Chapter II: Part 2

Owing to the thickness of the feathers on ducks and geese, dry picking with them is usually a slower process than with other birds. After bleeding, a cloth should be wrapped around the head to catch the blood, so that the feathers will not become bloody. The goose or duck should then be laid on a board on the top of an open barrel or jar, and the feathers dropped into the vessel as they are picked. The coarse wing feathers should be kept separate from the softer feathers. When the feathers have been removed the short down may removed by singeing with a gasoline or alcohol flame. A hot flame should not be used, as it will give an oily appearance to the skin.

When it is not desired to save the feathers, quicker work may be done by scalding the birds and wrapping them for a few minutes in a sack or blanket to steam. Since there is danger of their being steamed too much, they should be closely watched, and, as soon as the feathers come out readily, they are ready to be picked, singed, and then cooled by plunging into cold water. The sudden cooling hardens the skin.

Keeping Meat Fresh

In the sub-tropical climate of Canton, it is difficult to keep meat fresh for any length of time without the use of ice. With a room temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and above, meat will keep fresh but a few hours. If placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of from 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it will keep fresh for a week to ten days. Dry air should circulate freely through the refrigerator. Moisture in the refrigerator tends to develop mould, which is apt to cause decomposition of the meat. A little decay will soon contaminate a large amount of meat.

In the north, meat may be kept fresh during the cold season by freezing it solid. The carcass may be cut into quarters or smaller pieces and hung in an open outbuilding where it will freeze solid, and remain frozen until the weather begins to warm up in the spring. Whenever a piece is wanted it can be removed with a saw. Rapid thawing of frozen meat greatly injures its flavor. If the meat is thawed out slowly in a cold room, the flavor of the meat will not be injured. Meat can be kept frozen for months if kept in cold room, or in a refrigerator with a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and with proper ventilation provided.

Curing Meats: American Methods

§ 34. Preparing the Meat for Curing

Meat should be thoroughly cooled before it is cured, or it will spoil. The proper time to begin curing is when the meat is cooled and still fresh. Twenty to thirty hours after killing is the proper time to begin the cure. If salted before the animal heat has left it, the shrinkage of muscles causes a retention of gases, and gives an offensive odor to the meat. The meat should not be frozen, as the cure will not penetrate such meat evenly, and an uneven curing will result. Tainted meat may be cured so that it will keep, but no system of curing will bring back the natural flavor of the meat, if it is once lost.

§ 35. Vessels for Curing

Vitrified clay jars, with straight sides, similar to the jars used for fermenting beans in making soy bean sauce, are the best vessels for containing the meat. These jars, large enough to hold conveniently the hams, shoulders, and sides of two hogs, are best for curing meat for the first time, and the meat can be watched and cared for better in small jars than in large jars containing more meat. In America, where such jars are expensive, it is the custom to use a clean, hardwood barrel for the purpose. One that has been used for syrup or molasses is best. If a kerosene or tar barrel is used, it should be first thoroughly burned out, and used as a water barrel for some time before it is used for meat. Vitrified clay jars are preferred to wooden barrels as they are cleaned more readily. If meat has once spoiled in a wooden barrel, the vessel should not be used again for containing meat. Vessels that are used repeatedly for curing meat should be scalded thoroughly each time before packing with fresh meat.

§ 36. Curing Agents

Salt, saltpeter, sugar or molasses, and a variety of spices are the principal preservatives used in curing meat. Borax, formalin, salicylic acid, and other chemicals are sometimes used. However, as they are considered by many authorities to be injurious to the health, their use should be avoided. Baking soda is used in wet pickles to check the growth of mould.

When salt alone is applied to meat, it draws out the meat juices and contracts the muscle fibers, making the meat very hard and dry. The action of the sugar or the molasses is to soften the muscle fibers and improve the texture and flavor of the meat, hence the combination of sugar and salt make a good cure. Saltpeter is used to preserve the natural red color of the meat. It should be used in small quantities only, as it is very astringent, and, if used in large quantities is apt to be injurious to the health.

Wet and Dry Cures Compared

A wet cure is more convenient than a dry cure. It is less trouble to pack the meat in a jar or barrel and pour on the prepared wet pickle than it is to go over the meat three or four times and rub in the spices. The brine method also gives protection from insects. However, in warm weather, the brine has to be watched very closely, and, if mould forms on the surface of the pickle, it should be removed every day or two. The brine also needs to be recooked every week or ten days in warm weather to prevent undesirable bacteria from growing in it. A cool, dry room is the best for either brine or dry curing. In a dry atmosphere below 60 degrees Fahrenheit there is very little danger of the meat becoming sour, although a temperature below 40 degrees is better.

Recipes for Curing Meat

§ 37. Corned Beef

Any piece of beef can be used for corning, but the cheaper cuts are the parts generally used for this purpose. The plate, rump, and parts of the chuck are generally used, although the ribs, loin, and round may also be used. The pieces for corning should be cut into pieces of convenient size, say four or five inches square. If they are cut much larger, they well not cure very well as the pickle will not work in soon enough. They should be cut as nearly the same size as is possible so they will pack in even layers in the barrel or jar.

When as the meat is thoroughly cooled, it should be corned as quickly as possible. Weigh the meat and allow 10 pounds of salt for each 100 pounds of meat. Sprinkle a layer of salt a half inch deep over the bottom of the jar in which the meat is to be placed. Rub each piece of meat with good, clean salt. Pack each layer of meat closely in the bottom of the jar, and sprinkle a layer of salt one-fourth to one-half inch deep on each layer of meat before the following layer of meat is placed in the jar, and cover the top layer of meat with a good layer of salt. After it has stood over night, cover with a brine made as follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, use four pounds of sugar, six ounces baking soda, and eight ounces of saltpeter. Dissolve in a gallon of water that has been boiled and cooled until it is tepid. Three gallons more of boiled, tepid water should then be added. Meat from fat animals makes choicer corned beef than that from poor animals. Under no circumstances should meat be corned while it is frozen.

In case of more or less than one hundred pounds of meat to be corned, make the brine in the proportion given. The meat should be weighted down with a board and stone so that all the meat is well beneath the surface of the brine. In case any of the meat projects above the surface, decay will commence in a short time.

It is best to cook the brine, or the water used in making the brine solution. If the weather is warm, the brine is apt to get sour and ropy. In that case, wash each piece of meat in cold water, scald the vessel and repack in a new brine. If the brine is reboiled every few days before it gets ropy, it is not necessary to make new brine so frequently. To test the brine for freshness, dip the fingers into it, and if it does not drip freely from the fingers, but appears stringy or ropy, it should be turned off, the meat washed, and new brine added. In the spring of the year, the brine should be watched closely, as it is more likely to spoil at that time than during the cold winter months. If kept in a cool place, with a uniform temperature of below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and above freezing, there should be little trouble from this source. To secure thorough corning, the meat should be kept in the brine for twenty-eight to forty days, the exact length of time depending on the size of the pieces of meat and on the weather.

§ 38. Dried Beef

The round and shoulders are the parts most commonly used for dried beef. The pieces should be cut with the grain, so that the muscle fibers will be cut crosswise when the dried beef is sliced for table use. It should be cut in about the same sizes as for corned beef, and packed in vessels in the same manner. The pickle should be made as follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out six pounds table salt, three pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix these pieces thoroughly. Before the meat is placed in the jar, each piece should be well rubbed with the spice mixture. Dissolve the remainder of the spices in four gallons of boiled water that has been allowed to cool. Pour this pickle solution over the meat in the jar until it is completely covered. Weight the meat down, as in the case with corned beef. The pickle solution should be watched and, in the case of tendency to become ropy, should be handled as in corning beef.

After ten days, the meat should be removed from the pickle and hung up in an airy out-house to drip and dry. When dry, which should be in about 24 hours, it can be smoked, as in the case of smoking ham. The drier the climate, the more easily can the meat be dried and smoked. It is difficult to dry and smoke meat in the Canton region unless done in December and January, before the rains begin.

§ 39. Plain Salt Pork

Rub each piece of meat with fine common salt and pack closely in a barrel. Let stand over night. The next day, weigh out twelve pounds of salt and three ounces of saltpeter to each one hundred pounds of meat, and dissolve in four gallons of boiling water. When cold, pour this pickle over the meat, cover and weight down to keep the meat under the brine. The meat will pack best if cut into pieces about six inches square.

§ 40. Dry Cured Pork

For each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh cut eight pounds of salt, two pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix thoroughly, and rub the meat once every three days, using a third of the mixture at each rubbing. Keep the meat on a shelf, or in a vessel, while curing. After the last rubbing, allow the meat to remain in a vessel for about ten days, when it is cured and ready to smoke. To cure nicely, it is desirable to have a cool and rather moist place in which to keep it.

This recipe should not be used where the meat must be kept in a warm dry place, as the preservatives will not penetrate easily and uniformly under such conditions.

§ 41. Sugar Cured Pork

Rub each piece with salt and allow to remain over night. A wet pickle, or brine, may also be forced into the hams and shoulders close to the bone with a special pump, using from 5 to 10 ounces of the pickle or brine for each piece, the amount depending on the size of the piece. The following morning pack in a vessel with the hams and shoulders at the bottom and the bacon on the top. For each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out eight pounds of salt, two pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpeter, and one-half pound baking soda. Dissolve all in four gallons of water, and cover the meat with this wet pickle. In warm weather, the pickle should be boiled and thoroughly cooled before using. A board and stone should be used to weight down the meat. Bacon strips should remain in the pickle from three to four weeks, and the hams and shoulders five to seven weeks, depending on their size. If desired, the meat may then be smoked. Before being smoked meat should be soaked for several hours in clean water at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to remove the excess salt on the surface of the meat and thus make the meat more palatable. In soaking the meat about one-half pint of water should be used for each pound of meat.[1] The Canton Christian College has had very good success with this cure.

§ 42. Pork Sausage

Pork sausage should be made from clean, fresh pork only. The parts generally used are the shoulder, neck, and lean meat trimmings. About three pounds of lean meat should be used to one pound of fat meat. Mix the fat and lean meat together in chopping. With some cutters it is necessary to run the meat through twice in order to make it fine enough and to mix thoroughly the lean with the fat meat. After it has been cut the first time, spread thinly and season. For each 100 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds of pure, fine salt, four ounces of ground black pepper, and two pounds of pure leaf sage, rubbed fine. The seasoning should be sprinkled over the meat, and the meat again run through the cutter, in order to mix the spice thoroughly with the meat. For immediate use, the sausage may be packed away in jars. It may be kept for some time in a jar if melted lard is poured over the top, so as to exclude the air. The sausage may also be stuffed into muslin bags about two inches in diameter. If the stuffed bags are coated with paraffin, they will keep for some time.

§ 43. Mixed Meat Sausage

Mixed sausage may be made from a mixture of pork and beef in almost any proportion. Sausage should not contain too much fat. A good proportion is two pounds of lean pork, one pound of fat pork, and one pound of lean beef.

§ 44. Bologna Sausage

To each ten pounds of lean beef, use one pound of fat pork or bacon. Chop finely and season with three ounces of salt, two ounces pepper, and a little ground coriander. Stuff casing, and tie every ten or twelve inches. Hang the stuffed casings straight. Smoke for ten or twelve hours. Cook in boiling water until the sausage floats. Dry on clean hay or straw in the sun and hang away in a cool place until wanted.

§ 45. Blood Sausage

Blood sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds of cured pork or shoulder fat, seven pounds cured fat skins, six pounds of blood, one-half pound onions, one pound salt, one-half ounce white pepper, one ounce sweet marjoram, and one-half ounce cloves.

Cook the fat for one hour and the skins two hours at a temperature of 200° Fahrenheit. When cooked, put through a grinder, grinding quite fine. Then add the blood and seasoning and mix thoroughly. Stuff into large beef casings and boil in the same water in which meat was cooked until the sausage floats. Then dip the sausage in cold water and hang up to cool.

§ 46. Smoked or Country Sausage

The following ingredients are used in making smoked or country sausage: 85 pounds lean pork, 15 pounds beef, one and one-half to two pounds salt, four ounces black pepper, and one ounce sweet marjoram.

Cut the meat into small pieces and sprinkle seasoning over it. Then grind finely. Put away in a cool place for twenty-four to thirty-six hours, then add a little water, and stuff into hog casings and smoke in a very cool smoke until a dark mahogany is obtained.

§ 47. Frankfort or Vienna Sausage

This popular sausage is made with the following ingredients: 70 pounds beef, 30 pounds fat pork, 20 pounds water, one and one-half to two pounds salt, two ounces red pepper.

Cut the beef into small pieces, salt, and allow it to cure for forty-eight hours in a cool room. Cut the pork into small pieces and put the beef and pork through a grinder together. Put into a vessel and add the water and spices. After it is all mixed, put it through a grinder again and grind fine. Stuff into sheep casings. Then, by means of the forefinger and thumb, press the stuffed casing together about four inches from one end, and give this first link two or three twists. Do the same about every four inches, twisting each succeeding link in the opposite direction from the preceding link, in order to prevent untwisting. Then hang in a smoke house for about two hours at a temperature not to exceed 125° Fahrenheit. After smoking, boil for five or ten minutes, then plunge into cold water and hang in a cool place.

§ 48. Liver Sausage

Odds and ends, resulting from trimming up the various cuts of the hog carcass, as well as the liver itself, can be used in making liver sausage. If the head is used, it should first be cleaned, as for headcheese. The jowl, which is practically all fat, may be cut off and made into salt pork, or used for rendering lard. The remainder of the head meat, trimmings, liver cut into slices, and some beef or veal, if such meat can be had, should be boiled. Skin that is free from hair, and from which the fat has been removed, is also sometimes used. The skin will cook before the meat, so it should be put in a cloth sack and removed when thoroughly cooked. Liver cooks in a very short time, and should be removed before the rest of the meat. The meat should cook until it readily falls from the bones. All the meat should then be ground in a meat grinder. For 40 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces sweet marjoram, one ounce allspice, one ounce black pepper, and about one gallon broth in which the meat was cooked. Garlic or onions can be added, if desired. The seasoning should be well worked into the meat. It can then be put into jars, covered with paraffin, or stuffed into beef casings or rounds. When stuffed into casings or rounds, it should be cooked in the same water the meat was cooked in until it floats. Then it should be placed in cold water until the sausage is thoroughly cooled.

§ 49. Summer Sausage

Summer sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds cured beef free from sinews, 15 pounds pork trimmings, four to six ounces white pepper, one ounce whole black pepper, and one ounce whole mustard seed.

This sausage can be made in cold weather only. All the meat is put through the grinder, and spices added. No salt is needed as the cured beef is salty enough. Mix it all thoroughly until it is evenly seasoned. Spread it out in a cool place for thirty-six to forty hours. Then stuff into hog casings and let it hang over night. Smoke with cold smoke for several days. If kept in a dry place, it can be kept the year round. It if gets moldy, simply wipe off the mold before using.

§ 50. Headcheese

The head of the hog, and trimmings, are used for making headcheese. The head should be shaved clean and nostrils cut off just in front of the eyes. Cut out the eyes and ear drums. The fattest part of the head is generally used for lard. Clean the head by soaking it in water for some time to extract all blood and dirt. After the head is thoroughly cleaned, cover with water and boil until the meat separates from the bones. Lungs and heart may be cooked with the head. When it is thoroughly cooked, take out the meat, saving the liquor for future use. Chop the meat finely. Season with one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces black pepper, four ounces allspice, and four ounces ground cloves, together with two gallons of the liquor for every 50 pounds of meat. The mixing should be done thoroughly, so that proper seasoning is secured. Stuff the meat into large beef casings thoroughly cleaned, hog stomach, or muslin bags about three or four inches in diameter. After stuffing into casings, it should be boiled until it floats on the top, then place in cold water for a short time. Store away in a clean, cool place on a shelf or table. If there are no casings or muslin available in which to stuff the meat, it can be kept in shallow pans.

§ 51. Scrapple

The head and feet of hogs are generally used in making scrapple, but scrapple can be made from any hog meat. The heads should be split through the middle and placed in a kettle with sufficient water to cover them. They should be cooked until the meat falls from the bones. Drain off the broth. Separate the bones from the meat, then chop the meat fine and add it to the broth, and boil. Corn meal should be added until it is as thick as mush. Add the corn meal slowly and stir vigorously, so as to avoid lumpiness. Stir the mixture well for ten or fifteen minutes, and allow it to boil one hour. Pour the scrapple into shallow pans or molds. When cold, it should be sliced and fried.

§ 52. Snow Packing

Snow packing is a method that can be used only in localities where snow and continued dry cold weather prevails during the winter months. The carcass should be cut into steaks, roasts, and boiling pieces. All trimmings for the table should be made before freezing the meat. Lay the pieces out to freeze. Be sure they freeze solid to the center. In the bottom of a box large enough to hold all the meat, pack a layer of snow. Put in a larger of the frozen meat, packing in such a way that the pieces do not touch each other. Cover with a layer of snow, and continue with alternate layers of meat and snow. Set the box in a room where it will not be subject to changes in temperature. For convenience, it is well to pack the steaks in one section or end of the box, and the roasts and stews in another. The meat will then be but little disturbed when a supply is taken from the box. Only snow should be used in packing. Be sure the meat is frozen solid before packing, and it will keep through the winter, unless the weather gets very warm. In preparing the meat for the table, it should not be thawed out too rapidly.

§ 53. Partial Cooking

Partial cooking and packing in jars is a method of preserving meat which is sometimes used on the farm. It has the advantage over snow packing in that it can be done in warm weather and is a most satisfactory way of keeping fresh pork. However, it requires considerably more work than other methods of preserving meat.

The loin and side meat, or any part of the carcass, may be used. Cut into slices about one-half inch thick, and fry until a little more than half done. Pack the slices in a jar and cover with hot lard. As the meat is wanted, it can be removed from the jar and warmed up. If the jar is to stand any length of time without using, after it has been opened, it is best again to cover the top with lard. It is better to use several small jars than one large one. They should be kept in a cool, dark room to insure safe-keeping of the meat.

§ 54. Rendering Lard

The leaf lard, fat back, and fat trimmings from the hams, shoulders and neck make good lard. Intestinal fat should never be mixed with the other fat parts, as it makes a strong smelling lard of an inferior grade, but should be rendered by itself. By thorough washing and soaking in cold water for several hours, part of the offensive odor will leave it.

First of all, remove the skin from the fat trimmings. To do this, place the meat on a table, skin side down, and cut the fat from the skin, using a strong knife. When a piece of skin large enough to grasp is freed from the fat, take it in the left hand, and, with the right hand, insert the knife between the skin and fat. Pull the skin and cut with the knife slightly slanted downward. With a little practice, the fat can be cleanly removed from the skin in this way with one clean cut of the knife. The strips of fat should then be cut into cubes of one to one and one-half inches, making them about equal in size so they will try out evenly.

Pour into the kettle about a quart of water or melted lard, and then fill it nearly full with the cubes of fat meat. The fat will then heat properly and the lard will be brought out without burning. Keep a moderate fire until the cracklings are brown and light enough to float. Frequent stirring is necessary to prevent burning. When done, remove from the fire and allow to cool slightly. Then strain through a muslin cloth into a jar. Stir it occasionally, until it is cool enough to begin to solidify. Stirring while it is cooling tends to whiten the lard and make it smoother. A quarter of a pound of saleratus added to each one hundred pounds of fat has a like effect.

When removing lard from a container for use, take it evenly from the surface. Do not dig down into the center of the lard, for when this is done, it will leave a coating of lard around the sides of the container which will become rancid very quickly by the action of bacteria in the air.

§ 55. Smoked Meats

The process of smoking helps to preserve meat, and, if smoked properly, and with the right kind of fuel, adds a desirable flavor to meat. The creosote formed by the combustion of the wood closes the pores to some extent, and excludes the air. This also helps to keep out the insects.

§ 56. The Smokehouse

The size of smokehouse to build depends on the amount of meat that is to be smoked. In a house eight feet square and ten feet high, the hams, sides, and shoulders of three to five hogs can be smoked at one time. Ventilation should be provided to carry off the warm air in order to prevent overheating the meat. A chimney, made by placing a six inch tile in the roof, makes a good ventilator. The smoke house walls may be built of lumber, brick, or concrete. Lumber would be the cheapest, but least permanent, and concrete the most costly. Brick is no doubt the most satisfactory material for a small smoke house in southern China. Mud bricks may be used, but burnt clay bricks are more lasting. The roof should be made of tile. The best material for the floor is large square tiles, called in Chinese _taai ch’uen_ (大磚). Concrete or brick may also be used, but would be more expensive then _taai ch’uen_.

A good arrangement is to have the fire box outside the smoke house, with a flue to carry the smoke into the smoke house. When this cannot well be arranged, a fire may be built on the floor of the house, and the meat shielded from heavy smoke by a sheet of tin, about four feet square, placed over the fire between the fire and the meat, about three feet above the floor.

§ 57. The Fuel

Lychee, or any other hard wood, makes good fuel for smoking meat. Resinous woods, such as pines and cedars, should never be used as they give an objectionable flavor to the meat due to turpentine which they contain.

§ 58. Preparing Meat for Smoking

Meat that is to be smoked should be removed from the brine and thoroughly washed in tepid water in order to clean off the coat of pickle that has formed on the surface of the meat. It can then he hung up in the smokehouse, but should be allowed to drain for a day or two before the fire is started. The pieces of meat should be hung so that the air can pass freely between them.

§ 59. The Fire

For the first day or two, the fire should be slow, in order that the warming of the meat may be gradual. In clear, dry weather, smoking may continue from the day the smoking begins until it is completed, which should be in one to three weeks, the length of time depending on the size of the pieces of meat and on the weather. When sufficiently smoked, the meat will have a characteristic straw color. Meat should never be smoked on a damp day, because in a damp atmosphere moisture will condense on the meat, and moist meat will not smoke well. Light smoking for two weeks is better than heavy smoking for one week. With a longer period of smoking the smoke will enter the meat more thoroughly.

§ 60. Keeping Smoked Meats

During cool weather smoked meats may be left in the smokehouse for some time after the smoking process is completed. The house should be kept dark in order to keep out flies, and it should be well ventilated so as to prevent dampness. A dry, cool cellar, with free circulation of fresh air, will be a satisfactory place for keeping smoked meats.

If the smoked meat is to be kept only a short time, it needs only to be hung up without covering. For longer keeping, it is well to wrap first in paper, and then in burlap, canvass or muslin, and bury the meat in a grain bin or box of sand. The object of this is to provide a condition which will be uniform in temperature and keep out insects.

A coat of ground pepper, rubbed into the meat before wrapping, will be distasteful to insects.

After smoked meat has become thoroughly dry, it may be wrapped in parchment paper and enclosed in a heavy muslin or canvass, which should be covered with yellow wash or ordinary lime white wash with glue added.

§ 61. Recipe for Yellow Wash

For one hundred pounds hams or bacon, take: three pounds barytes (barium sulphate), .06 pound glue, .80 pound chrome yellow (lead chromate), .40 pound flour, and twelve pounds water.

Put the flour in the water, dissolving all lumps thoroughly. Dissolve the chrome in a quart of water in a separate vessel, and add the solution and the glue to the flour and water. Bring the whole to a boil, and add the barytes slowly, stirring constantly. Make the wash the day before it is required. Stir it frequently when using, and apply with a brush.

Chinese Meat Recipes

§ 62. Bean Sauce Sausage (_Laap Ch’eung_ 腊腸).

Sausage is a very popular meat with the Chinese, especially during the winter season. It is probably the most widely used of all cured meats, although as a rule it is quite expensive compared with other meats.

§ 63. Pickle for Bean Sauce Sausage

For every catty of meat, use:

Saltpeter (_siu_ 硝) 1 mace[2] (_ts’in_ 一錢)
Salt (_shuk im_ 熟鹽) 3 mace (_ts’in_ 三錢)
Sugar (_ping fa t’ong_ 冰花糖) 2 mace (_ts’in_ 二錢)
First-drawn bean sauce (_t’au ch’au yau_ 頭抽油) 2 mace
Raw bean sauce (_shang ch’au yau_ 生抽油) 1 mace
Mixture of spices (_ng heung fan_ 五香粉) 1 mace

The mixture of spices is made up of the following:

Red pepper (_ch’un tsiu_ 春椒) 10 mace
Ground anise seed (_taai wui_ 大回) 10 mace
Cloves (_ting heung_ 丁香) 10 mace
Cinnamon (_yuk kwai_ 玉桂) 10 mace

These spices should be purchased separately and never ready mixed, as ready made mixtures are often worthless.

Sometimes two orange peelings, finely cut or ground, fresh or dried are used for every ten catties of meat. Two mace of double distilled wine (_sheung ching tsau_ 雙蒸酒), or treble distilled wine (_saam ching tsau_ 三蒸酒), and a wine called (_fan tsau_ 汾酒), are sometimes added for each catty of meat. The wine helps preserve the meat.

The above spices should be carefully mixed and the mixture thoroughly stirred into the meat. In mixing the spices the usual method is to use the hands as mixers. A better way is to use a large spoon, or some similar utensil.

§ 64. Preparation of the Meat for Sausage

Use hams, shoulders, chops, fat back, and neck. Sometimes the liver is added to give a dark color. No belly meat or tough parts should be used. Separate the lean from the fat meat. Chop into pieces about one-quarter inch in diameter, or run through a sausage mill. One part fat and one part lean meat is generally used, though the proportion may vary either way, to suit the taste and demand.

§ 65. Sausage Casing (_Ch’eung I_ 腸衣)

Sausage casing is generally made from the middle coat of the small intestines of sheep although it is also made from the intestines of the hog. The casing is very thin and transparent. Some casing is prepared in Canton, but most of what is used in Canton comes from Shanghai, as there are comparatively few sheep or goats slaughtered in Canton. The dried casing sells for $3.00 to $6.00 a catty.

§ 66. Softening the Casing

When ready to be used, the casing should be immersed in luke warm water for a few minutes to soften it. If the walls of the casing adhere to each other so that it is difficult for the meat to enter, water should be forced through to distend the casing.

§ 67. Filling the Casing

Insert the small end of the filler (a tin funnel about six inches long) into the end of the casing. Hold the casing tightly to the filler with the left hand, and with the right hand force the meat through the filler into the casing. It is customary to use the hand for this, but a large wooden spoon would work just as well.

A sausage stuffing machine can be purchased for a few dollars, and will do the work of stuffing in a much more satisfactory manner than it can be done by hand. The end of the casing is tied around a tube at the bottom of a jar containing the sausage meat. A disc the size and shape of the inside of the jar is then pressed down on the meat with a lever, and the meat is thus forced into the casing. Such a machine will do the work of five or six men, and if of the right type, can also be used as a lard press. If it is difficult to force the meat into the casing, on account of compressed air, the air should be allowed to escape by punching small holes in the casing with pins. The stuffed casing is usually tied with a string every six inches, cut into convenient lengths, and hung up to dry.

§ 68. Sunning and Drying

The sausage should be prepared in the morning, so that it can be hung up to sun by noon. If it is prepared in the afternoon, there is some danger of its spoiling, especially if the day is not very cold, because it has to be stored over night before it gets much sun. Sunshine and cold north wind are needed to make the best sausage. With five days of wind and sun, the meat becomes hard and firm. In case of rainy or damp weather while the sausage is being dried, it must be hung up in a small room and a small charcoal or wood fire kept burning underneath. If the sausage is not well sunned or dried, it is very likely to spoil, and an effort should be made to get it pretty well dried within five days.

§ 69. Season and Weather for Making Sausage

The time for making sausage is when there is a dry, cold wind blowing from the north. Such weather usually does not occur before the middle of November. From this time to the middle of January is usually the best season. If made earlier, the weather will not be cool enough. If made later, the chances for sunny weather are lessened, and the meat is not apt to cure so well.

§ 70. Lean Pork Sausage (_Shau Yuk Ch’eung_ 瘦肉腸)

This sausage is made the same as ordinary sausage, except that only lean meat is used.

§ 71. Liver Sausage (_Yun Ch’eung_ 潤腸)

In this sausage, duck liver is used instead of lean meat. Otherwise, it is made the same as ordinary sausage.

§ 72. _Tung Koon_ Sausage (_Tung Koon Laap Ch’eung_ 東莞腊腸)

This is the same as ordinary bean sauce sausage, except that large casings are used. It is not very popular because of its size.

§ 73. Oyster Sauce Sausage (_Ho Yau Ch’eung_ 蠔油腸)

This is made in the same manner as ordinary sausage, except that oyster sauce (_ho yau_ 蠔油) is used instead of bean sauce in making up the pickle.

§ 74. Catsup Sausage

Catsup sausage is the same as ordinary sausage, except that for every catty of meat, three taels of catsup instead of bean sauce are used.

§ 75. Roast or Baked Sausage (_Foh Ch’eung_ 火腸)

Prepare ordinary sausage, but use large casings. Dip in honey solution, and bake or roast.

§ 76. Cured Ham

An excellent cured ham is produced in Yunnan Province. This is due to the fact that the hogs in that region are largely of the bacon type, and the climate is very favorable for curing meat, being dry and fairly cool during the meat curing season.

In curing ham, the Chinese use much the same method as is used in western countries in making dry cured ham, except that sugar is not used in the pickle. The pickle is made up as follows: Salt (_shuk im_ 熟鹽) 20 catties (_kan_ 卄斤), Saltpeter (_siu_ 硝) .05 tael (半錢), mixture of spices (_ng heung fan_ 五香粉) 2 taels (_leung_ 二両).

Rub each piece of meat for one-half hour. Puncture the meat with needles so the pickle will work in well. Rub again in two days. For the two days after the first rubbing with the pickle, keep under pressure to squeeze out the water. After the second two days, rub again with the pickle. Rub again after two more days. Then the meat is packed in salt for fifteen days, when it is taken out and the salt wiped off and the meat is allowed to dry and harden. Curing should require forty days. The flavor improves with age.

§ 77. Sun Dried Pork (_Shau Laap Yuk_ 瘦𦡳肉)

Sun drying is a common method of curing pork in the Canton region. For this purpose, head, side, ham, and shoulder meat is used. The meat is cut in strips, about eight to ten inches long, and about one inch thick. It is immersed over night in a pickle which is the same as the one used in making sausage, and the next day rubbed with a mixture of honey and water (_mat t’ong shui_ 蜜糖水), made up of one part honey and one part water, and hung up to dry in the sun for two days. Again it is soaked in the pickle for a short time, and dried in the sun for two days. This is done a third time. Then it is put in a stone jar in a cool, dry place for two days, and again hung up to dry for one week, when it is cured. When cured, the fat meat is rather firm.

Pork can be sun dried in the Canton region between the first of November and the middle of January. Dry, north wind is best for curing. If cured later than January, it must be consumed immediately as it will not keep long.

§ 78. Pickled Pig Feet (_Ch’aat T’ai_ 札蹄)

In making pickled pig feet, the bone is first removed from the leg, leaving only the meat, skin and toes. Boil, and stuff with roast fat and lean meat to take the place of the bone. Tie up with rice straw, and immerse in the sausage spice for several hours.

§ 79. Pickled Beef

Cut the beef into pieces weighing about four or five taels. Rub each piece thoroughly with salt. Place the meat in a jar and cover with salt. In one or two weeks, the meat is cured and ready to use. Soak in water for one-half hour before using in order to remove part of the salt.

§ 80. Dried Rice Bird (_Laap Woh Fa Tseuk_ 腊禾花雀)

Remove the feathers, internal organs, and brain. Then treat same as in making sun dried pork.

§ 81. Pork Stuffed Liver (_Kam Ngan Yun_ 金銀潤)

Use the liver of hogs. Cut into strips about one inch wide. Use wine and ginger for flavoring. Half dry it in the wind. It should not be overdried, as it will then be hard to digest. Prepare fat meat by cutting strips of it into such sizes that they can be inserted into the liver. Soak the fat meat in a solution of salt, saltpeter, and sugar, in proportions of 3-2-1. Finally, half dry the fat by hanging in the sun for several hours. With a wooden stick, make pockets in the strips of liver from one end to the other, and insert the strips of fat meat into the pockets. The strips of stuffed liver should then be hung up to dry for a half day.

§ 82. Lo Mei (_Lo Mei_ 鹵味)

The tongue, bladder, intestine, and liver, are used in making _lo mei_ although any part of the carcass may be used. It is made by cooking the meat for ten minutes and then plunging it while still hot into cold water, cooking for ten minutes again, and then plunging into cold water. The process should be repeated at least twelve times. The expansion and contraction of the meat by such handling makes it very tender, and firm. The process of preparing this meat is called “crossing the river.”

The boiled meat should be put into a strong solution of spices prepared before hand, which is the same as the mixture of spices used for making the pickle for sausages. After remaining in the solution of spices over night, the meat is ready to be eaten.

§ 83. Roast Meat (_Shiu Yuk_ 燒肉)

Poultry, or pigs weighing up to one hundred catties, frequently are roasted. Two methods are used. Poultry and small pigs may be roasted in pans in an ordinary oven. The other method, which is the one commonly used, is to roast in a special oven. The latter method requires more skill than roasting in the ordinary oven. The oven is in the form of a cylinder stood on end, thirty to forty inches in diameter, and five or six feet high. The poultry or pig is hung on iron bars across the top of the stove, and the stove or oven is then covered with an iron lid. Fire is built at the bottom of the cylinder through an opening at one side. Dry hard wood or charcoal, which give but little smoke, are generally used for fuel. The meat being roasted needs constant attention and shifting so that it will roast through uniformly. It is said that when the meat gives off a white smoke, it is an indication that it is done. A solution made up of one part honey and one part water is rubbed on the meat, both inside and outside the carcass, before the roasting. This honey solution gives the outside of the meat a desirable rich reddish brown color when roasted.

§ 84. Dried Duck (_Laap Aap_ 腊鴨)

For one dressed bird, use five taels of salt, which should be well rubbed into the meat. Then pack in salt for one day. Take up, wash off the salt, and put between two bamboo mats. Apply pressure for a few days, and hang up to dry.

The Canton climate is not very favorable for drying duck, as during the meat curing season it frequently rains. If the meat does not dry fairly rapidly, it is likely to spoil. In Naam On, Kwong Sai province, where it is generally dry during the curing season, the ducks are packed away after two days exposure to the sun. In Canton, it often takes two weeks. Ducks’ heads, kidneys, feet and other parts of the bird are also cured in the same way.

§ 85. Puffed Pig Skin (_Chue P’ei_ 豬皮)

In making puffed pig skin, the pig skin is first cooked, and then thoroughly scraped with a knife in order to remove the oil and fat. It is then hung up in the sun to dry for about ten days. When it is ready for the puffing or blistering process, which is accomplished by roasting the dried skin in hot gravel in a shallow pan over a slow fire This process whitens and puffs, or blisters, the skin.

The puffed pig skin is cut into small cubes and used in soups. It has a spongy appearance with very little taste.

The skin on the hams, shoulders, and sides will puff the best, while the skin on the back, legs, and belly will not puff well on roasting in the hot gravel, but can be puffed by roasting in peanut oil.

On account of dampness and cloudy weather which interfere with proper drying, puffed pig skin is best made during the dry, sunny winter months. The product is on sale, however, throughout the year, as it keeps well if hung in a fairly dry, airy place. It is commonly seen hanging in the front of meat shops in Canton.

[1] For further details on smoking, see sections 55 to 61.

[2] Note: 1 mace = 1⁄100 ounce; 16 ounces = 1 catty.

AGRICULTURAL PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

The following agricultural bulletins and publications may be obtained at the price indicated from College Bookstore, Canton Christian College, Cantor, China.

Bulletin No. 5. Groff, G. W., Agricultural Reciprocity between America and China. Illustrated. 40 pp. $0.20.

Bulletin No. 12. Groff, G. W., The Papaya for South China. Illustrated. 8 illustrations, 7 pp. $0.10.

Chinese edition under title 木瓜. 8 pp. $0.10.

Bulletin No. 18. Levine, C. O., and Cadbury, W. W., A Study of Milk Produced in Kwangtung. 9 pp. $0.10.

Bulletin No. 20. The 1917–18 Journal of the Lingnaam Agricultural Society (in Chinese). Illustrated. 150 pp. $0.20.

Bulletin No. 23. Levine, C. O., Notes on Farm Animals and Animal Industries in China. Illustrated. 8 illustrations, 54 pp. $0.40.

Bulletin No. 25. Graybill, H. B., Lawn Grasses for South China. 6 illustrations, 6 pp. $0.20.

Bulletin No. 27. Levine, C. O., Butchering and Curing Meats in China. Illustrated. 7 illustrations, 41 pp. $0.20.

Groff, G. W., The Lychee and Lungnan. Canton, 1920. 60 illustrations, 149 pp. Cloth bound. $2.20.

CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
CANTON, CHINA

ADMINISTRATIVE AND AGRICULTURAL STAFF

Charles K. Edmunds, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University), President.

Chung Wing Kwong, Chu Jen, Vice-President.

Owen E. Pomeroy, B.A. (Harvard University), Bursar.

Kenneth Duncan, M.A. (University of Wisconsin), Dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences.

George Weidman Groff, M.S. (Pennsylvania State College), Professor
of Horticulture and Director of Agricultural Work.

Charles Walter Howard, M.S. (University of Minnesota), Professor of
Biology.

Clinton N. Laird, M.A. (University of Pennsylvania), Professor of
Chemistry.

Carl Oscar Levine, M.S. in Agr. (Iowa State College of Agriculture
and Mechanic Arts), Associate Professor of Animal Husbandry.

Taam Sik Hung, B.S. in Agr. (Kansas State Agricultural College),
Instructor in Animal Husbandry.

Walter Leon Funkhouser, B.S. in Agr. (Pennsylvania State College),
Instructor.

Floyd A. McClure, B.S. in Agr. (Ohio State University), Instructor.

Fu Po Kwong, M.S. in Agr. (Michigan Agricultural College), Instructor.

Edmund A. Gilbert, Instructor.

CO-OPERATING COLLEGE MISSIONS

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TRUSTEES OF CANTON CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
156 Fifth Avenue
New York, U. S. A.
W. Henry Grant, Secretary

Transcriber’s Notes.

Minor errors in punctuation have been corrected.

Text contained between underscores was italicised in the original
printed book.

The text “” is the caption text.

Table of Contents: “Preface” added to Table of Contents for
completeness.

Table of Contents: “Blood Sausage” added to Table of Contents to
match book text.

Page 10: “in other to get a uniform scald” changed to “in order to
get a uniform scald”.

Page 15: “Killing and Dressing Cattle” changed to “Killing and
Dressing Beef” to match table of contents.

Page 21: “with them be is usually” changed to “with them is usually”.

Page 24: “Recipes for Curing” changed to “Recipes for Curing Meats”
to match table of contents.