xt7kkw57ft6p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kkw57ft6p/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1926 journals kaes_circulars_001_4_197 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 197 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 197 1926 2014 true xt7kkw57ft6p section xt7kkw57ft6p li   .
         
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A UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Y A L   ii  
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE   q 1-,  
- A ? 2 ’ ·  
. Extension Division   {   ll`] A»i’ Q
_ THOMAS P. COOPER, Dean and Director. F   if
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_ CIRCULAR NO. 197 l -.  
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z CUI IING AND CURING PORK _ l  
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Fig. 2. A pork cutting demonstration on aa. Crittenden County farm.  ’  
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n 4 Kev:/acL·y E.1·/c11.sz'01z. Circular N0. 197  
J ·’·· t0 use simple equimcnt in these demo11strations. In many cases
‘° a double-bit axe, two sharp knives and an oil stone constituted
· ` the equipment. lt is preferable to have a saw but not absolutely
l T necessary.
` _ The initial step in cutting up the pig is to remove the head.
° after which tl1e carcass should be placed on a platform strong
enough to support the weight of a man in addition to the carcass.
i- 1 Steady the carcass by placing one of your feet on each side of it.
  Then split the backbone down the center. i
  Q "\Vhy split the backbone down the center?" inquired one
l of our audience at a demonstration. "That ruins the backbone,"
  said he.
  "liy making the cut in this way, we make pork chops, which
_   are superior in every way to backbone," was the answer.
;‘  This is true because pork chops have 1nore high quality meat
_Q  i on them and can be cooked either by frying or boiling, while back-
  bone must be prepared by boiling only. The method generally
  l employed in cutting farm pork prescribes that the ribs be cut
,»   loose on both sides whe1·e they join the backbone, the loin strip
E?  · usually being used for sausage. When the backbone is split, the
;   loin strip is left on for chops and the rib is cut in two three or
;. four inches below where it joins the backbone. It was also ex-
- · plained that the hog carcass should he split just as soon as the
JY carcass is cleaned, since this will aid the rapid cooling of the
t i_ carcass.
  V "l'f l use your method instead of the usual method, there is
{· more meat that must be used while fresh," rejoined one of our
  listeners.
  "()h, no," it was answered, "the loin eau he used for sau-
  sage just as it always has been, while the remainder of the cut
  can be used for chops. Some farmers salt down the loin cut for
  8 or lt) days, smoke it and wrap it just as they do hams. As such,
  the loin has proved highly satisfactory.
  The next step in our demonstration was to count back from
hj L} to   ribs from the head end of the carcass and remove the shoul-
V der. At this point p1·ogress was again halted by the question, 4

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  Cutting and Curing Pork 5 . l      
i "How do you keep shoulder meat from getting strong when it ` ·     
Q begins to age'2"     QE}  
  ‘°Th8vt7S €HSy," Was the reply, “just take care not to cure i Q 2  
_ ; so much of it in one piece," ’ ·     ___Q  
i Then WG I‘€m0VeCl the upper third of the shoulder and neatly    
trimmed the lower two-thirds. It was then explained that, if  
l the uper third was taken oif, the picnic could be cured more uni- ‘_    
  formly, because the cure would penetrate the piece around the V  
i   shoulder blade more uniformly. · y  
  "But what can be done with the part of the shouldériygu Cut ‘_j  
l <>ff‘¢" ‘ “  
"That can be cured and used for seasoning, used as fresh i ‘_  
j pork roasts, or made into sausage, preferably the latter, be-  
  cause most country sausage has too little lean in it anyway," ,  
  was the answer. A  
  The fat part of the shoulder butt-—clear plate-—should be i  
i rendered into lard.  
Our next cut was the ham, which was cut Off Squafcly about .  
, three iingers’ width in front of the aitch bone-called "line"  
bone by many. It was then trimmed. This time there came more  
questions from our audience. _  
"Why not make the ham longer ?i" was one question. i  
"We take the long end oif because it is the part that gets  
r strong and is wasted."  
We have talked with many country ham dealers in the ·  
citi-es and, in every case, they have said that they would pay  
more for well trimmed hams, and preferred that the long point  
be removed. A standard criticism among €0¤Su111€1‘S of ¢0¤11‘¤1‘Y  
ham is; " The long point is waste." This is due to the fact that .  
the cure is not uniform around the bones of a ham with the long Y  
point.  
p "How do you hang your hams after they have been cured, T  
and isn ’t it a fact-that they should be hung hock down, which is  
the natural position of the piece on the hog?"  
I "1f there is an advantage in hanging the ham hock down, i  
it is that the drainage concentrates on the hock bone, a part of  
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¥ 6 Kentucky Extension O'ircu»la»r N0. 197 { t
  little value. As a matter of fact, several successful ham produc- F
ers hang them hock up and get just as good results as those who ·
. use the opposite method," was the reply. .
V Our pork cutting demonstration was completed after we  
had split the side of the carcass about one-fourth of the distance  
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i Fig. 3. Shoulder, bacon, ham, loin and fat back improperly trimmed.
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  Fig. 4. Shoulder, bacon and ham properly trimmed,
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  Cutting and Curing Pork 7    
  from the top. The bacon strip of this 225 pound carcass was   —
l about 10 inches wide after it was trimmed. The chop and loin    
I cut was now removed from the fat back which was to be rendered _  
j into lard. Fat back makes good lard, but it makes a poor cured    
T product. T    
T At this time we paused to examine some big sides of meat  
l that remained from the previous season. These had been trim-  
, med in the old way and were at least 15 inches wide. They had  
j been cured with salt alone and left unsmoked. Consequently,  
T they presented a hard surface, and a characteristically strong  
, odor. During the progress of our examination, a man who had  
lived for about three score years, remarked, "I used to be able  
. to eat that kind of meat, but now my stomach won’t let me. Any-  
Z way, " said he, "The sweet cured smoked meat has a better ‘  
i iiavor and I don ’t see why anybody wouldn ’t like it better/’.  
T The curing of meat was then considered. The principal in-  
Tgredients to use in meat curing are salt and sugar, followed by  
a period of smoking with green hickory or other hardwood. Salt ·  
preserves meat by forcing -out moisture and simultaneously    
hardening the tissue. Sugar counteracts, to some extent, this  
tissue hardening eifect of the salt, sweetens and improves the  
flavor of the meat. So,¤in salt and sugar we have the ideal cure.  
"How about borax and saltpeter?" asked one of our listen-  
ers.   _  
"Saltpeter preserves the rich red color of meats but, if used  
at all, should be used only sparingly. Borax is of little beneiit,  
if any. Both saltpeter and borax harden meat tissue-—more so TT  
than salt, " was the answer.  
To summarize the steps in curing pork. It should not be put .  
into cure until free of all animal heat.  
After being trimmed, it should first be rubbed with salt and  
allowed to lie for about 48 hours before the salting is finished.  
As it is salted, the meat may be placed in a barrel o1· oak box  
with suliieient holes in the bottom for drainage; or it may be left  
on a table. If allowed to remain. on the table, there will be Some T5, 
risk of insect attack.  
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 . 8 Kentucky Extension Circular N0. 1.97 L
?— Allow the salt to continue its action for 2 curing days for
if each pound, in case of small hams and shoulders, and 1% cur-
ing days to the pound for bacon. Leave no piece in salt more A
A tha11 28 days.
` _ The temperature of the ideal curing day is 36 degrees
l. Fahrenheit. If the temperature drops below freezing, the meat
is taking no salt a.t all, hence such days should not be counted
{ in dete1·mining the salt period.
l After the meat has been in salt for the specified time, re- ·
  move and wash it in lukewarm water, after which hang it and
l allow it to drain. V _ W A
A Smoke with green hickory or other hardwood for from 2%  
,-  to 6 days. A good index of meat that is sufficiently smoked is  
_ A a characteristic amber color.   {
  Next in order is the sweet ingredient of the curing mixture.   '
L.  Hot sorghum molasses can well be used to furnish this part of  
  the cure. It should be applied with a small brush.  
l   The meat should then be wrapped with two layers of heavy .3; 
*‘,_ " paper, tied with a strong cord and put into substantial cloth  
"  l bags. This finishes the cure.  
é F Then follows the process of ageing, which accounts for the  
  vast diiference in the flavor of country and packer cured hams.  
  After the hams have been wrapped as speeihed, they should bo . 3 
` hung in a dark, dry smokehouse. @
. A large percentage of farmers who follow a prescribed plan  
  of meat curing, stop when they get to the suggestion on wrap-  
  ping. The wrapping is just as important as any other step in the  
  method. Properly wrapped hams seldom are attacked by
  skippers or other insects. In addition, the wrapping assists in
gi keeping the meat soft and juicy.
 
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