All meat to be preserved, either fresh or cured, should be thoroughly cooled after the animal is slaughtered, for unless this is done the meat will not cure well nor will it be possible to keep it in a fresh state for any length of time.

* Seulke, K. J. The Curing of Meat and Meat Products on the Farm, Cornell Reading-Course for the Farm, Bull. 119.

In cold weather meat may be kept by hanging it in a dark, cool place, where dogs, cats, and rodents cannot reach it. If a temperature below 40° F. is maintained, meat may be kept for weeks; but with the temperature alternating between low and high, it will not keep well. Meat that is frozen will keep indefinitely so long as it remains frozen. Alternate freezing and thawing will spoil the flavor and cause early decomposition. It is important that the meat be kept in a place where the air is dry. A dark, cool cellar, or an attic that is dry and free from odors, is the proper place for keeping meat on the farm.

Meat packed in snow may be kept for a considerable length of time. The meat should first be frozen hard. After it is frozen, an earthen jar or a barrel should be provided, and a thick layer of snow should be tamped tightly in the bottom of this. On the snow a layer of meat is packed, and covered with another layer of snow. Care must be taken to have a thick layer of snow between the meat and the inner surface of the receptacle. Another layer of meat is then put on, and another layer of snow, and so on until all the meat is packed or the jar is almost full, when a heavy covering of snow should be put on top and covered with a block or some other object in order to keep out rats and mice. The meat may be taken out as needed, and the snow should be repacked on top each time.

Another method commonly used with pork and sausage is partly to cook the meat by frying it on both sides, pack it in a jar, and pour hot lard over it in order to seal the whole and keep out air. The meat may be taken out as needed. Care should be taken each time to melt the lard that is taken off, and to pour it back.