To Cure Hams and Shoulders

Ingredients

• 43 dlings
• salt

Directions

1. FAMILY RECEIPT BOOK. 43

2. dlings ; have some finely powdered saltpetre ; rub a tablespoonful in eacli ham for some minutes, then rub it well with salt and brown sugar ; let them lie on a board some distance apart for three days, to draw off the blood ; have a molasses barrel ; sprinkle the bottom with salt and put in your hams with the skins down ; sprinkle with salt, and so on till you have the barrel full ; make a strong pickle that will bear an egg ; pour over them, cover, and let them remain in pickle for five weeks, then hang them up with the hock down to preserve the juice. The shoulders will not require to be in pickle so long ; it is not necessary to put saltpetre on the middlings; the jowls will be ready to hang up in two weeks, shoulders and middlings in four: they should be smoked but three times a week till done ; if smoked too much, they will be hard. Before the weather gets warm, take them down and rub well with hickory ashes.