Chapter XVII: PORK CUTLETS (Cold Meat Cookery) (2)

_Mode_.--For boiling, choose a small, compact, well-filled leg, and rub it well with salt; let it remain in pickle for a week or ten days, turning and rubbing it every day. An hour before dressing it, put it into cold water for an hour, which improves the colour. If the pork is purchased ready salted, ascertain how long the meat has been in pickle, and soak it accordingly. Put it into a boiling-pot, with sufficient cold water to cover it; let it gradually come to a boil, and remove the scum as it rises. Simmer it very gently until tender, and do not allow it to boil fast, or the knuckle will fall to pieces before the middle of the leg is done. Carrots, turnips, or parsnips may be boiled with the pork, some of which should be laid round the dish as a garnish, and a well-made pease-pudding is an indispensable accompaniment.

_Time_.--A leg of pork weighing 8 lbs., 3 hours after the water boils, and to be simmered very gently.

_Average cost_, 9d. per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

_Note_.--The liquor in which a leg of pork has been boiled, makes excellent pea-soup.

ANTIQUITY OF THE HOG.--The hog has survived changes which have
swept multitudes of pachydermatous animals from the surface of
our earth. It still presents the same characteristics, both
physical and moral, which the earliest writers, whether sacred
or profane, have faithfully delineated. Although the domestic
has been more or less modified by long culture, yet the wild
species remains unaltered, insomuch that the fossil relics may
be identified with the bones of their existing descendants.

ROAST GRISKIN OF PORK.

827. INGREDIENTS.--Pork; a little powdered sage.

_Mode_.--As this joint frequently comes to table hard and dry, particular care should be taken that it is well basted. Put it down to a bright fire, and flour it. About 10 minutes before taking it up, sprinkle over some powdered sage; make a little gravy in the dripping-pan, strain it over the meat, and serve with a tureen of apple sauce. This joint will be done in far less time than when the skin is left on, consequently, should have the greatest attention that it be not dried up.

_Time_.--Griskin of pork weighing 6 lbs., 1-1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 7d. per lb. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

_Note_.--A spare-rib of pork is roasted in the same manner as above, and would take 1-1/2 hour for one weighing about 6 lbs.

LARDING.

828. INGREDIENTS.--Bacon and larding-needle.

_Mode_.--Bacon for larding should be firm and fat, and ought to be cured without any saltpetre, as this reddens white meats. Lay it on a table, the rinds downwards; trim off any rusty part, and cut it into slices of an equal thickness. Place the slices one on the top of another, and cut them evenly into narrow strips, so arranging it that every piece of bacon is of the same size. Bacon for fricandeau, poultry, and game, should be about 2 inches in length, and rather more than one-eighth of an inch in width. If for larding fillets of beef or loin of veal, the pieces of bacon must be thicker. The following recipe of Soyer is, we think, very explicit; and any cook, by following the directions here given, may be able to lard, if not well, sufficiently for general use.

"Have the fricandeau trimmed, lay it, lengthwise, upon a clean napkin across your hand, forming a kind of bridge with your thumb at the part you are about to commence at; then with the point of the larding-needle make three distinct lines across, 1/2 inch apart; run the needle into the third line, at the further side of the fricandeau, and bring it out at the first, placing one of the lardoons in it; draw the needle through, leaving out 1/4 inch of the bacon at each line; proceed thus to the end of the row; then make another line, 1/2 inch distant, stick in another row of lardoons, bringing them out at the second line, leaving the ends of the bacon out all the same length; make the next row again at the same distance, bringing the ends out between the lardoons of the first row, proceeding in this manner until the whole surface is larded in chequered rows. Everything else is larded in a similar way; and, in the case of poultry, hold the breast over a charcoal fire for one minute, or dip it into boiling water, in order to make the flesh firm."

ROAST LOIN OF PORK.

829. INGREDIENTS.--Pork; a little salt.

_Mode_.--Score the skin in strips rather more than 1/4 inch apart, and place the joint at a good distance from the fire, on account of the crackling, which would harden before the meat would be heated through, were it placed too near. If very lean, it should be rubbed over with a little salad oil, and kept well basted all the time it is at the fire. Pork should be very thoroughly cooked, but not dry; and be careful never to send it to table the least underdone, as nothing is more unwholesome and disagreeable than underdressed white meats. Serve with apple sauce, No. 363, and a little gravy made in the dripping-pan. A stuffing of sage and onion may be made separately, and baked in a flat dish: this method is better than putting it in the meat, as many persons have so great an objection to the flavour.

_Time_.--A loin of pork weighing 5 lbs., about 2 hours: allow more time should it be very fat.

_Average cost_, 9d. per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

FOSSIL REMAINS OF THE HOG.--In British strata, the oldest fossil
remains of the hog which Professor Owen states that he has
examined, were from fissures in the red crag (probably miocene)
of Newbourne, near Woodbridge, Suffolk. "They were associated
with teeth of an extinct _felis_ about the size of a leopard,
with those of a bear, and with remains of a large cervus. These
mammalian remains were found with the ordinary fossils of the
red crag: they had undergone the same process of trituration,
and were impregnated with the same colouring matter as the
associated bones and teeth of fishes acknowledged to be derived
from the regular strata of the red crag. These mammaliferous
beds have been proved by Mr. Lyell to be older than the
fluvio-marine, or Norwich crag, in which remains of the
mastodon, rhinoceros, and horse have been discovered; and still
older than the fresh-water pleistocene deposits, from which the
remains of the mammoth, rhinoceros, &c. are obtained in such
abundance. I have met," says the professor, in addition, "with
some satisfactory instances of the association of fossil remains
of a species of hog with those of the mammoth, in the newer
pliocene freshwater formations of England."

TO DRY PIGS' CHEEKS.

830. INGREDIENTS.--Salt, 4 oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of bay-salt, 4 oz. of coarse sugar.

_Mode_.--Cut out the snout, remove the brains, and split the head, taking off the upper bone to make the jowl a good shape; rub it well with salt; next day take away the brine, and salt it again the following day; cover the head with saltpetre, bay-salt, and coarse sugar, in the above proportion, adding a little common salt. Let the head be often turned, and when it has been in the pickle for 10 days, smoke it for a week or rather longer.

_Time_.--To remain in the pickle 10 days; to be smoked 1 week.

_Seasonable_.--Should be made from September to March.

_Note_.--A pig's check, or Bath chap, will take about 2 hours after the water boils.

PIG'S LIVER (a Savoury and Economical Dish).

831. INGREDIENTS.--The liver and lights of a pig, 6 or 7 slices of bacon, potatoes, 1 large bunch of parsley, 2 onions, 2 sage-leaves, pepper and salt to taste, a little broth or water.

_Mode_.--Slice the liver and lights, and wash these perfectly clean, and parboil the potatoes; mince the parsley and sage, and chop the onion rather small. Put the meat, potatoes, and bacon into a deep tin dish, in alternate layers, with a sprinkling of the herbs, and a seasoning of pepper and salt between each; pour on a little water or broth, and bake in a moderately-heated oven for 2 hours.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

PIG'S PETTITOES.

832. INGREDIENTS.--A thin slice of bacon, 1 onion, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, 1 pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste, thickening of butter and flour.

_Mode_.--Put the liver, heart, and pettitoes into a stewpan with the bacon, mace, peppercorns, thyme, onion, and gravy, and simmer these gently for 1/4 hour; then take out the heart and liver, and mince them very fine. Keep stewing the feet until quite tender, which will be in from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour, reckoning from the time that they boiled up first; then put back the minced liver, thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour, season with pepper and salt, and simmer over a gentle fire for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring the contents. Dish the mince, split the feet, and arrange them round alternately with sippets of toasted bread, and pour the gravy in the middle.

_Time_.--Altogether 40 minutes.

_Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

TO PICKLE PORK.

833. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of saltpetre; salt.

_Mode_.--As pork does not keep long without being salted, cut it into pieces of a suitable size as soon as the pig is cold. Rub the pieces of pork well with salt, and put them into a pan with a sprinkling of it between each piece: as it melts on the top, strew on more. Lay a coarse cloth over the pan, a board over that, and a weight on the board, to keep the pork down in the brine. If excluded from the air, it will continue good for nearly 2 years.

_Average cost_, 10d. per lb. for the prime parts.

_Seasonable_.--The best time for pickling meat is late in the autumn.

THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE HOG.--A singular circumstance in the
domestic history of the hog, is the extent of its distribution
over the surface of the earth; being found even in insulated
places, where the inhabitants are semi-barbarous, and where the
wild species is entirely unknown. The South-Sea islands, for
example, were found on their discovery to be well stocked with a
small black hog; and the traditionary belief of the people was
that these animals were coeval with the origin of themselves.
Yet they possessed no knowledge of the wild boar, or any other
animal of the hog kind, from which the domestic breed might be
supposed to be derived. In these islands the hog is the
principal quadruped, and the fruit of the bread-tree is its
principal food, although it is also fed with yams, eddoes, and
other vegetables. This nutritious diet, which it has in great
abundance, is, according to Foster, the reason of its flesh
being so delicious, so full of juice, and so rich in fat, which
is not less delicate to the taste than the finest butter.

TO BOIL PICKLED PORK.

834. INGREDIENTS.--Pork; water.

_Mode_.--Should the pork be very salt, let it remain in water about 2 hours before it is dressed; put it into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover it, let it gradually come to a boil, then gently simmer until quite tender. Allow ample time for it to cook, as nothing is more disagreeable than underdone pork, and when boiled fast, the meat becomes hard. This is sometimes served with boiled poultry and roast veal, instead of bacon: when tender, and not over salt, it will be found equally good.

_Time_.--A piece of pickled pork weighing 2 lbs., 1-1/4 hour; 4 lbs., rather more than 2 hours.

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

_Seasonable_ at any time.

THE ANTIQUITY OF THE HOG.--By what nation and in what period the
hog was reclaimed, is involved in the deepest obscurity. So far
back as we have any records of history, we find notices of this
animal, and of its flesh being used as the food of man. By some
nations, however, its flesh was denounced as unclean, and
therefore prohibited to be used, whilst by others it was
esteemed as a great delicacy. By the Mosaic law it was forbidden
to be eaten by the Jews, and the Mahometans hold it in utter
abhorrence. Dr. Kitto, however, says that there does not appear
to be any reason in the law of Moses why the hog should be held
in such peculiar abomination. There seems nothing to have
prevented the Jews, if they had been so inclined, to rear pigs
for sale, or for the use of the land. In the Talmud there are
some indications that this was actually done; and it was,
probably, for such purposes that the herds of swine mentioned in
the New Testament were kept, although it is usual to consider
that they were kept by the foreign settlers in the land. Indeed,
the story which accounts for the peculiar aversion of the
Hebrews to the hog, assumes that it did not originate until
about 130 years before Christ, and that, previously, some Jews
were in the habit of rearing hogs for the purposes indicated.

PORK PIES (Warwickshire Recipe).

835. INGREDIENTS.--For the crust, 5 lbs. of lard to 14 lbs. of flour, milk, and water. For filling the pies, to every 3 lbs. of meat allow 1 oz. of salt, 2-1/4 oz. of pepper, a small quantity of cayenne, 1 pint of water.

_Mode_.--Rub into the flour a portion of the lard; the remainder put with sufficient milk and water to mix the crust, and boil this gently for 1/4 hour. Pour it boiling on the flour, and knead and beat it till perfectly smooth. Now raise the crust in either a round or oval form, cut up the pork into pieces the size of a nut, season it in the above proportion, and press it compactly into the pie, in alternate layers of fat and lean, and pour in a small quantity of water; lay on the lid, cut the edges smoothly round, and pinch them together. Bake in a brick oven, which should be slow, as the meat is very solid. Very frequently, the inexperienced cook finds much difficulty in raising the crust. She should bear in mind that it must not be allowed to get cold, or it will fall immediately: to prevent this, the operation should be performed as near the fire as possible. As considerable dexterity and expertness are necessary to raise the crust with the hand only, a glass bottle or small jar may be placed in the middle of the paste, and the crust moulded on this; but be particular that it is kept warm the whole time.

_Sufficient_.--The proportions for 1 pie are 1 lb. of flour and 3 lbs. of meat.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

THE FLESH OF SWINE IN HOT CLIMATES.--It is observed by M.
Sonini, that the flesh of swine, in hot climates, is considered
unwholesome, and therefore may account for its proscription by
the legislators and priests of the East. In Egypt, Syria, and
even the southern parts of Greece, although both white and
delicate, it is so flabby and surcharged with fat, that it
disagrees with the strongest stomachs. Abstinence from it in
general was, therefore, indispensable to health under the
burning suns of Egypt and Arabia. The Egyptians were permitted
to eat it only once a year,--on the feast of the moon; and then
they sacrificed a number of these animals to that planet. At
other seasons, should any one even touch a hog, he was obliged
immediately to plunge into the river Nile, as he stood, with his
clothes on, in order to purify himself from the supposed
contamination he had contracted by the touch.

LITTLE RAISED PORK PIES.

836. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of flour, 1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of mutton suet, salt and white pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of the neck of pork, 1 dessertspoonful of powdered sage.

_Mode_.--Well dry the flour, mince the suet, and put these with the butter into a saucepan, to be made hot, and add a little salt. When melted, mix it up into a stiff paste, and put it before the fire with a cloth over it until ready to make up; chop the pork into small pieces, season it with white pepper, salt, and powdered sage; divide the paste into rather small pieces, raise it in a round or oval form, fill with the meat, and bake in a brick oven. These pies will require a fiercer oven than those in the preceding recipe, as they are made so much smaller, and consequently do not require so soaking a heat.

_Time_.--If made small, about 1-1/2 hour.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

SWINEHERDS OF ANTIQUITY.--From the prejudice against the hog
among the ancients, those who tended them formed an isolated
class, and were esteemed as the outcasts of society. However
much the flesh of the animal was esteemed by the Greeks and
Romans, yet the swineherd is not mentioned by either the classic
writers or the poets who, in ancient Greece and Rome, painted
rural life. We have no descriptions of gods or heroes descending
to the occupation of keeping swine. The swineherd is never
introduced into the idyls of Theocritus, nor has Virgil admitted
him into his eclogues. The Eumaeus of Homer is the only
exception that we have of a swineherd meeting with favour in the
eyes of a poet of antiquity. This may be accounted for, on the
supposition that the prejudices of the Egyptians relative to
this class of men, extended to both Greece and Italy, and
imparted a bias to popular opinion.

TO MAKE SAUSAGES.

(_Author's Oxford Recipe_.)

837. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of pork, fat and lean, without skin or gristle; 1 lb. of lean veal, 1 lb. of beef suet, 1/2 lb. of bread crumbs, the rind of 1/2 lemon, 1 small nutmeg, 6 sage-leaves, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of savory, 1/2 teaspoonful of marjoram.

_Mode_.--Chop the pork, veal, and suet finely together, add the bread crumbs, lemon-peel (which should be well minced), and a small nutmeg grated. Wash and chop the sage-leaves very finely; add these with the remaining ingredients to the sausage-meat, and when thoroughly mixed, either put the meat into skins, or, when wanted for table, form it into little cakes, which should be floured and fried.

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

_Sufficient_ for about 30 moderate-sized sausages.

_Seasonable_ from October to March.

THE HOG IN ENGLAND.--From time immemorial, in England, this
animal has been esteemed as of the highest importance. In the
Anglo-Saxon period, vast herds of swine were tended by men, who
watched over their safety, and who collected them under shelter
at night. At that time, the flesh of the animal was the staple
article of consumption in every family, and a large portion of
the wealth of the rich freemen of the country consisted of these
animals. Hence it was common to make bequests of swine, with
lands for their support; and to these were attached rights and
privileges in connection with their feeding, and the extent of
woodland to be occupied by a given number was granted in
accordance with established rules. This is proved by an ancient
Saxon grant, quoted by Sharon Turner, in his "History of the
Anglo-Saxons," where the right of pasturage is conveyed in a
deed by the following words:--"I give food for seventy swine in
that woody allotment which the countrymen call Wolferdinlegh."

FRIED SAUSAGES.

838. INGREDIENTS.--Sausages; a small piece of butter.

_Mode_.--Prick the sausages with a fork (this prevents them from bursting), and put them into a frying-pan with a small piece of butter. Keep moving the pan about, and turn the sausages 3 or 4 times. In from 10 to 12 minutes they will be sufficiently cooked, unless they are _very large_, when a little more time should be allowed for them. Dish them with or without a piece of toast under them, and serve very hot. In some counties, sausages are boiled and served on toast. They should be plunged into boiling water, and simmered for about 10 or 12 minutes.

_Time_.--10 to 12 minutes.

_Average cost_, 10d. per lb.

_Seasonable_.--Good from September to March.

_Note_.--Sometimes, in close warm weather, sausages very soon turn sour; to prevent this, put them in the oven for a few minutes with a small piece of butter to keep them moist. When wanted for table, they will not require so long frying as uncooked sausages.

THE SAXON SWINEHERD.--The men employed in herding swine during
the Anglo-Saxon period of our history were, in general, thralls
or born slaves of the soil, who were assisted by powerful dogs,
capable even of singly contending with the wolf until his master
came with his spear to the rescue. In the "Ivanhoe" of Sir
Walter Scott, we have an admirable picture, in the character of
Gurth, an Anglo-Saxon swineherd, as we also have of his master,
a large landed proprietor, a great portion of whose wealth
consisted of swine, and whose rude but plentiful board was
liberally supplied with the flesh.

SAUSAGE-MEAT CAKES.

839. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of lean pork, add 3/4 lb. of fat bacon, 1/4 oz. of salt, 1 saltspoonful of pepper, 1/4 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.

_Mode_.--Remove from the pork all skin, gristle, and bone, and chop it finely with the bacon; add the remaining ingredients, and carefully mix altogether. Pound it well in a mortar, make it into convenient-sized cakes, flour these, and fry them a nice brown for about 10 minutes. This is a very simple method of making sausage-meat, and on trial will prove very good, its great recommendation being, that it is so easily made.

_Time_.--10 minutes.

_Seasonable_ from September to March.

TO SCALD A SUCKING-PIG.

840. Put the pig into cold water directly it is killed; let it remain for a few minutes, then immerse it in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Take it out, lay it on a table, and pull off the hair as quickly as possible. When the skin looks clean, make a slit down the belly, take out the entrails, well clean the nostrils and ears, wash the pig in cold water, and wipe it thoroughly dry. Take off the feet at the first joint, and loosen and leave sufficient skin to turn neatly over. If not to be dressed immediately, fold it in a wet cloth to keep it from the air.

THE LEARNED PIG.--That the pig is capable of education, is a
fact long known to the world; and though, like the ass,
naturally stubborn and obstinate, that he is equally amenable
with other animals to caresses and kindness, has been shown from
very remote time; the best modern evidence of his docility,
however, is the instance of the learned pig, first exhibited
about a century since, but which has been continued down to our
own time by repeated instances of an animal who will put
together all the letters or figures that compose the day, month,
hour, and date of the exhibition, besides many other
unquestioned evidences of memory. The instance already given of
breaking a sow into a pointer, till she became more stanch even
than the dog itself, though surprising, is far less wonderful
than that evidence of education where so generally obtuse an
animal may be taught not only to spell, but couple figures and
give dates correctly.

ROAST SUCKING-PIG.

841. INGREDIENTS.--Pig, 6 oz. of bread crumbs, 16 sage-leaves, pepper and salt to taste, a piece of butter the size of an egg, salad oil or butter to baste with, about 1/2 pint of gravy, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--A sucking-pig, to be eaten in perfection, should not be more than three weeks old, and should be dressed the same day that it is killed. After preparing the pig for cooking, as in the preceding recipe, stuff it with finely-grated bread crumbs, minced sage, pepper, salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg, all of which should be well mixed together, and put into the body of the pig. Sew up the slit neatly, and truss the legs back, to allow the inside to be roasted, and the under part to be crisp. Put the pig down to a bright clear fire, not too near, and let it lay till thoroughly dry; then have ready some butter tied up in a piece of thin cloth, and rub the pig with this in every part. Keep it well rubbed with the butter the whole of the time it is roasting, and do not allow the crackling to become blistered or burnt. When half-done, hang a pig-iron before the middle part (if this is not obtainable, use a flat iron), to prevent its being scorched and dried up before the ends are done. Before it is taken from the fire, cut off the head, and part that and the body down the middle. Chop the brains and mix them with the stuffing; add 1/2 pint of good gravy, a tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and the gravy that flowed from the pig; put a little of this on the dish with the pig, and the remainder send to table in a tureen. Place the pig back to back in the dish, with one half of the head on each side, and one of the ears at each end, and send it to table as hot as possible. Instead of butter, many cooks take salad oil for basting, which makes the crackling crisp; and as this is one of the principal things to be considered, perhaps it is desirable to use it; but be particular that it is very pure, or it will impart an unpleasant flavour to the meat. The brains and stuffing may be stirred into a tureen of melted butter instead of gravy, when the latter is not liked. Apple sauce and the old-fashioned currant sauce are not yet quite obsolete as an accompaniment to roast pig.

_Time_.--1-1/2 to 2 hours for a small pig.

_Average cost_, 5s. to 6s.

_Sufficient_ for 9 or 10 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to February.

HOW ROAST PIG WAS DISCOVERED.--Charles Lamb, who, in the early
part of this century, delighted the reading public by his quaint
prose sketches, written under the title of "Essays of Elia,"
has, in his own quiet humorous way, devoted one paper to the
subject of _Roast Pig_, and more especially to that luxurious
and toothsome dainty known as "CRACKLING;" and shows, in a
manner peculiarly his own, _how crackling first came into the
world._

According to this erudite authority, man in the golden age, or
at all events the primitive age, eat his pork and bacon raw, as,
indeed, he did his beef and mutton; unless, as Hudibras tells
us, he was an epicure, when he used to make a saddle of his
saddle of mutton, and after spreading it on his horse's back,
and riding on it for a few hours till thoroughly warmed, he sat
down to the luxury of a dish cooked to a turn. At the epoch of
the story, however, a citizen of some Scythian community had the
misfortune to have his hut, or that portion of it containing his
live stock of pigs, burnt down. In going over the _débris_ on
the following day, and picking out all the available salvage,
the proprietor touched something unusually or unexpectedly hot,
which caused him to shake his hand with great energy, and clap
the tips of his suffering fingers to his mouth. The act was
simple and natural, but the result was wonderful. He rolled his
eyes in ecstatic pleasure, his frame distended, and, conscious
of a celestial odour, his nostrils widened, and, while drawing
in deep inspirations of the ravishing perfume, he sucked his
fingers with a gusto he had never, in his most hungry moments,
conceived. Clearing away the rubbish from beneath him, he at
last brought to view the carcase of one of his pigs, _roasted to
death_. Stooping down to examine this curious object, and
touching its body, a fragment of the burnt skin was detached,
which, with a sort of superstitious dread, he at length, and in
a spirit of philosophical inquiry, put into his mouth. Ye gods!
the felicity he then enjoyed, no pen can chronicle! Then it was
that he--the world--first tasted _crackling_. Like a miser with
his gold, the Scythian hid his treasure from the prying eyes of
the world, and feasted, in secret, more sumptuously than the
gods. When he had eaten up all his pig, the poor man fell into a
melancholy; he refused the most tempting steak, though cooked on
the horse's back, and turned every half-hour after his own
favourite recipe; he fell, in fact, from his appetite, and was
reduced to a shadow, till, unable longer to endure the torments
of memory he hourly suffered, he rose one night and secretly set
fire to his hut, and once more was restored to flesh and
manhood. Finding it impossible to live in future without
roast-pig, he set fire to his house every time his larder became
empty; till at last his neighbours, scandalized by the frequency
of these incendiary acts, brought his conduct before the supreme
council of the nation. To avert the penalty that awaited him, he
brought his judges to the smouldering ruins, and discovering the
secret, invited them to eat; which having done, with tears of
gratitude, the august synod embraced him, and, with an
overflowing feeling of ecstasy, dedicated a statue to the memory
of the man who first _instituted roast pork_.

PORK CARVING.

SUCKING-PIG.

842. A sucking-pig seems, at first sight, rather an elaborate dish, or rather animal, to carve; but by carefully mastering the details of the business, every difficulty will vanish; and if a partial failure be at first made, yet all embarrassment will quickly disappear on a second trial. A sucking-pig is usually sent to table in the manner shown in the engraving (and also in coloured plate S), and the first point to be attended to is to separate the shoulder from the carcase, by carrying the knife quickly and neatly round the circular line, as shown by the figures 1, 2, 3;--the shoulder will then easily come away. The next step is to take off the leg; and this is done in the same way, by cutting round this joint in the direction shown by the figures 1, 2, 3, in the same way as the shoulder. The ribs then stand fairly open to the knife, which should be carried down in the direction of the line 4 to 5; and two or three helpings will dispose of these. The other half of the pig is served, of course, in the same manner. Different parts of the pig are variously esteemed; some preferring the flesh of the neck; others, the ribs; and others, again, the shoulders. The truth is, the whole of a sucking-pig is delicious, delicate eating; but, in carving it, the host should consult the various tastes and fancies of his guests, keeping the larger joints, generally, for the gentlemen of the party.

HAM.

843. In cutting a ham, the carver must be guided according as he desires to practise economy, or have, at once, fine slices out of the prime part. Under the first supposition, he will commence at the knuckle end, and cut off thin slices towards the thick part of the ham. To reach the choicer portion, the knife, which must be very sharp and thin, should be carried quite down to the bone, in the direction of the line 1 to 2. The slices should be thin and even, and always cut down to the bone. There are some who like to carve a ham by cutting a hole at the top, and then slicing pieces off inside the hole, gradually enlarging the circle; but we think this a plan not to be recommended. A ham, when hot, is usually sent to table with a paper ruffle round the knuckle; when cold, it is served in the manner shown by coloured plate P.

LEG OF PORK.

844. This joint, which is such a favourite one with many people, is easy to carve. The knife should be carried sharply down to the bone, clean through the crackling, in the direction of the line 1 to 2. Sago and onion and apple sauce are usually sent to table with this dish,--sometimes the leg of pork is stuffed,--and the guests should be asked if they will have either or both. A frequent plan, and we think a good one, is now pursued, of sending sage and onion to table separately from the joint, as it is not everybody to whom the flavour of this stuffing is agreeable.

_Note_.--The other dishes of pork do not call for any special remarks as to their carving or helping.