Pork: Cover
Cover the kraut with cold water, add a little salt if necessary, and place to boil three hours before using it. About an hour before it is done, put spareribs in and let them boil until the meat falls from the bones. Remove the spareribs, and stir in the kraut a grated raw potato from which the water has been drained. Let it come to a boil after this, being careful it does not burn; remove from stove, and serve.
To Boil a Ham.
Twenty-four hours before a ham is to be used, scrub it thoroughly with a vegetable brush and cold, weak borax water. Put in cold water and soak twenty-four hours. If it is to be baked, it requires four hours' boiling. Use a big kettle, as the ham must be covered all over with water.
Let it come to the boil very slowly.
Remove the scum. When it begins to boil, add 12 whole cloves, 1 bay leaf, 12 peppercorns, the outside stalks of 1 bunch celery, 2 chopped onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 chopped carrot and turnip, 2 blades mace, 12 allspice berries, and 1 quart cider or a cupful vinegar. Never allow the ham to boil, merely simmer slowly; that is one secret of making it perfectly tender. Allow twenty-five minutes or half an hour to the pound. If the ham is to be used cold, you can add to its tender juiciness by allowing it to stand in the pot liquor till nearly cold. Then lift it out, peel off the skin and roll in dried bread crumbs with which 3 tablespoonfuls brown sugar have been sifted. Set it in the oven till the crumbs form a crisp brown crust. If the ham is to be baked, take it from the water, drain thoroughly, then take off the skin except around the shank, where it may be cut in vandykes with a sharp-pointed knife. Cover with crumbs and stick it full of cloves, set in a moderate oven, and bake two hours. If you prefer the ham glazed, allow it to cool as for boiled ham, then skin, wipe dry, and brush all PORK over with beaten egg. Mix 1 cupful sifted cracker crumbs, a dash salt and pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls melted butter, and cream enough to make crumbs into a paste. Spread it evenly over the ham, set in a moderate oven, and bake till brown; serve hot with brown sauce. When a baked or boiled ham goes to the table, wrap about the unsightly bone a ruffle of white tissue paper, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters.
Ham Steak.
Put slices of raw ham in a frying pan with cupful water to make them tender. When the water has boiled out and the ham is light brown on both sides, dust with flour and pour on the following dressing, previously made: A cupful milk and cream mixed, a little butter, a teaspoonful mustard, and a dash McIlhenny's Tabasco Sauce. As soon as it boils, serve.