Title: Settler's pickle for hams~ cheeks~ & should
 Categories: Info/tips, Preserves
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
 
  ================== Information file ==================
  
  Fourteen pounds of good salt, half a pound of salpetre, two quarts of
  molasses or four pounds of coarse brown sugar, with water enough to
  dissolve the salt, and a pint of good beer or of vinegar, if you
  command either.  Bring this liquor to a boil, and scum off all the
  impurities that may rise to the surface. When cold, pour this over
  your hams,which should be cold, but not frozen. The addition of
  pepper, allspice, and cloves is made by some who like a high flavour
  to the hams. The hams should remain in this pickle six or eight
  weeks; being turned and basted every two or three days, and then hung
  in the smoke house. The best woods for smoking are: sugar maple
  chips, hickory, birch, corn cobs, white ash, and beech. Wehn removed
  from the smoke house, sew each ham in any old linen or cotton cloth,
  and if you give this covering a coating of whitewash, with a
  whitewash brush, it well preserve it from the flies.
  
  Origin:  The Canadian Settler's Guide, written in 1855