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Letter Re: Recovering Salt from Hickory Chips
Mr. Rawles:
Your suspicion was correct.
Boiling hickory chips will not provide quantities of salt sufficient
to be detected by human taste senses. It is not feasible to use this method
as
a
means of acquiring salt for consumption.
Hickory chips are used in the curing process for pork and other meats only
when they are heated to the extent that they start to emit smoke. Normally
the chips are wetted to prevent them from rapidly burning. The benefits of
the process are as follows:
1) The primary benefit of the smoking process is that it coats the meat (most
commonly pork) with a smoke residue that discourages flies. Flies are notorious
for laying eggs on hams. These eggs develop through larval stages. The most
widely known larval stage is, in the southern U.S., called the skipper. Skippers
will readily ruin a country cured ham. Infestations of skippers are hindered
by the process of smoking the pork in smokehouses.
2) The secondary benefit of the smoking process is that it imparts a delightful
aroma and flavor to the meat that is enjoyed by many people.
Salt licks were, at one time, so critical for acquiring salt (and naturally
attracting game) that they still appear on maps. Some towns even carry a name
associated with salt, such as Salt Lick,
Kentucky.
