[AT] RE: Eating while doing tractor things sort of ramble

[charlie hill]

That's right Dean.  The cracklins come from rendering lard.  The fat is
cooked in a big iron pot until it liquifies.  If I remember right some stuff
rises to the top and is skimmed off (maybe it settles to the bottom and the
lard is drained off.  I just don't remember for sure).  Anyway that stuff
goes into a press with some cotton cloth in the bottom.  The press pushes
out the rest of the grease and you are left with a cake of cracklins.

Just for the record I don't much care for them either.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dean VP" <deanvp at att.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'"
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 12:59 AM
Subject: RE: [AT] RE: Eating while doing tractor things sort of ramble


> Ralph:
>
> The cracklings I'm referring to are what is left after the hog fat has
been
> cooked untill there wasn't much left. I haven't seen cracklings for a long
> time but I would equate them to looking a little like commercial breakfast
> cereal small grape nuts! Some of the fat juice was included.
>
> It is a shame that these processes of making lard, lye soap, and these
> heritage specific foods could not be documented in video. I suspect there
> are written instructions around but I haven't looked for them.
>
> Also used were several spices added to taste and a 50/50 mix of buckwheat
> and regular flour.  Now I'm really getting an urge to find this stuff.
>
> Dean A. Van Peursem
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> CRS = Having a Photographic Memory but a shortage of unused film.
>
> www.deerelegacy.com
>
> http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Ralph Goff
> Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 9:23 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] RE: Eating while doing tractor things sort of ramble
>
> Well Dean, now you have got me interested enough that I am going to check
> the grocery store next time I am there to see if the head cheese is
> available.
> Crackling is a familiar term but here it referring to the outer skin of
the
> pork roast which would turn brown and hard after the roast was cooked.
With
> good teeth you could eat it but I can recall sometimes  that was like
eating
> a sheet of hard plastic. Not something I'd want to try now.
>
> Ralph in Sask.
> http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/lgoff/latestpage.html
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dean VP <deanvp at att.net>
> To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2004 10:40 PM
> Subject: RE: [AT] RE: Eating while doing tractor things sort of ramble
>
>
> > Ralph:
> >
> > Head Cheese was something entirely different than Scrapple or the Dutch
> > thing. We had both. The head of the hog was boiled and then the head
meat
> > was scraped off and cooled. I don't recall it gelling other than that
> caused
> > by the remaining fat. It was a stringy type meat but quite tender. It
too
> > was refrigerated and then fried again, kind of like hash browns, and
> served
> > as a breakfast meat. Of course with syrup over it. Quite different from
> the
> > other. It was considered a real delicacy meat and was a real treat but
the
> > quantity was limited. Mom rendered the lard and made lye soap too. That
is
> > where the cracklings came from for the other. We have tried to buy Head
> > Cheese in the specialty meat markets but it has never been anything like
> the
> > old home made stuff.
> >
> > When my mother was still healthy and living in Iowa and we lived on the
> west
> > coast, any time she visited, she would carry with her some cracklings
and
> > head cheese because she new it was one of my favorites. I miss her and
the
> > food.
> >
> > Maybe we will be able to find some original ingredients when we travel
> > trough Iowa next month. Almond patties too!  :-)
> >
> > Dean A. Van Peursem
> > Snohomish, WA 98290
>
>
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