moist
sugar, then lay down in salt for a fortnight, else cover with brine made
thus. Pint pickling salt to the gallon of cold water, teaspoon sugar,
and pinch of whole cloves. Boil and skim. Pour cold over the hams in a
clean barrel. Let stand a fortnight, take out, drain and wipe, rub over
with dry salt, and hang high in cold air. Smoke lightly after three
days. Keep smoking, but not too much, for a month. Cover all over with
ground black pepper, mixed to a paste with molasses, canvas and leave
hanging.

Slice and broil, else chip and serve raw. Frizzling is possible but a
waste of God's good mercies. Properly cured meat is salt but not too
salt, of a deep blackish-red, and when sliced thin, partly translucent,
also of an indescribable savoriness. Cut as nearly as possible, across
the grain. Do not undertake to make beef hams save in the late fall, so
there may be cold weather for the curing. The meat must be chilled
through before salt touches it, but freezing is very detrimental. Frozen
meat does not absorb the salt, sugar, etc., essential to proper curing.
By time it thaws so absorption becomes possible, there may have been
changes such as take place in cold storage, unfitting it for food. If
the beef ham is thick it may need to lie a month in salt or in brine.
Here as elsewhere, the element of judgment comes into play.

If rabbits are very plenty and very fat, put down a jar of hindquarters
in marinade for three days, then wipe, and hang in a cold, dry place. A
rabbit ought to be dressed before it is cold--thus it escapes the strong
flavor which makes market rabbits often unendurable. Chill but do not
freeze after dressing. A light smoking does not hurt the quarters, which
should be left double, with the thick loin between. Soak two hours
before cooking, and smother with plenty of butter, black and red pepper
and a dash of pepper vinegar. An excellent breakfast or luncheon relish.

To cook a fresh ham properly, choose one weighing ten pounds or less,
scrape and wash clean, score the skin, all over, then season well with
salt, sugar, black and red pepper, and dot with tabasco on top. Set on a
rack in a deep pan, pour boiling water underneath to barely touch the
meat, cover close, and bake in a hot oven for two hours, filling up the
water in the pan as it bakes away. Uncover, and cook for half an hour
longer, slacking heat one half, and basting the meat with the liquor in
the pan. If approved add a cup of cider or