Whole pig heads are hard to come by in regular retail markets and contain the brain, cheeks, ears, and tongue. Debone the head and remove the skull (which can be saved to make stock). The individual components of the head can be cooked separately or boiled together to make headcheese, an old European terrine or cold cut. Brains are good coated in flour and fried with sage. Brains should be soaked in cold water for 4-5 hours to leach out any blood and then poached for 5 minutes in water with some vinegar and then drained before cooking. Cheeks and tongue are best slowly cooked. Slowly cook ears in stock for several hours until soft, pat dry, and finish on a hot griddle for a few minutes for crispy pig’s ears. |
