The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: mwncigirl on January 19, 2013, 06:27:36 pm
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Hi :wave:
Well, I have had a whole pigs head in the freezer for a whole now. I would really like to keep the skull as he was one of our first weaners and, well, I like skulls! (Sorry if that sounds a little odd!)
I was wondering if anyone has done this before and how to go about it? Just boil it up? Would I be able to eat the meat? All the recipes I have seen for brawn use quarter heads and I really want to keep it whole. Could I take cheeks off to eat when cooked?
Hope someone can help as I really don't want it to go to waste.
Thanks
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I suppose you could keep the skull whole if you have a big enough pot to boil the head in? And yes, use the meat for brawn! :yum:
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I did a pig butchery course once and we had to take the cheek meat off. Very difficult to do but must be worth it... We didn't get to take that bit home!
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Would I have to brine it first??
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brawn recipe from 'the complete nose to tail'
1 pigs head well rinsed
4 trotters
2 peeled onions
2 carrots
2 leeks
2 sticks celery
2 whole heads garlic
zest of 2 lemons
splash of red wine vinegar
bundle of fresh herbs
2 bay leaves
a handful of peppercorns tied up ina bag (to save you picking them out later)
sea salt
place head and trotters into large pot cover with water and add all the ingredients bar the salt,
as soon as it boils reduce to a slow simmer skimming as you go
when you feel the cheek starting to come away from thethe bone (c2 1/2hrs) remove everything from the liquor and discard the vegetables.
return the liquor to the heat and reduce by half. season carefully with salt as this is a cold dish.
whilst still warm pick throught eh trotters and head retrieving the flesh especially peeling the tongue
the snout is neither fat nor meat do not be dicouraged it is delicious in your brawn.
line a terrine mould with cling film and fill with the retrieved meats.
cover with enough of the reduced liquor just to cover, slamming the mould on the kitchen table to remove air bubbles.
leave to set overnight in the fridge, and before serving remove it to acclimatize without being so warm it is soft and sweaty
serve with a sorrel, chicory and crispy pigs ear salad.
good luck!
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Brilliant, thanks very much, I have been coveting that book! I think I need to get a copy! Recipe sounds so simple, right, tomorrow we will have brawn!!!
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We brine ours first, and use this recipe:
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/535161 (http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/535161)
It works a treat. :yum:
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You must remove the eyes before you cook.
earlier this week we also cleaned out the ears with a small knife and took out the tongue.
I think it unlikeley that you will be able to have a skull after cooking for brawn ( fromage de tete). as the meat cooks and elasting/collagen fibres break down the skull will collaspse. I guess that you can re-build the skull though.
Cook for 2 - 2.5 hours with an onion. Cool - remove skin then remove meat with a fork. Chop any large pieces.
Mix in a bowl with lots of chopped garlic and parsley ( season).
Put into bowls with just a little of the stock then fridge with a weight on a plate to compress the meat a little. ( make sure garlic is well distributed).
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If you want to preserve the skull have a look at this http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf (http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf)
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What a brilliant resource this forum is. Thanks. I think I'll just prepare this one to preserve the skull, but have some halves in the freezer so will brawn them.
Any tips on shaving?! ;D
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Shaving ?
1. Find a clean bit of land away from the house , outbuildings or overhanging trees.
2. Scatter 5 liberal arm fulls of dry straw.
3. Place one pigs head on the straw and cover with 2 arm fulls of straw.
4. Light the straw and with flame proof gloves ( or quick reaction times) use a long knife to scrape the head and ensure even burning of all hair. ( open any skin folds that may conceal hair).
WASH thoroughly - a pressure washer will do the teeth.
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Mmmmm thanks, was joking re the shaving by the way :excited:
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Cheeks make really good air dried Italian bacon called Guanciale. I don't use my heads but had the butcher take all the cheeks off. Got two hanging up and drying right now.
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That sounds fantastic! Where do you dry them, and for approx how long?
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My French neighbour asked for the heads of my last two pigs and I was happy to oblige. I believe he sold one to a very exclusive restaurant that used it as part of a table presentation at some big shindig.
The other one? We were enjoying dinner in his house - a nice coarse paté - when I asked what he had done with the pig's head? When he said we were eating it, there was a clatter of knives and forks hitting plates.
He tells me 'head cheese' is popular in France and includes the brains as well as the meatier cheeks.
(No, we didn't have frogs' legs for the main course.)
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The free supermarket publicity we got in the post this week all include offers on porc. They are selling heads ( with or without tongues) and massive packs of liver. In one supermarket the legs were all stacked in a fridge next to a pallet of salt ( with a picture of a pig on them). Seems making fromage de tete, pate and making a ham is popular. ( Price of pork is so cheap !!!!)
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Sounds wonderful, I've just ordered a book '[/size]Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/190641761X/ref=pe_217191_31005151_dp_1)[/size]' which i hope will help with the cooking side. I'm pregnant so no pate for me at the moment. Sorting the skull out is now work in progress. [/font]
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Our daughter seems to have been pregnant for 2 years! ( well she has been - is really). Poor girl's list of things she can not eat changes each time she comes to stay with us in France. Essentially there is little she can eat when she comes to stay and the offer of fromage de tete, pate, blue cheese, brie or eggs did not go down well. I offered to open a tin of tuna but she could not eat that either.
Hope you are keeping well mwncigirl and get to enjoy the pregnancy.