Chapter XVII: PORK CUTLETS (Cold Meat Cookery) (1)

796. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast loin of pork, 1 oz. of butter, 2 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1/2 pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of vinegar and mustard.

_Mode_.--Cut the pork into nice-sized cutlets, trim off most of the fat, and chop the onions. Put the butter into a stewpan, lay in the cutlets and chopped onions, and fry a light brown; then add the remaining ingredients, simmer gently for 5 or 7 minutes, and serve.

_Time_.--5 to 7 minutes. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4d.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

AUSTRIAN METHOD OF HERDING PIGS.--In the Austrian empire there
are great numbers of wild swine, while, among the wandering
tribes peopling the interior of Hungary, and spreading over the
vast steppes of that country, droves of swine form a great
portion of the wealth of the people, who chiefly live on a
coarse bread and wind-dried bacon.

In German Switzerland, the Tyrol, and other mountainous
districts of continental Europe, though the inhabitants, almost
everywhere, as in England, keep one or more pigs, they are at
little or no trouble in feeding them, one or more men being
employed by one or several villages as swine-herds; who, at a
certain hour, every morning, call for the pig or pigs, and
driving them to their feeding-grounds on the mountain-side and
in the wood, take custody of the herd till, on the approach of
night, they are collected into a compact body and driven home
for a night's repose in their several sties.

The amount of intelligence and docility displayed by the pigs in
these mountain regions, is much more considerable than that
usually allowed to this animal, and the manner in which these
immense herds of swine are collected, and again distributed,
without an accident or mistake, is a sight both curious and
interesting; for it is all done without the assistance of a dog,
or the aid even of the human voice, and solely by the crack of
the long-lashed and heavily-loaded whip, which the swine-herd
carries, and cracks much after the fashion of the French
postilion; and which, though he frequently cracks, waking a
hundred sharp echoes from the woods and rocks, he seldom has to
use correctionally; the animal soon acquiring a thorough
knowledge of the meaning of each crack; and once having felt its
leaded thong, a lasting remembrance of its power. At early dawn,
the swine-herd takes his stand at the outskirts of the first
village, and begins flourishing through the misty air his
immensely long lash, keeping a sort of rude time with the crack,
crack, crack, crack, crack, crack of his whip. The nearest pigs,
hearing the well-remembered sound, rouse from their straw, and
rush from their sties into the road, followed by all their
litters. As soon as a sufficient number are collected, the drove
is set in motion, receiving, right and left, as they advance,
fresh numbers; whole communities, or solitary individuals,
streaming in from all quarters, and taking their place, without
distinction, in the general herd; and, as if conscious where
their breakfast lay, without wasting a moment on idle
investigation, all eagerly push on to the mountains. In this
manner village after village is collected, till the drove not
unfrequently consists of several thousands. The feeding-ground
has, of course, often to be changed, and the drove have
sometimes to be driven many miles, and to a considerable height
up the mountain, before the whip gives the signal for the
dispersion of the body and the order to feed, when the herdsman
proceeds to form himself a shelter, and look after his own
comfort for the rest of the day. As soon as twilight sets in,
the whip is again heard echoing the signal for muster; and in
the same order in which they were collected, the swine are
driven back, each group tailing off to its respective sty, as
the herd approaches the villages, till the last grunter, having
found his home, the drover seeks his cottage and repose.

PORK CUTLETS OR CHOPS.

I.

797. INGREDIENTS.--Loin of pork, pepper and salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Cut the cutlets from a delicate loin of pork, bone and trim them neatly, and cut away the greater portion of the fat. Season them with pepper; place the gridiron on the fire; when quite hot, lay on the chops and broil them for about 1/4 hour, turning them 3 or 4 times; and be particular that they are _thoroughly_ done, but not dry. Dish them, sprinkle over a little fine salt, and serve plain, or with tomato sauce, sauce piquante, or pickled gherkins, a few of which should be laid round the dish as a garnish.

_Time_.--About 1/4 hour. _Average cost_, 10d. per lb. for chops.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 6 for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

II.

(_Another Way_.)

798. INGREDIENTS.--Loin or fore-loin, of pork, egg and bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste; to every tablespoonful of bread crumbs allow 1/2 teaspoonful of minced sage; clarified butter.

_Mode_.--Cut the cutlets from a loin, or fore-loin, of pork; trim them the same as mutton cutlets, and scrape the top part of the bone. Brush them over with egg, sprinkle with bread crumbs, with which have been mixed minced sage and a seasoning of pepper and salt; drop a little clarified butter on them, and press the crumbs well down. Put the frying-pan on the fire, put in some lard; when this is hot, lay in the cutlets, and fry them a light brown on both sides. Take them out, put them before the fire to dry the greasy moisture from them, and dish them on mashed potatoes. Serve with them any sauce that may be preferred; such as tomato sauce, sauce piquante, sauce Robert, or pickled gherkins.

_Time_.--From 15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 10d. per lb. for chops.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 6 cutlets for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

_Note_.--The remains of roast loin of pork may be dressed in the same manner.

PORK CHEESE (an Excellent Breakfast Dish).

799. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of cold roast pork, pepper and salt to taste, 1 dessertspoonful of minced parsley, 4 leaves of sage, a very small bunch of savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, a little nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel; good strong gravy, sufficient to fill the mould.

_Mode_.--Cut, but do not chop, the pork into fine pieces, and allow 1/4 lb. of fat to each pound of lean. Season with pepper and salt; pound well the spices, and chop finely the parsley, sage, herbs, and lemon-peel, and mix the whole nicely together. Put it into a mould, fill up with good strong well-flavoured gravy, and bake rather more than one hour. When cold, turn it out of the mould.

_Time_.--Rather more than 1 hour.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

ROAST LEG OF PORK.

800. INGREDIENTS.--Leg of pork, a little oil for stuffing. (See Recipe No. 504.)

_Mode_.--Choose a small leg of pork, and score the skin across in narrow strips, about 1/4 inch apart. Cut a slit in the knuckle, loosen the skin, and fill it with a sage-and-onion stuffing, made by Recipe No. 504. Brush the joint over with a little salad-oil (this makes the crackling crisper, and a better colour), and put it down to a bright, clear fire, not too near, as that would cause the skin to blister. Baste it well, and serve with a little gravy made in the dripping-pan, and do not omit to send to table with it a tureen of well-made apple-sauce. (Sec No. 363.)

_Time_.--A leg of pork weighing 8 lbs., about 3 hours.

_Average cost_, 9d. per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

ENGLISH MODE OF HUNTING, AND INDIAN PIG-STICKING.--The hunting
of the wild boar has been in all times, and in all countries, a
pastime of the highest interest and excitement, and from the age
of Nimrod, has only been considered second to the more dangerous
sport of lion-hunting. The buried treasures of Nineveh, restored
to us by Mr. Layard, show us, on their sculptured annals, the
kings of Assyria in their royal pastime of boar-hunting. That
the Greeks were passionately attached to this sport, we know
both from history and the romantic fables of the poets. Marc
Antony, at one of his breakfasts with Cleopatra, had _eight wild
boars_ roasted whole; and though the Romans do not appear to
have been addicted to hunting, wild-boar fights formed part of
their gladiatorial shows in the amphitheatre. In France,
Germany, and Britain, from the earliest time, the boar-hunt
formed one of the most exciting of sports; but it was only in
this country that the sport was conducted without dogs,--a real
hand-to-hand contest of man and beast; the hunter, armed only
with a boar-spear, a weapon about four feet long, the ash staff,
guarded by plates of steel, and terminating in a long, narrow,
and very sharp blade: this, with a hunting-knife, or hanger,
completed his offensive arms. Thus equipped, the hunter would
either encounter his enemy face to face, confront his desperate
charge, as with erect tail, depressed head, and flaming eyes, he
rushed with his foamy tusks full against him, who either sought
to pierce his vitals through his counter, or driving his spear
through his chine, transfix his heart; or failing those more
difficult aims, plunge it into his flank, and, without
withdrawing the weapon, strike his ready hanger into his throat.
But expert as the hunter might be, it was not often the
formidable brute was so quickly dispatched; for he would
sometimes seize the spear in his powerful teeth, and nip it off
like a reed, or, coming full tilt on his enemy, by his momentum
and weight bear him to the earth, ripping up, with a horrid
gash, his leg or side, and before the writhing hunter could draw
his knife, the infuriated beast would plunge his snout in the
wound, and rip, with savage teeth, the bowels of his victim. At
other times, he would suddenly swerve from his charge, and
doubling on his opponent, attack the hunter in the rear. From
his speed, great weight, and savage disposition, the wild boar
is always a dangerous antagonist, and requires great courage,
coolness, and agility on the part of the hunter. The continental
sportsman rides to the chase in a cavalcade, with music and
dogs,--a kind of small hound or mastiff, and leaving all the
honorary part of the contest to them, when the boar is becoming
weary, and while beset by the dogs, rides up, and drives his
lance home in the beast's back or side. Boar-hunting has been
for some centuries obsolete in England, the animal no longer
existing in a wild state among us; but in our Indian empire, and
especially in Bengal, the pastime is pursued by our countrymen
with all the daring of the national character; and as the animal
which inhabits the cane-brakes and jungles is a formidable foe,
the sport is attended with great excitement. The hunters,
mounted on small, active horses, and armed only with long
lances, ride, at early daylight, to the skirts of the jungle,
and having sent in their attendants to beat the cover, wait till
the tusked monster comes crashing from among the canes, when
chase is immediately given, till he is come up with, and
transfixed by the first weapon. Instead of flight, however, he
often turns to bay, and by more than one dead horse and wounded
hunter, shows how formidable he is, and what those polished
tusks, sharp as pitch-forks, can effect, when the enraged animal
defends his life.

TO GLAZE HAM.--(See Recipe No. 430.)

HASHED PORK.

801. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast pork, 2 onions, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 2 blades of pounded mace, 2 cloves, 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, 1/2 pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Chop the onions and fry them of a nice brown, cut the pork into thin slices, season them with pepper and salt, and add these to the remaining ingredients. Stew gently for about 1/2 hour, and serve garnished with sippets of toasted bread.

_Time_.--1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 3d.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

FRIED RASHERS OF BACON AND POACHED EGGS.

802. INGREDIENTS.--Bacon; eggs.

_Mode_.--Cut the bacon into thin slices, trim away the rusty parts, and cut off the rind. Put it into a cold frying-pan, that is to say, do not place the pan on the fire before the bacon is in it. Turn it 2 or 3 times, and dish it on a very hot dish. Poach the eggs and slip them on to the bacon, without breaking the yolks, and serve quickly.

_Time_.--3 or 4 minutes. _Average cost_, 10d. to 1s. per lb. for the primest parts.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 6 eggs for 3 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--Fried rashers of bacon, curled, serve as a pretty garnish to many dishes; and, for small families, answer very well as a substitute for boiled bacon, to serve with a small dish of poultry, &c.

BROILED RASHERS OF BACON (a Breakfast Dish).

803. Before purchasing bacon, ascertain that it is perfectly free from rust, which may easily be detected by its yellow colour; and for broiling, the streaked part of the thick flank, is generally the most esteemed. Cut it into _thin_ slices, take off the rind, and broil over a nice clear fire; turn it 2 or 3 times, and serve very hot. Should there be any cold bacon left from the previous day, it answers very well for breakfast, cut into slices, and broiled or fried.

_Time_.--3 or 4 minutes.

_Average cost_, 10d. to 1s. per lb. for the primest parts.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--When the bacon is cut very thin, the slices may be curled round and fastened by means of small skewers, and fried or toasted before the fire.

BOILED BACON.

804. INGREDIENTS.--Bacon; water.

_Mode_.--As bacon is frequently excessively salt, let it be soaked in warm water for an hour or two previous to dressing it; then pare off the rusty parts, and scrape the under-side and rind as clean as possible. Put it into a saucepan of _cold_ water, let it come gradually to a boil, and as fast as the scum rises to the surface of the water, remove it. Let it simmer very gently until it is _thoroughly_ done; then take it up, strip off the skin, and sprinkle over the bacon a few bread raspings, and garnish with tufts of cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. When served alone, young and tender broad beans or green peas are the usual accompaniments.

_Time_.--1 lb. of bacon, 1/4 hour; 2 lbs., 1-1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 10d. to 1s. per lb. for the primest parts.

_Sufficient_.--2 lbs., when served with poultry or veal, sufficient for 10 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

TO CURE BACON IN THE WILTSHIRE WAY.

805. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of coarse sugar, 1-1/2 lb. of bay-salt, 6 oz. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of common salt.

_Mode_.--Sprinkle each flitch with salt, and let the blood drain off for 24 hours; then pound and mix the above ingredients well together and rub it well into the meat, which should be turned every day for a month; then hang it to dry, and afterwards smoke it for 10 days.

_Time_.--To remain in the pickle 1 month, to be smoked 10 days.

_Sufficient_.--The above quantity of salt for 1 pig.

HOW PIGS WERE FORMERLY PASTURED AND FED.--Though unquestionably
far greater numbers of swine are now kept in England than
formerly, every peasant having one or more of that useful
animal, in feudal times immense droves of pigs were kept by the
franklings and barons; in those days the swine-herds being a
regular part of the domestic service of every feudal household,
their duty consisted in daily driving the herd of swine from the
castle-yard, or outlying farm, to the nearest woods, chase, or
forest, where the frankling or vavasour had, either by right or
grant, what was called _free warren_, or the liberty to feed his
hogs off the acorns, beech, and chestnuts that lay in such
abundance on the earth, and far exceeded the power of the royal
or privileged game to consume. Indeed, it was the license
granted the nobles of free warren, especially for their swine,
that kept up the iniquitous forest laws to so late a date, and
covered so large a portion of the land with such immense tracts
of wood and brake, to the injury of agriculture and the misery
of the people. Some idea of the extent to which swine were
grazed in the feudal times, may be formed by observing the
number of pigs still fed in Epping Forest, the Forest of Dean,
and the New Forest, in Hampshire, where, for several months of
the year, the beech-nuts and acorns yield them so plentiful a
diet. In Germany, where the chestnut is so largely cultivated,
the amount of food shed every autumn is enormous; and
consequently the pig, both wild and domestic, has, for a
considerable portion of the year, an unfailing supply of
admirable nourishment. Impressed with the value of this fruit
for the food of pigs, the Prince Consort has, with great
judgment, of late encouraged the collection of chestnuts in
Windsor Park, and by giving a small reward to old people and
children for every bushel collected, has not only found an
occupation for many of the unemployed poor, but, by providing a
gratuitous food for their pig, encouraged a feeling of
providence and economy.

FOR CURING BACON, AND KEEPING IT FREE FROM RUST (Cobbett's Recipe).

806. THE TWO SIDES THAT REMAIN, and which are called flitches, are to be cured for bacon. They are first rubbed with salt on their insides, or flesh sides, then placed one on the other, the flesh sides uppermost, in a salting-trough which has a gutter round its edges to drain away the brine; for, to have sweet and fine bacon, the flitches must not be sopping in brine, which gives it the sort of vile taste that barrel and sea pork have. Every one knows how different is the taste of fresh dry salt from that of salt in a dissolved state; therefore change the salt often,--once in 4 or 5 days; let it melt and sink in, but not lie too long; twice change the flitches, put that at bottom which was first on the top: this mode will cost you a great deal more in salt than the sopping mode, but without it your bacon will not be so sweet and fine, nor keep so well. As for the time required in making your flitches sufficiently salt, it depends on circumstances. It takes a longer time for a thick than a thin flitch, and longer in dry than in damp weather, or in a dry than in a damp place; but for the flitches of a hog of five score, in weather not very dry or damp, about 6 weeks may do; and as yours is to be fat, which receives little injury from over-salting, give time enough, for you are to have bacon until Christmas comes again.

807. THE PLACE FOR SALTING SHOULD, like a dairy, always be cool, but well ventilated; confined air, though cool, will taint meat sooner than the midday day sun accompanied by a breeze. With regard to smoking the bacon, two precautions are necessary: first, to hang the flitches where no rain comes down upon them; and next, that the smoke must proceed from wood, not peat, turf, or coal. As to the time required to smoke a flitch, it depends a good deal upon whether there be a constant fire beneath; and whether the fire be large or small: a month will do, if the fire be pretty constant and rich, as a farmhouse fire usually is; but over-smoking, or rather too long hanging in the air, makes the bacon rust; great attention should therefore be paid to this matter. The flitch ought not to be dried up to the hardness of a board, and yet it ought to be perfectly dry. Before you hang it up, lay it on the floor, scatter the flesh side pretty thickly over with bran, or with some fine sawdust, not of deal or fir; rub it on the flesh, or pat it well down upon it: this keeps the smoke from getting into the little openings, and makes a sort of crust to be dried on.

808. To KEEP THE BACON SWEET AND GOOD, and free from hoppers, sift fine some clean and dry wood ashes. Put some at the bottom of a box or chest long enough to hold a flitch of bacon; lay in one flitch, and then put in more ashes, then another flitch, and cover this with six or eight inches of the ashes. The place where the box or chest is kept ought to be dry, and should the ashes become damp, they should be put in the fireplace to dry, and when cold, put back again. With these precautions, the bacon will be as good at the end of the year as on the first day.

809. FOR SIMPLE GENERAL RULES; these may be safely taken as a guide; and those who implicitly follow the directions given, will possess at the expiration of from 6 weeks to 2 months well-flavoured and well-cured bacon.

HOG NOT BACON. ANECDOTE OF LORD BACON.--As Lord Bacon, on one
occasion, was about to pass sentence of death upon a man of the
name of Hogg, who had just been tried for a long career of
crime, the prisoner suddenly claimed to be heard in arrest of
judgment, saying, with an expression of arch confidence as he
addressed the bench, "I claim indulgence, my lord, on the plea
of relationship; for I am convinced your lordship will never be
unnatural enough to hang one of your own family."

"Indeed, replied the judge, with some amazement," I was not
aware that I had the honour of your alliance; perhaps you will
be good enough to name the degree of our mutual affinity."

"I am sorry, my lord," returned the impudent thief, "I cannot
trace the links of consanguinity; but the moral evidence is
sufficiently pertinent. My name, my lord, is Hogg, your
lordship's is Bacon; and all the world will allow that bacon and
hog are very closely allied."

"I am sorry," replied his lordship, "I cannot admit the truth of
your instance: hog cannot be bacon till it is hanged; and so,
before I can admit your plea, or acknowledge the family compact,
Hogg must be hanged to-morrow morning."

TO BAKE A HAM.

810. INGREDIENTS.--Ham; a common crust.

Mode.--As a ham for baking should be well soaked, let it remain in water for at least 12 hours. Wipe it dry, trim away any rusty places underneath, and cover it with a common crust, taking care that this is of sufficient thickness all over to keep the gravy in. Place it in a moderately-heated oven, and bake for nearly 4 hours. Take off the crust, and skin, and cover with raspings, the same as for boiled ham, and garnish the knuckle with a paper frill. This method of cooking a ham is, by many persons, considered far superior to boiling it, as it cuts fuller of gravy and has a finer flavour, besides keeping a much longer time good.

_Time_.--A medium-sized ham, 4 hours.

_Average cost_, from 8d. to 10d. per lb. by the whole ham.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

TO BOIL A HAM.

811. INGREDIENTS.--Ham, water, glaze or raspings.

_Mode_.--In choosing a ham, ascertain that it is perfectly sweet, by running a sharp knife into it, close to the bone; and if, when the knife is withdrawn, it has an agreeable smell, the ham is good; if, on the contrary, the blade has a greasy appearance and offensive smell, the ham is bad. If it has been long hung, and is very dry and salt, let it remain in soak for 24 hours, changing the water frequently. This length of time is only necessary in the case of its being very hard; from 8 to 12 hours would be sufficient for a Yorkshire or Westmoreland ham. Wash it thoroughly clean, and trim away from the under-side, all the rusty and smoked parts, which would spoil the appearance. Put it into a boiling-pot, with sufficient cold water to cover it; bring it gradually to boil, and as the scum rises, carefully remove it. Keep it simmering very gently until tender, and be careful that it does not stop boiling, nor boil too quickly. When done, take it out of the pot, strip off the skin, and sprinkle over it a few fine bread-raspings, put a frill of cut paper round the knuckle, and serve. If to be eaten cold, let the ham remain in the water until nearly cold: by this method the juices are kept in, and it will be found infinitely superior to one taken out of the water hot; it should, however, be borne in mind that the ham must _not_ remain in the saucepan _all_ night. When the skin is removed, sprinkle over bread-raspings, or, if wanted particularly nice, glaze it. Place a paper frill round the knuckle, and garnish with parsley or cut vegetable flowers. (_See_ Coloured Plate P.)

_Time_.--A ham weighing 10 lbs., 4 hours to _simmer gently_; 15 lbs., 5 hours; a very large one, about 5 hours.

_Average cost_, from 8d. to 10d. per lb. by the whole ham.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

HOW TO BOIL A HAM TO GIVE IT AN EXCELLENT FLAVOUR.

812. INGREDIENTS.--Vinegar and water, 2 heads of celery, 2 turnips, 3 onions, a large bunch of savoury herbs.

_Mode_.--Prepare the ham as in the preceding recipe, and let it soak for a few hours in vinegar and water. Put it on in cold water, and when it boils, add the vegetables and herbs. Simmer very gently until tender, take it out, strip off the skin, cover with bread-raspings, and put a paper ruche or frill round the knuckle.

_Time_.--A ham weighing 10 lbs., 4 hours.

_Average cost_, 8d. to 10d. per lb. by the whole ham.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

HOW TO SILENCE A PIG. ANECDOTE OF CHARLES V.--When the emperor
Charles V. was one day walking in the neighbourhood of Vienna,
full of pious considerations, engendered by the thoughts of the
Dominican cloister he was about to visit, he was much annoyed by
the noise of a pig, which a country youth was carrying a little
way before him. At length, irritated by the unmitigated noise,
"Have you not learned how to quiet a pig" demanded the imperial
traveller, tartly. "Noa," replied the ingenuous peasant,
ignorant of the quality of his interrogator;--"noa; and I should
very much like to know how to do it," changing the position of
his burthen, and giving his load a surreptitious pinch of the
ear, which immediately altered the tone and volume of his
complaining.

"Why, take the pig by the tail," said the emperor, "and you will
see how quiet he will become."

Struck by the novelty of the suggestion, the countryman at once
dangled his noisy companion by the tail, and soon discovered
that, under the partial congestion caused by its inverted
position, the pig had indeed become silent; when, looking with
admiration on his august adviser, he exclaimed,--

"Ah, you must have learned the trade much longer than I, for you
understand it a great deal better."

FRIED HAM AND EGGS (a Breakfast Dish).

813. INGREDIENTS.--Ham; eggs.

_Mode_.--Cut the ham into slices, and take care that they are of the same thickness in every part. Cut off the rind, and if the ham should be particularly hard and salt, it will be found an improvement to soak it for about 10 minutes in hot water, and then dry it in a cloth. Put it into a cold frying-pan, set it over the fire, and turn the slices 3 or 4 times whilst they are cooking. When done, place them on a dish, which should be kept hot in front of the fire during the time the eggs are being poached. Poach the eggs, slip them on to the slices of ham, and serve quickly.

_Time_.--7 or 8 minutes to broil the ham.

_Average cost_, from 8d. to 10d. per lb. by the whole ham.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--Ham may also be toasted or broiled; but, with the latter method, to insure its being well cooked, the fire must be beautifully clear, or it will have a smoky flavour far from agreeable.

POTTED HAM, that will keep Good for some time.

I.

814. INGREDIENTS.--To 4 lbs. of lean ham allow 1 lb. of fat, 2 teaspoonfuls of pounded mace, 1/2 nutmeg grated, rather more than 1/2 teaspoonful of cayenne, clarified lard.

_Mode_.--Mince the ham, fat and lean together in the above proportion, and pound it well in a mortar, seasoning it with cayenne pepper, pounded mace, and nutmeg; put the mixture into a deep baking-dish, and bake for 1/2 hour; then press it well into a stone jar, fill up the jar with clarified lard, cover it closely, and paste over it a piece of thick paper. If well seasoned, it will keep a long time in winter, and will be found very convenient for sandwiches, &c.

_Time_.--1/2 hour.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

II.

(_A nice addition to the Breakfast or Luncheon table_.)

815. INGREDIENTS.--To 2 lbs. of lean ham allow 1/2 lb. of fat, 1 teaspoonful of pounded mace, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded allspice, 1/2 nutmeg, pepper to taste, clarified butter.

_Mode_.--Cut some slices from the remains of a cold ham, mince them small, and to every 2 lbs. of lean, allow the above proportion of fat. Pound the ham in a mortar to a fine paste, with the fat, gradually add the seasoning and spices, and be very particular that all the ingredients are well mixed and the spices well pounded. Press the mixture into potting-pots, pour over clarified butter, and keep it in a cool place.

_Average cost_ for this quantity, 2s. 6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

IMPORTANCE OF THE BOAR'S HEAD, SCOTTISH FEUDS, &c.--The boar's
head, in ancient times, formed the most important dish on the
table, and was invariably the first placed on the board upon
Christmas-day, being preceded by a body of servitors, a flourish
of trumpets, and other marks of distinction and reverence, and
carried into the hall by the individual of next rank to the lord
of the feast. At some of our colleges and inns of court, the
serving of the boar's head on a silver platter on Christmas-day
is a custom still followed; and till very lately, a bore's head
was competed for at Christmas time by the young men of a rural
parish in Essex. Indeed, so highly was the grizzly boar's head
regarded in former times, that it passed into a cognizance of
some of the noblest families in the realm: thus it was not only
the crest of the Nevills and Warwicks, with their collateral
houses, but it was the cognizance of Richard III., that--

"Wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,
That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful vines,
Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough
In your embowell'd bosoms,"--

and whose nature it was supposed to typify; and was universally
used as a _sign_ to taverns. The Boar's Head in Eastcheap,
which, till within the last twenty-five years still stood in all
its primitive quaintness, though removed to make way for the
London-bridge approaches, will live vividly in the mind of every
reader of Shakspeare, as the resort of the prince of Wales,
Poins, and his companions, and the residence of Falstaff and his
coney-catching knaves, Bardolph, Pistol, and Nym; and whose sign
was a boar's head, carved in stone over the door, and a smaller
one in wood on each side of the doorway.

The traditions and deeds of savage vengeance recorded in
connection with this grim trophy of the chase are numerous in
all parts of Europe. But the most remarkable connected with the
subject in this country, were two events that occurred in
Scotland, about the 11th and 15th centuries.

A border family having been dispossessed of their castle and
lands by a more powerful chief, were reduced for many years to
great indigence, the expelled owner only living in the hope of
wreaking a terrible vengeance, which, agreeably to the motto of
his house, he was content to "bide his time" for. The usurper
having invited a large number of his kindred to a grand hunt in
his new domains, and a feast after in the great hall, returned
from the chase, and discovering the feast not spread, vented his
wrath in no measured terms on the heads of the tardy servitors.
At length a menial approached, followed by a line of servants,
and placing the boar's head on the table, the guests rushed
forward to begin the meal; when, to their horror, they
discovered, not a boar's but a bull's head,--a sign of death.
The doors were immediately closed, and the false servants, who
were the adherents of the dispossessed chief, threw off their
disguise, and falling on the usurper and his friends, butchered
them and every soul in the castle belonging to the rival
faction.

A tribe of caterans, or mountain robbers, in the Western
Highlands, having been greatly persecuted by a powerful chief of
the district, waylaid him and his retinue, put them all to the
sword, and cutting off the chief's head, repaired to his castle,
where they ordered the terrified wife to supply them with food
and drink. To appease their savage humour, the lady gave order
for their entertainment, and on returning to the hall to see her
orders were complied with, discovered, in place of the boar's
head that should have graced the board, her husband's bleeding
head; the savage caterans, in rude derision, as a substitute for
the apple or lemon usually placed between the jaws, having
thrust a slice of bread in the dead man's mouth.

FOR CURING HAMS (Mons. Ude's Recipe).

816. INGREDIENTS.--For 2 hams weighing about 16 or 18 lbs. each, allow 1 lb. of moist sugar, 1 lb. of common salt, 2 oz. of saltpetre, 1 quart of good vinegar.

_Mode_.--As soon as the pig is cold enough to be cut up, take the 2 hams and rub them well with common salt, and leave them in a large pan for 3 days. When the salt has drawn out all the blood, drain the hams, and throw the brine away. Mix sugar, salt, and saltpetre together in the above proportion, rub the hams well with these, and put them into a vessel large enough to hold them, always keeping the salt over them. Let them remain for 3 days, then pour over them a quart of good vinegar. Turn them in the brine every day for a month, then drain them well, and rub them with bran. Have them smoked over a wood fire, and be particular that the hams are hung as high up as possible from the fire; otherwise the fat will melt, and they will become dry and hard.

_Time_.--To be pickled 1 month; to be smoked 1 month.

_Sufficient_ for 2 hams of 18 lbs. each.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

THE PRICE OF A SOW IN AFRICA.--In one of the native states of
Africa, a pig one day stole a piece of food from a child as it
was in the act of conveying the morsel to its mouth; upon which
the robbed child cried so loud that the mother rushed out of her
hovel to ascertain the cause; and seeing the purloining pig make
off munching his booty, the woman in her heat struck the grunter
so smart a blow, that the surly rascal took it into his head to
go home very much indisposed, and after a certain time resolved
to die,--a resolution that he accordingly put into practice;
upon which the owner instituted judicial proceedings before the
Star Chamber court of his tribe, against the husband and family
of the woman whose rash act had led to such results; and as the
pig happened to be a _sow_, in the very flower of her age, the
prospective loss to the owner in unnumbered teems of pigs, with
the expenses attending so high a tribunal, swelled the damages
and costs to such a sum, that it was found impossible to pay
them. And as, in the barbarous justice existing among these rude
people, every member of a family is equally liable as the
individual who committed the wrong, the father, mother,
children, relatives,--an entire community, to the number of
_thirty-two souls_, were sold as slaves, and a fearful sum of
human misery perpetrated, to pay the value of a thieving old
sow.

TO SALT TWO HAMS, about 12 or 15 lbs. each.

817. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of treacle, 1/2 lb. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 2 pounds of common salt.

_Mode_.--Two days before they are put into pickle, rub the hams well with salt, to draw away all slime and blood. Throw what comes from them away, and then rub them with treacle, saltpetre, and salt. Lay them in a deep pan, and let them remain one day; boil the above proportion of treacle, saltpetre, bay-salt, and common salt for 1/4 hour, and pour this pickle boiling hot over the hams: there should be sufficient of it to cover them. For a day or two rub them well with it; afterwards they will only require turning. They ought to remain in this pickle for 3 weeks or a month, and then be sent to be smoked, which will take nearly or quite a month to do. An ox-tongue pickled in this way is most excellent, to be eaten either green or smoked.

_Time_.--To remain in the pickle 3 weeks or a month; to be smoked about a month.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

TO CURE SWEET HAMS IN THE WESTMORELAND WAY.

818. INGREDIENTS.--3 lbs. of common salt, 3 lbs. of coarse sugar, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 3 quarts of strong beer.

_Mode_.--Before the hams are put into pickle, rub them the preceding day well with salt, and drain the brine well from them. Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, and boil for 1/4 hour; pour over the hams, and let them remain a month in the pickle. Rub and turn them every day, but do not take them out of the pickling-pan; and have them smoked for a month.

_Time_.--To be pickled 1 month; to be smoked 1 month.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

TO PICKLE HAMS (Suffolk Recipe).

819. INGREDIENTS.--To a ham from 10 to 12 lbs., allow 1 lb. of coarse sugar, 3/4 lb. of salt, 1 oz. of saltpetre, 1/2 a teacupful of vinegar.

_Mode_.--Rub the hams well with common salt, and leave them for a day or two to drain; then rub well in, the above proportion of sugar, salt, saltpetre, and vinegar, and turn them every other day. Keep them in the pickle 1 month, drain them, and send them to be smoked over a wood fire for 3 weeks or a month.

_Time_.--To remain in the pickle 1 month. To be smoked 3 weeks or 1 month.

_Sufficient_.--The above proportion of pickle sufficient for 1 ham.

_Seasonable_.--Hams should be pickled from October to March.

NOVEL WAY OF RECOVERING A STOLEN PIG.--It is a well-known fact,
that in Ireland the pig is, in every respect, a domesticated
animal, sharing often both the bed and board of the family, and
making an outer ring to the domestic circle, as, seated round
the pot of potatoes, they partake of the midday meal called
dinner. An Irishman upon one occasion having lost an interesting
member of his household, in the form of a promising young
porker, consulted his priest on the occasion, and having hinted
at the person he suspected of purloining the "illegant slip of a
pig" he was advised to take no further notice of the matter, but
leave the issue to his spiritual adviser. Next Sunday his
reverence, after mass, came to the front of the altar-rails, and
looking very hard at the supposed culprit, exclaimed, "Who stole
Pat Doolan's pig?" To this inquiry there was of course no
answer;--the priest did not expect there would be any. The
following Sunday the same query was propounded a little
stronger--"Who of you was it, I say, who stole poor Pat Doolan's
pig?" It now became evident that the culprit was a hardened
sinner; so on the third Sunday, instead of repeating the
unsatisfactory inquiry, the priest, after, as usual, eyeing the
obdurate offender, said, in a tone of pious sorrow, "Mike Regan,
Mike Regan, you treat me with contempt!" That night, when the
family was all asleep, the latch of the door was noiselessly
lifted, and the "illegant slip of a pig" cautiously slipped into
the cabin.

TO SMOKE HAMS AND FISH AT HOME.

820. Take an old hogshead, stop up all the crevices, and fix a place to put a cross-stick near the bottom, to hang the articles to be smoked on. Next, in the side, cut a hole near the top, to introduce an iron pan filled with sawdust and small pieces of green wood. Having turned the tub upside down, hang the articles upon the cross-stick, introduce the iron pan in the opening, and place a piece of red-hot iron in the pan, cover it with sawdust, and all will be complete. Let a large ham remain 40 hours, and keep up a good smoke.

TO CURE BACON OR HAMS IN THE DEVONSHIRE WAY.

821. INGREDIENTS.--To every 14 lbs. of meat, allow 2 oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of salt prunella, 1 lb. of common salt. For the pickle, 3 gallons of water, 5 lbs. of common salt, 7 lbs. of coarse sugar, 3 lbs. of bay-salt.

_Mode_.--Weigh the sides, hams, and cheeks, and to every 14 lbs. allow the above proportion of saltpetre, salt prunella, and common salt. Pound and mix these together, and rub well into the meat; lay it in a stone trough or tub, rubbing it thoroughly, and turning it daily for 2 successive days. At the end of the second day, pour on it a pickle made as follows:--Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, set it on the fire, and stir frequently; remove all the scum, allow it to boil for 1/4 hour, and pour it hot over the meat. Let the hams, &c., be well rubbed and turned daily; if the meat is small, a fortnight will be sufficient for the sides and shoulders to remain in the pickle, and the hams 3 weeks; if from 30 lbs. and upwards, 3 weeks will be required for the sides, &c., and from 4 to 5 weeks for the hams. On taking the pieces out, let them drain for an hour, cover with dry sawdust, and smoke from a fortnight to 3 weeks. Boil and carefully skim the pickle after using, and it will keep good, closely corked, for 2 years. When boiling it for use, add about 2 lbs. of common salt, and the same of treacle, to allow for waste. Tongues are excellent put into this pickle cold, having been first rubbed well with saltpetre and salt, and allowed to remain 24 hours, not forgetting to make a deep incision under the thick part of the tongue, so as to allow the pickle to penetrate more readily. A fortnight or 3 weeks, according to the size of the tongue, will be sufficient.

_Time_--Small meat to remain in the pickle a fortnight, hams 3 weeks; to be smoked from a fortnight to 3 weeks.

The following is from Morton's "Cyclopaedia of Agriculture," and will be found fully worthy of the high character of that publication.

CURING OF HAMS AND BACON.

822. The carcass of the hog, after hanging over-night to cool, is laid on a strong bench or stool, and the head is separated from the body at the neck, close behind the ears; the feet and also the internal fat are removed. The carcass is next divided into two sides in the following manner:--The ribs are divided about an inch from the spine on each side, and the spine, with the ends of the ribs attached, together with the internal flesh between it and the kidneys, and also the flesh above it, throughout the whole length of the sides, are removed. The portion of the carcass thus cut out is in the form of a wedge--the breadth of the interior consisting of the breadth of the spine, and about an inch of the ribs on each side, being diminished to about half an inch at the exterior or skin along the back. The breast-bone, and also the first anterior rib, are also dissected from the side. Sometimes the whole of the ribs are removed; but this, for reasons afterwards to be noticed, is a very bad practice. When the hams are cured separately from the sides, which is generally the case, they are cut out so as to include the hock-bone, in a similar manner to the London mode of cutting a haunch of mutton. The carcass of the hog thus cut up is ready for being salted, which process, in large caring establishments, is generally as follows. The skin side of the pork is rubbed over with a mixture of fifty parts by weight of salt, and one part of saltpetre in powder, and the incised parts of the ham or flitch, and the inside of the flitch covered with the same. The salted bacon, in pairs of flitches with the insides to each other, is piled one pair of flitches above another on benches slightly inclined, and furnished with spouts or troughs to convey the brine to receivers in the floor of the salting-house, to be afterwards used for pickling pork for navy purposes. In this state the bacon remains a fortnight, which is sufficient for flitches cut from nogs of a carcass weight less than 15 stone (14 lbs. to the stone). Flitches of a larger size, at the expiration of that time, are wiped dry and reversed in their place in the pile, having, at the same time, about half the first quantity of fresh, dry, common salt sprinkled over the inside and incised parts; after which they remain on the benches for another week. Hams being thicker than flitches, will require, when less than 20 lbs. weight, 3 weeks; and when above that weight, 4 weeks to remain under the above-described process. The next and last process in the preparation of bacon and hams, previous to being sent to market, is drying. This is effected by hanging the flitches and hams for 2 or 3 weeks in a room heated by stoves, or in a smoke-house, in which they are exposed for the same length of time to the smoke arising from the slow combustion of the sawdust of oak or other hard wood. The latter mode of completing the curing process has some advantages over the other, as by it the meat is subject to the action of _creosote_, a volatile oil produced by the combustion of the sawdust, which is powerfully antiseptic. The process also furnishing a thin covering of a resinous varnish, excludes the air not only from the muscle but also from the fat; thus effectually preventing the meat from becoming rusted; and the principal reasons for condemning the practice of removing the ribs from the flitches of pork are, that by so doing the meat becomes unpleasantly hard and pungent in the process of salting, and by being more opposed to the action of the air, becomes sooner and more extensively rusted. Notwithstanding its superior efficacy in completing the process of curing, the flavour which smoke-drying imparts to meat is disliked by many persons, and it is therefore by no means the most general mode of drying adopted by mercantile curers. A very impure variety of _pyroligneous_ acid, or vinegar made from the destructive distillation of wood, is sometimes used, on account of the highly preservative power of the creosote which it contains, and also to impart the smoke-flavour; in which latter object, however, the coarse flavour of tar is given, rather than that derived from the smoke from combustion of wood. A considerable portion of the bacon and hams salted in Ireland is exported from that country packed amongst salt, in bales, immediately from the salting process, without having been in any degree dried. In the process of salting above described, pork loses from eight to ten per cent. of its weight, according to the size and quality of the meat; and a further diminution of weight, to the extent of five to six per cent., takes place in drying during the first fortnight after being taken out of salt; so that the total loss in weight occasioned by the preparation of bacon and hams in a proper state for market, is not less on an average than fifteen per cent. on the weight of the fresh pork.

COLLARED PIG'S FACE (a Breakfast or Luncheon Dish).

823. INGREDIENTS.--1 pig's face; salt. For brine, 1 gallon of spring water, 1 lb. of common salt, 1/2 handful of chopped juniper-berries, 6 bruised cloves, 2 bay-leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, basil, sage, 1/4 oz. of saltpetre. For forcemeat, 1/2 lb. of ham, 1/2 lb. bacon, 1 teaspoonful of mixed spices, pepper to taste, 1/4 lb. of lard, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 6 young onions.

_Mode_.--Singe the head carefully, bone it without breaking the skin, and rub it well with salt. Make the brine by boiling the above ingredients for 1/4 hour, and letting it stand to cool. When cold, pour it over the head, and let it steep in this for 10 days, turning and rubbing it often. Then wipe, drain, and dry it. For the forcemeat, pound the ham and bacon very finely, and mix with these the remaining ingredients, taking care that the whole is thoroughly incorporated. Spread this equally over the head, roll it tightly in a cloth, and bind it securely with broad tape. Put it into a saucepan with a few meat trimmings, and cover it with stock; let it simmer gently for 4 hours, and be particular that it does not stop boiling the whole time. When quite tender, take it up, put it between 2 dishes with a heavy weight on the top, and when cold, remove the cloth and tape. It should be sent to table on a napkin, or garnished with a piece of deep white paper with a ruche at the top.

_Time_.--4 hours. _Average cost_, from 2s. to 2s. 6d.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

THE WILD AND DOMESTIC HOG.--The domestic hog is the descendant
of a race long since banished from this island; and it is
remarkable, that while the tamed animal has been and is kept
under surveillance, the wild type whence this race sprung, has
maintained itself in its ancient freedom, the fierce denizen of
the forest, and one of the renowned beasts of the chase.
Whatever doubt may exist as to the true origin of the dog, the
horse, the ox, and others, or as to whether their original race
is yet extant or not, these doubts do not apply to the domestic
hog. Its wild source still exists, and is universally
recognized: like the wolf, however, it has been expelled from
our island; but, like that animal, it still roams through the
vast wooded tracts of Europe and Asia.

TO DRESS PIG'S FRY (a Savoury Dish).

824. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 lb. of pig's fry, 2 onions, a few sage-leaves, 3 lbs. of potatoes, pepper and salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Put the lean fry at the bottom of a pie-dish, sprinkle over it some minced sage and onion, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; slice the potatoes; put a layer of these on the seasoning, then the fat fry, then more seasoning, and a layer of potatoes at the top. Fill the dish with boiling water, and bake for 2 hours, or rather longer.

_Time_.--Rather more than 2 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

TO MELT LARD.

825. Melt the inner fat of the pig, by putting it in a stone jar, and placing this in a saucepan of boiling water, previously stripping off the skin. Let it simmer gently over a bright fire, and as it melts, pour it carefully from the sediment. Put it into small jars or bladders for use, and keep it in a cool place. The flead or inside fat of the pig, before it is melted, makes exceedingly light crust, and is particularly wholesome. It may be preserved a length of time by salting it well, and occasionally changing the brine. When wanted for use, wash and wipe it, and it will answer for making into paste as well as fresh lard.

_Average cost_, 10d. per lb.

BOILED LEG OF PORK.

826. INGREDIENTS.--Leg of pork; salt.