With butchering season coming up, I will share what we learned about curing bacon and Canadian bacon last year. I enjoy looking back at my notes – if you do canning or preserving, it is fun to keep a journal of produce or meat prices at the time, recipes, methods, yields, etc., but also include personal details of the events to make it more of a treasure to look back on. I’m going to try to feature local butcher shops in the next couple of months, so come back for that!
Tenderquick Mixture for Bacon or Canadian Bacon
1½ gal. water
2 lb. bag tenderquick
Dissolve tenderquick in water. Soak bacons for 24 hours. A five-gallon bucket works perfectly for this amount. Smoke 12 hours. Lay out on trays and freeze for about 5 hours to firm the meat prior to slicing. Cure bacons 3-4 days. Cure thin tenderloins less than 24 hours. Cure average size tenderloins NO MORE THAN 24 hours (or else too salty!). Vacuum pack directly after slicing while still partially frozen.
Pizza Puff
This is my mom’s recipe.
1 lb. bulk sausage
⅓ c. tomato or pizza sauce
1 tsp. basil or thyme
¼ tsp. poultry seasoning
8 slices mozzarella cheese
8 slices bread
2 c. milk
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp. salt
Break up sausage in frying pan, cooking slowly for 15 min. Drain meat well. Add tomato sauce, basil or thyme, and poultry seasoning. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish and cover bottom with 4 slices of bread, cover the bread with 4 slices of cheese, spread sausage mixture over this. Place another layer of cheese slices on the meat and top with remaining bread slices. Mix milk, beaten eggs, and salt. Pour over top. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. Note: This dish is best when fixed ahead of time and refrigerated overnight or at least 6 hours.
Apple-Squash Casserole
½ c. light brown sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground mace
¼ c. butter, melted
2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small chunks
2 large apples, cored and cut into ½-in. slices
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, salt, and mace. Add butter, mixing well. In an ungreased 9×13 in. pan, arrange squash. Top with apple slices; spread with sugar mixture. Cover and bake 1 hour, until squash is tender. Makes 8 servings.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
With orange and yellow candies, this is pretty for fall.
½ c. lard
½ c. butter
1 c. peanut butter
½ c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T. water
1 tsp. salt
2 ½ c. quick oats
1 ½ c. flour
Chocolate chips (amt. to your preference)
Reese’s pieces
Mix as usual for cookies – cream butter and sugars, adding eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together separately and fold into batter. Add chocolate chips and Reese’s candy last. (Sometimes I press M&Ms and these types of candies on top of the cookies as eggs in a nest.) Bake at 350°F for 8-10 min.
