Remembering a Big Day on Ma and Pa’s Farm

Two people have told me recently about a skunk episode, and one person gave me a fool-proof remedy to get rid of odor on pets. Since skunks seem to be more prevalent now for some reason, I am passing on the recipe for de-skunking: mix 1 tsp. dish washing detergent, 1 cup baking soda and 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide (3 percent concentration). Pour the liquid on your pet’s fur or dip in the liquid, penetrating the entire coat. Don’t let it get into eyes. Maybe use a toothbrush on face and around eyes. Rinse immediately afterward with warm water. This worked when tomato juice didn’t.

In thinking back in time to Ma and Pa’s old place on their farm in Lyon county, at this time of the year or possibly earlier if the weather permitted, a big event took place. It seemed that the temperature had to be just right before Pa

would announce that the next day would be a good time to kill hogs. He gathered together the two men on the farm plus any neighbors that wanted to help. They always got some fresh pork to take home.

Ma would have already sewn the sausage sacks to have them ready for stuffing when the day came. Some women would be helping her with cutting the fat off for rendering lard in the big old iron kettle that always sat in the same place in the front part of the back yard. Their back yard was partially fenced for the garden and then the front part was for the chicken house and laying nests and also the little houses for the old hens and chickens when the weather got warm. So the hogs were killed a little farther down the hill behind the chicken houses. I always made myself very scarce when time came for the slaughtering. I knew how it was done and that it had to be done, but I didn’t want to know the details. Their hogs were in a pen on the hill above the kitchen garden where they had a little pond and feeding troughs. They were never named as Daddy’s breeding hogs were. They were just called hogs. That way, it didn’t seem so terrible to me. So, the truth of the matter is, I didn’t know if they were shot or had their throats cut or just how it was done, and I sure didn’t want to know. It may

have been that Ma took me away from the house for that event. The first thing I saw was the carcasses hanging from a scaffold after they were dipped in hot water and scraped and they were gutted. By that time, they didn’t look like hogs and so I wasn’t bothered by the rest of the “hog killing”.

Ma had sharpened her butcher knives till they were like razors and as the men cut the parts off the hogs, she cut off the fat for rendering and the cracklings were the end result, while the hot liquid lard was poured into cans to be kept in the smoke house. Ma’s cracklings had already been skinned so she could make crackling bread, cornbread with cracklings stirred in. That was always a great treat for me.

There were the backbones to be trimmed, which meant taking off all the fat to go into the kettle. Now, all country folks know about backbones. That is probably the finest part of the pork. Or maybe it would be the tenderloins, which tasted about the same as backbones, because they came from about the same part of the hog. If Ma had a lot of tenderloins, she would set them aside to be canned the next day. There were too many chores out in the yard to take time for canning.

She was definitely in charge of the sausage. After she had

trimmed off most of the fat, some lean trimmings could go into the big dishpans for grinding her sausage. Nobody, but nobody, ever made sausage like Ma. One reason was because her sausage had lots of sage, and one other reason was that her sausage was really lean. She would stuff those sacks she had made with sausage, using a sausage stuffer. The sacks would be attached to the end of the grinder and as the sacks filled, they were tied off and put into the smokehouse for smoking. She kept a big pan full of fresh sausage for frying and canning. The sausage patties would be fried and stuffed into a quart jar and hot grease poured over them. They kept all winter up in the attic or the cellar.

Pa was in charge of the hams and shoulders and bacon, all of which would be smoked. The hams would go into the huge wooden boxes filled with salt until such time as Pa declared them ready to smoke. The hog’s head would be trimmed, cooked and made into “souse” but that part of this whole big day was so repugnant that I don’t know much about how that was done.

Ma would put some of the cracklings in a pan for me to eat when it had cooled and I remember that she cooked some sausage for supper after the whole process had ground to a halt.

As for the other parts, such as the liver, chitterlings, etc., I don’t think any of that went into Ma’s kitchen. I guess that’s some of what the men took home, along with some ribs.

When compared with the process of butchering hogs today, it seemed such a lot of work, and both Ma and Pa would worked for many, many hours with more work for her the next day.

Though it was a big event on the farm, it couldn’t compare with making sorghum molasses or wheat threshing,

which would happen later in the summer. There was always something to look forward to on that old farm.

Please feel free to call me at 270-522-3632 and thank you for your questions and comments.

Good GardeningRonella Stagner

One of the greenest thumbsin Kentucky

Home & Life

THE HARRODSBURG HERALD • HARRODSBURG, KENTUCKY • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013 Page 2B

Local legend has it that back around 1955 Elvis Presley and his crew stopped at the Pioneer Restaurant on North College Street. There’s a story that he even signed a plate. I have heard there are a few locals still around who were there to see the swivel-hipped King of rock ‘n’ roll, the husky-voiced hunk who was and is, for many, the heart-throb of all time. I would real-ly like to hear their version of the visit.

Barbequed pork, collard greens and banana pudding may not be the foods of love, but these down-home dish-es were the surefire way to Elvis’ heart. Several decades ago, recipes for these and the King’s other favorite foods were compiled in a great little book called “Are You Hungry Tonight?” by Brenda Arlene Butler, the title a spin on his famous song: “Are you Lonesome Tonight?”

Butler reported that Elvis was a real Southern boy when it came to his taste in food. He liked his meals the way Mama Gladys Presley used to cook them.

He wanted his meat well done. He preferred his roasts slow-cooked in a pan covered with tin foil until they were soft and juicy. His cooks knew to lace his beloved strong beans with salt pork, pepper, and a bunch of sugar. And, of course, these same cooks had to be ready, day or night, to fry up Elvis’ favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich.

The King, who was a big fan of meatloaf, gravy, ham, or T-bone steak, also had some quirky eating habits. One take has it that he liked his food chopped in pieces small enough to pick up with his fingers, and he often avoided a knife and fork.

It is said the fridges and pantries of his Graceland man-sion and at his home in Beverly Hills always contained fresh lean ground beef, hamburger buns, at least six cans of ready to bake biscuits, pickles, pota-toes, onions, shredded coco-nut, fudge cookies, assorted fresh fruit, sauerkraut, peanut

butter, bananas, and mustard.His favorite drinks were

Pepsi-Cola, Nesbitt’s Orange and Shasta Black Cherry.

Elvis hated fish and never ate it in any shape or form. He even asked Priscilla not to eat fish, even tuna, around him, claiming it gave a person “cat breath.”

The King loved but-ter and foods cooked with it. Margarine, for him, was no substitute.

Here then, as my offering to sweethearts everywhere in celebration of Valentine’s Day, is a recipe that a friend from Tupelo, Mississippi swears originated with the Presley family. This is an easy, but rich and unforgettably lus-cious dessert for you and the love of your life to enjoy on Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate Cobbler

10 tablespoons butter1½ cups self-rising flour1½ cups sugar2 tablespoons cocoa1 tablespoon vanilla¾ cup evaporated milk Topping: ¾ cup sugar7 tablespoons cocoa1½ cups very warm water

Put butter in ungreased baking dish (size 9” by 11” or thereabouts) and put the dish in the oven so that the butter melts while the oven preheats to 350 degrees. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl combine the

flour, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and evaporated milk. Batter will be thick; spoon over the melted butter. Do not stir.

For the topping: in a small mixing bowl combine the sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle this dry mix over the batter. Pour the warm water over the top. Do not stir. Bake 40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Makes 8 servings.

And because Elvis occa-sionally gave a nod to nutri-tion, here’s his Mama’s recipe for the collard greens he regu-larly scoffed down.

Savory Collard Greens

2 lb fresh collard greens, about 18 leaves2 tablespoons unsalted butter2 tablespoons chopped onion1 teaspoon sugar¼ teaspoon each salt and pep-per, or more to taste½ lb cooked ham, diced

Thoroughly wash greens and shake dry. Cut our tough center ribs. Stack several leaves at a time, roll into cyl-inders and slice into 1 inch wide strips. Set aside. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Cook ham 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add collards, ½ cup water, onion, sugar, salt and pep-per. Simmer, covered, over medium heat 12 or 20 minutes or until collards are tender, adding a little more water if needed. Adjust seasoning and serve. Makes 6 servings.

Are You Hungry Tonight?

Let’s EatLois Mateus

Photo Submitted

Elvis Presley, pictured above, loved a wide variety of hearty foods.

NOTICE TOHARRODSBURG CITIZENSAttention Harrodsburg Citizens that can-not attend the semi-monthly meetings held at City Hall by the elected administration. If you have a city problem on an issue that concerns you and cannot get resolved, please use the following methods to express your citizen concern or phone 859-734-8606 or email:margaretrbishop@yahoo.com or mail to: P.O. Box 522. The Commission was elected to serve the community. I am here for you and will work for a resolution on your behalf by the person responsible, kind regards, Rose Bishop, Commissioner.

Photo Submitted

Firefighter Visits StudentsShakertown Fire Department Fireman Josh

Stringfellow recently spoke to a group of stu-dents at Mercer County Intermediate School about the choices the students needed to make to achieve their dreams and how his choices almost caused him not be join the mili-tary or become a fire fighter. Pictured above kneeling, left to right, are: Christian Lindsay, Carter Peyton and Jeremiah Fraser. Back row, l-r: Lucian Hayburg, Josh Miller, Fireman String-fellow, Zack Ryan and Brandon Mounce.

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