Home Pork Making :: CHAPTER IV. SCALDING AND SCRAPING.

CHAPTER IV. SCALDING AND SCRAPING.

Next comes the scalding and dressing of the carcass. Lay the hog upon the table near the boiler and let the scalders who stand ready to handle it place it in the water heated nearly to a boiling point. The scalders keep the hog in motion by turning it about in the water, and occasionally they try the bristles to see if they will come away readily. As soon as satisfied on this point, the carcass is drawn from the boiler and placed upon the bench, where it is rapidly and thoroughly scraped. The bristles or hair that grow along the back of the animal are sometimes sold to brush makers, the remainder of the hair falling beside the table and gathered up for the manure heap. The carcass must not remain too long in the hot water, as this will set the hair. In this case it will not part from the skin, and must be scraped off with sharp knives. For this reason an experienced hand should attend to the scalding. The hair all off, the carcass is hung upon the hooks, head down, nicely scraped and washed with clean water preparatory to disemboweling.

FIG. 7. TACKLE FOR HEAVY HOGS.

SCALDING TUBS AND VATS.

Various devices are employed for scalding hogs, without lifting them by main force. For heavy hogs, one may use three strong poles, fastened at the top with a log chain, which supports a simple tackle, Fig. 7. A very good arrangement is shown in Fig. 8. A sled is made firm with driven stakes and covered with planks or boards. At the rear end the scalding cask is set in the ground, its upper edge on a level with the platform and inclined as much as it can be and hold sufficient water. A large, long hog is scalded one end at a time. The more the cask is inclined, the easier will be the lifting.

FIG. 8. SCALDING CASK ON SLED.

A modification of the above device is shown in Fig. 9. A lever is rigged like a well sweep, using a crotched stick for the post, and a strong pole for the sweep. The iron rod on which the sweep moves must be strong and stiff. A trace chain is attached to the upper end, and if the end of the chain has a ring instead of a hook, it will be quite convenient. In use, a table is improvised, unless a strong one for the purpose is at hand, and this is set near the barrel. A noose is made with the chain about the leg of the hog, and he is soused in, going entirely under water, lifted out when the bristles start easily, and laid upon the table, while another is made ready.

FIG. 9. SCALDING IN A HOGSHEAD.

Figure 10 shows a more permanent arrangement. It is a trough of plank with a sheet iron bottom, which can be set over a temporary fireplace made in the ground. The vat may be six feet long, three feet wide and two and one-half feet deep, so as to be large enough for a good-sized hog. Three ropes are fastened on one side, for the purpose of rolling the hog over into the vat and rolling it out on the other side when it is scalded. A number of slanting crosspieces are fitted in, crossing each other, so as to form a hollow bed in which the carcass lies, with the ropes under it, by which it can be moved and drawn out. These crosspieces protect the sheet iron bottom and keep the carcass from resting upon it. A large, narrow fireplace is built up in the ground, with stoned sides, and the trough is set over it. A stovepipe is fitted at one end, and room is made at the front by which wood may be supplied to the fire to heat the water. A sloping table is fitted at one side for the purpose of rolling up the carcass, when too large to handle otherwise, by means of the rope previously mentioned. On the other side is a frame made of hollowed boards set on edge, upon which the hog is scraped and cleaned. The right temperature for scalding a hog is 180 degrees, and with a thermometer there need be no fear of overscalding or a failure from the lack of sufficient heat, while the water can be kept at the right temperature by regulating the fuel under the vat. If a spot of hair is obstinate, cover it with some of the removed hair and dip on hot water. Always pull out hair and bristles; shaving any off leaves unpleasant stubs in the skin.

SINGEING PIGS.

A few years ago, “singers” were general favorites with a certain class of trade wanting a light bacon pig, weighing about 170 lbs., the product being exported to England for bacon purposes. Packers frequently paid a small premium for light hogs suitable for this end, but more recently the demand is in other directions. The meat of singed hogs is considered by some to possess finer flavor than that of animals the hair of which has been removed by the ordinary process. Instead of being scalded and scraped in the ordinary manner, the singeing process consists in lowering the carcass into an iron or steel box by means of a heavy chain, the receptacle having been previously heated to an exceedingly high temperature. After remaining there a very few seconds the hog is removed and upon being placed in hot water the hair comes off instantly.

An old encyclopedia, published thirty years ago, in advocating the singeing process, has this to say: “The hog should be swealed (singed), and not scalded, as this method leaves the flesh firm and more solid. This is done by covering the hog lightly with straw, then set fire to it, renewing the fuel as it is burned away, taking care not to burn the skin. After sufficient singeing, the skin is scraped, but not washed. After cutting up, the flesh side of the cuts is rubbed with salt, which should be changed every four or five days. The flitches should also be transposed, the bottom ones at the top and the top ones at the bottom. Some use four ounces saltpetre and one pound coarse sugar or molasses for each hog. Six weeks is allowed for thus curing a hog weighing 240 lbs. The flitches before smoking are rubbed with bran or very fine sawdust and after smoking are often kept in clear, dry wood ashes or very dry sand.”

FIG. 10. PERMANENT VAT FOR SCALDING.

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