Decided to write this up, since I tried searching and there was very little that come up.
Helped some friends butcher lambs and none of the families wanted the heads. Walked away with 3 skinned heads.
Soaked in a week brine (1/2 cup salt per gallon water) in the fridge for 24 hours. Changed the water once. This is to try to draw out some of the blood and salt the meat.
After a rinse with cold water, I salted with about half of what I estimated they needed. I know that's very un-scientific, but I didn't know how to estimate how much meat there was.
Smoked with Russian olive at 200-250 until they tempted about 165 F. Took about 3 hours. At that point I put them in a pan in the oven with about 2 cups of water and wrapped with foil.
275 F for about 1.5 hours. It was past time to eat so I pulled one and shredded off what I could, but they were still under done. Most of the meat was still stuck to the bone.
The meat I did get off was enjoyed with fresh home made flour tortillas (from a neighbor we have I've of the smoked heads to). Could have used more salt. The meat is so rich it could handle quite a bit of salt.
Luckily I also threw a couple of pork bellies in the smoker at the same time. Smoked them to 195 -197. They turned out great!
Put the heads back in the oven at 275 for another hour or so. Meat seemed tender, but we went to bed. Tomorrow I'll shred the rest and probably make cabeza tacos.
Helped some friends butcher lambs and none of the families wanted the heads. Walked away with 3 skinned heads.
Soaked in a week brine (1/2 cup salt per gallon water) in the fridge for 24 hours. Changed the water once. This is to try to draw out some of the blood and salt the meat.
After a rinse with cold water, I salted with about half of what I estimated they needed. I know that's very un-scientific, but I didn't know how to estimate how much meat there was.
Smoked with Russian olive at 200-250 until they tempted about 165 F. Took about 3 hours. At that point I put them in a pan in the oven with about 2 cups of water and wrapped with foil.
275 F for about 1.5 hours. It was past time to eat so I pulled one and shredded off what I could, but they were still under done. Most of the meat was still stuck to the bone.
The meat I did get off was enjoyed with fresh home made flour tortillas (from a neighbor we have I've of the smoked heads to). Could have used more salt. The meat is so rich it could handle quite a bit of salt.
Luckily I also threw a couple of pork bellies in the smoker at the same time. Smoked them to 195 -197. They turned out great!
Put the heads back in the oven at 275 for another hour or so. Meat seemed tender, but we went to bed. Tomorrow I'll shred the rest and probably make cabeza tacos.
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