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Souse Cheese

A preserved pork dish made from hog's head, ears, and feet, boiled, salted, and set in milk.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Souse Cheese

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Soak the hog's head in cold water for 3-4 days, changing the water daily.

  2. Scrape the head and soak for an additional 1-2 days, changing the water often.

  3. If the water warms, add a little coarse sea salt.

Cook the head

  1. Boil the head in plenty of water until tender, replenishing as needed.

  2. Place the boiled head in warm milk.

  3. Place the boiled head in cold salt water.

Prepare the ears and feet

  1. Boil the ears until tender.

  2. Chop the ears finely.

  3. Season the ears with pepper and coarse sea salt.

  4. Pack the mixture into a mold or bowl and place a weight on top.

  5. Clean the feet by dipping in boiling water and scraping; do not singe.

  6. Use the feet whole or chopped with the head and ears.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Hog's head
Provides the main body of meat and gelatinous connective tissue that sets the souse.
Hog's ears
Add chewy texture and gelatin-rich pieces to the chopped meat mixture.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the meat and helps preserve it during the long soaking.

The step that matters

Changing the soaking water. Frequent water changes draw out blood and impurities and slow spoilage during the multi-day soak, so the meat stays clean and mild-tasting. Letting the water warm lets bacteria multiply faster, which is why salt is added if it does.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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