I find old school peasant cookery very satisfying , both in taste of the products and the sense of accomplishment with wasting little.
Got a whole pig recently.
A few interesting facts:
- abbatoir fee was more than 25% of the pig cost (no butchering; just kill/gut).
- vaccum rolls cost me almost 30% of the pig cost.
Clearly raising pigs doesn't pay bills.
But I digress. Topic is Headcheese. Last time I made Headcheese was years and years ago, with my dad. I've, since then, occasionally ate store bought. Turns out I forgot how the good one is supposed to taste.
First of all this head cheese is made from ....head.
I cut the ears off for aspic (different thread).
After removing some nasty bits we gave the whole head a short boil. (almost...had to saw off the snout - was sticking out of the pot). Rinsed the head, returned to pot with fresh water and condiments (garlic, whole black pepper, bay leaves). Cooked for a few hours until the meat came off.
We also threw in the pot some meat - my family likes it meatier. But if you ask me the head meat/fat ratio is just perfect.
There wasn't a lot of chopping, meat was well cooked. We removed some sinew and less desirable tissue and stuffed in colagen casing. Back in the old days we used the pig's bladder. Well cleaned, blown up with a straw, tied and left to dry until meat was cooked.
The meat was mixed with a few cups of the cooking stock. After stuffing we simmered the log in the same stock for 30min.
Pressed over night. Cold smoked.
No head pictures...don't want to offend the more sensitive palates.
I'll post final product pics later.
Got a whole pig recently.
A few interesting facts:
- abbatoir fee was more than 25% of the pig cost (no butchering; just kill/gut).
- vaccum rolls cost me almost 30% of the pig cost.
Clearly raising pigs doesn't pay bills.
But I digress. Topic is Headcheese. Last time I made Headcheese was years and years ago, with my dad. I've, since then, occasionally ate store bought. Turns out I forgot how the good one is supposed to taste.
First of all this head cheese is made from ....head.
I cut the ears off for aspic (different thread).
After removing some nasty bits we gave the whole head a short boil. (almost...had to saw off the snout - was sticking out of the pot). Rinsed the head, returned to pot with fresh water and condiments (garlic, whole black pepper, bay leaves). Cooked for a few hours until the meat came off.
We also threw in the pot some meat - my family likes it meatier. But if you ask me the head meat/fat ratio is just perfect.
There wasn't a lot of chopping, meat was well cooked. We removed some sinew and less desirable tissue and stuffed in colagen casing. Back in the old days we used the pig's bladder. Well cleaned, blown up with a straw, tied and left to dry until meat was cooked.
The meat was mixed with a few cups of the cooking stock. After stuffing we simmered the log in the same stock for 30min.
Pressed over night. Cold smoked.
No head pictures...don't want to offend the more sensitive palates.
I'll post final product pics later.
Last edited: