what must have been anerobic conditions with out the sterilazation
> of canning and still be free of botulism or other deadly consequences.
> It's salt content to present day palates is not my present concern, nor is
> a life on a 19th cent. sailor's diet a goal of mine. But What was in those
> barrels and the process that put it there, is, was, and still is my
> question.

Don't be too testy :-) Posters to this group generally enjoy eating what
they make!

There are books written on the topic -- I have read, somewhere, a fairly
detailed description of the contents of the 'salt horse' barrels and how
it got there, including the ways in which suppliers cheated the British
Navy at every turn, aided and abetted by some of the Navy surgeons and
pursers. 'Salt horse' was kind; it could be rancid pork, unfit to eat
even before it was salted in the barrels.

If you want a detailed description of how and why brining (wet or dry)
preserves meat, I suggest you refer to Harold McGee's 'On Food and
Cooking'. In short, if the salt concentration is high enough, none of
the bacteria/molds responsible for spoiling food can survive. You may
have been confused by modern hams and bacons, which are cured with so
little salt (and saltpetre) that most require refridgeration.

If you have a real interest in the topic, and are of normal or better
intelligence (:-), you really should try curing some meat yourself. It's
not difficult, and with a modicum of care (sterilising and mixing the
brines and so forth) you can find out what the food was like. Well, a
gourmet version of the food, anyway.

regards
sarah


--
Think of it as evolution in action.

John213a wrote:

> My major concern is how could meat be preserved that way, in what
> must have been anerobic conditions with out the sterilazation of
> canning and still be free of botulism or other deadly consequences.

Going backwards, botulism isn't the issue since that's an anerobe/anaerobe.

A high enough salt concentration and low enough hydration (therefore the
comments about carving the salted meat) will preclude the need for heat
sterilization.

You might want to try sci.bio.food-science for further resource into
those kinds of whys and wherefores; while the topic certainly overlaps
with the topic of this group, we are more interested in preservation and
consumption thereof .

B/

B/

John213a wrote:

> My major concern is how could meat be preserved that way, in what
> must have been anerobic conditions with out the sterilazation of
> canning and still be free of botulism or other deadly consequences.

Going backwards, botulism isn't the issue since that's an anerobe/anaerobe.

A high enough salt concentration and low enough hydration (therefore the
comments about carving the salted meat) will preclude the need for heat
sterilization.

You might want to try sci.bio.food-science for further resource into
those kinds of whys and wherefores; while the topic certainly overlaps
with the topic of this group, we are more interested in preservation and
consumption thereof .

B/

B/

alright! now that is the kind of information I was looking for. I suppose
that variations depending on the honesty of the provider and the nationality of
use would affect the extent of items other than salt.