Pickled Meat

TO PICKLE MEAT

6 lb. salt
1 lb. sugar
4 oz. saltpeter
4 gallons water

Six pounds of salt, one pound of sugar, and four ounces of saltpetre, boiled with four gallons of water, skimmed, and allowed to cool, forms a very strong pickle, which will preserve any meat completely immersed in it. To effect this, which is essential, either a heavy board or a flat stone must be laid upon the meat. The same pickle may be used repeatedly, provided it be boiled up occasionally with additional salt to restore its strength, diminished by the combination of part of the salt with the meat, and by the dilution of the pickle by the juices of the meat extracted. By boiling, the albumen, which would cause the pickle to spoil, is coagulated, and rises in the form of scum, which must be carefully removed.

From The Cook's Oracle by William Kitchiner M.D., New York, 1832

And I always wondered where does Scum came from? So scum is a by product, I had a sneaky feeling that scum was a by product of being pickled.:rolleyes:

I know the description sounds pretty yucky and I don't think I would reuse the brine unless I just had to. However, I do think it's a good way to preserve meats beyond salting and smoking (but I do love smoked food). I had a neighbor that used to pickle chickens and that was some gooooood stuff.

Oh, I almost forgot. Some of you may know this better than me but my mom used a horsehair paint brush to remove fat from the pot. It seems the fat clings to it very well. You can do the same thing by dropping ice cubes into the pot. The fat will cling to the cubes then just dip them out before they melt.

Interesting Rick, Sounds like a nice thing to have a bit off, Probily would go well with some smoked cheese :D

It just so much easier to wait for Mr. Moose to walk into the back yard. Slowly crank the window open, and wa'la 681 pounds of fine eating.:rolleyes:

Global warming will have ended. The next ice age will have ended. 2012 will have come and gone before Mr. Moose steps into a back yard in Indiana. Okay?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rick

TO PICKLE MEAT

6 lb. salt
1 lb. sugar
4 oz. saltpeter
4 gallons water

Six pounds of salt, one pound of sugar, and four ounces of saltpetre, boiled with four gallons of water, skimmed, and allowed to cool, forms a very strong pickle, which will preserve any meat completely immersed in it. To effect this, which is essential, either a heavy board or a flat stone must be laid upon the meat. The same pickle may be used repeatedly, provided it be boiled up occasionally with additional salt to restore its strength, diminished by the combination of part of the salt with the meat, and by the dilution of the pickle by the juices of the meat extracted. By boiling, the albumen, which would cause the pickle to spoil, is coagulated, and rises in the form of scum, which must be carefully removed.

From The Cook's Oracle by William Kitchiner M.D., New York, 1832

---

Interesting recepie. Not quite the same one I used when I got pickled, but interesting.

I'm beginning to understand why folks volunteer to serve on a boat that intentionally sinks.

Ahhh. As long as you have just as many surfacings as you do dives you're O.K. and remember - there only two types of ships in the world - Submarines and Targets!