CURING BEEF AND PORK HEARTS FOR BOLOGNA AND OTHER SAUSAGE. (Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden.)

First:—As soon as the beef or hog is slaughtered, the hearts should be cut open; the pork hearts should be cut into four squares, and the beef hearts into six or eight pieces, being sure to cut them so that all the crevices are open and exposed. They should then be placed in ice water in which they should be allowed to remain for two to three hours.

Second:—Spread the hearts on trays or racks in a cooler as thinly as possible, and allow them to drain and chill for 24 hours; they must be thoroughly chilled so that all animal heat leaves them.

Use for 100 lbs. of { 1¼ lbs. Freeze-Em-Pickle. Beef or Pork Hearts. { 1 lb. of Common Salt.

Third:—Run hearts through an Enterprise grinder, using a lard plate with 1½-inch holes; then place in a mixer and gradually add the mixture of Freeze-Em-Pickle and salt. Be sure it is evenly divided and thoroughly mixed.

Fourth:—Take a perfectly clean tierce, and sprinkle a handful of salt, and a little Freeze-Em-Pickle on the bottom; put the salted hearts into the tierce and tamp them down with a tamper as hard as possible.

The object in tamping with a tamper is to get all the air out and to close up all the cavities in the barrel. The less air cells in the barrel, the better the hearts will cure and keep.

Fifth:—If the tierces are to be headed up, sprinkle a handful of salt on top of the tierces, cover nicely with a piece of parchment paper and put in the heads, being careful that the tierces are as full as they possibly can be before the heads are put in, and also that the tierces are perfectly sweet before packing.

Sixth:—If the tierces are to remain open, they can be covered with a cloth and about two or three inches of dry salt should be put over the top of the cloth. This will exclude the air, and will keep the top meat from getting dry and dark.

Seventh:—Hearts that have been properly chilled and packed in this manner can be kept for any length of time and need not be overhauled. They can be kept for a year or longer, and whenever taken out of the tierces to use, they will make fine bologna and such sausage as hearts can be used for. Quite a quantity of properly cured hearts can be used in the manufacture of sausage with very good results. They will have a fine color and a delicious flavor. Hearts should never be pickled for Bologna, but should always be dry salted as above directed. It is very often the case that hearts can be bought at a small cost when the market is low, and if so purchased and packed and stored as herein directed until the market advances and meat is high, they can be made into bologna with a very handsome profit.

Eighth:—See paragraph on Temperature for Curing Meats on page 46.