Crocks and how to use them

[gettinaclue]

I know what crocks look like and I know from reading up on the internet how to make home made saurkraut, but what about the other ones I have come across?

Namely the butter crocks and bean crocks. What are they doing with them? How are they doing it? And what other uses for crocks are there?

 

[freemotion]

My mother made the most wonderful corned beef when I was a kid. She used a crock and a scrubbed stone to keep the beef from floating.

She would salt some pork in a smaller crock. I sometimes will salt a fatty pork "country style rib" in my fridge in a bowl, same principle. Wonderful for flavoring collards and those overgrown green beans that people try to give you, and which I welcome, cooked 40-60 minutes with lots of browned salt pork. Mmmmm, my favorite!

I've heard of making fermented pickles in them, too.

I think the butter crock is to keep the butter fresh longer at room temp...with water to seal out the air between uses.....I think.

 

[gettinaclue]

FM,

Could you describe in detail how to make the corned beef and salted pork in a crock? I'm very interested to know the processes of using them and would like to know how and with recipes if I can get them.

I'm a fan of green beans no matter what size. I have gone back to flavoring them with bacon fat since it is more natural - and man did I ever miss it!

 

[freemotion]

I don't know what she did to make the corned beef, but she did a lot of stuff based on booklets from the extension service back in the 70's. I plan to scrounge through her extensive book, booklet, clippings, and recipe cards collection on my next trip to see my folks, as soon as I can find someone to milk for me!! A new problem!

For the salt pork, take any piece of pork, sliced maybe 3/4 inch thick. Fattier is better, but even a pork chop will do, like those cheap bone-in bulk ones that are so good. Find a bowl that it will lay flat in, and put in a thick layer of salt, then a piece of pork, and another thick layer of salt, and more pork, until it is all salted, ending with salt. Be generous with the salt. Cover with a small plate and put in the back of the fridge for a few days. It will form a liquid, and you want to put something on it to weight it down so it stays under the liquid if you are not going to use it fairly soon.

I will use a corningware bowl and top it with another bowl, they nest a bit and the bottom of the top bowl will squish the meat down into the brine. You don't need to add water, as the salt will draw the water out of the meat.

Use it as long as it smells good, it will keep for weeks if well-salted and refridgerated. You can rinse some salt off when you use it, but I like the saltiness of the beans or collards, so I don't rinse it, just cut it into small pieces and fry it up nice and brown, add the veggies with a bit of water and simmer for a loooong time.....mmmmmm!

 

[gettinaclue]

I forgot to say thank you! How rude!

Sorry FM!

Thank you for the info!

 

[farmerlor]

Corned beef:
One 5-7 lb. brisket of beef
1/2 cup large-grained kosher salt
1/2 t cloves
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 t pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. saltpeter
1/2 cup warm water

You mix up all the salt peter (sodium nitrate) with water. Rub all the spices into the meat and then put it in the crock and pour the water over it. Weight the meat down and turn it once a day. Grandma always changed the water after a week but modern recipes say you don't have to. Keep it refrigerated in the crock for two weeks. When you are ready to use the beef rinse it and rinse it and rinse it some more. Then bring it to a boil, change the water and do it again before simmering it to actually cook it and eat it.

 

[gettinaclue]

Fabulous! Thank you Farmerior!

Do you have any other recipes for crocks tucked away? I'm still on the hunt.

 

[farmerlor]

The only things we ever did in crocks were corned beef, sauerkraut, pickles and sourdough. We smoked whatever pork we didn't can or freeze and salted, canned or froze beef and chicken. Seems like Grandpa made some kind of alcoholic beverage in crocks too but that's not something I ever got to learn about-it was all kept pretty hush hush.

 

[freemotion]

I wonder what would happen if you left the salt peter out. Could that be why Grandma was in the habit of changing the water? But I suppose salt peter has been available for a long time.....

 

[farmerlor]

I wonder what would happen if you left the salt peter out. Could that be why Grandma was in the habit of changing the water? But I suppose salt peter has been available for a long time.....

Supposedly, the salt peter is THE preservative for this dish. It keeps the color and the flavor of the meat while everything else works to tenderize and season.