Chapter I: Part 1

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.

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.

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.]

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.

§ 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.