Potted Head
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean the bullock's head thoroughly and soak it in warm water with the cow's heel for 2-3 hours.
Boil the head and heel together until tender.
Cut the cooked head and heel into small pieces.
Make the mixture
Strain the cooking liquid and let it cool, then remove the fat.
Combine the fat with the meat pieces in a stewpan and boil for 30 minutes.
Season with coarse sea salt.
Mould and serve
Pour the mixture into molds and let it cool completely.
Once set, turn it out and serve.
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
- Bullock's head
- Supplies the meat and fat that make up the body of the dish.
- Cow's heel
- Its connective tissue releases gelatin into the liquid, which sets firm as it cools.
The step that matters
Cool the cooking liquid before removing the fat. Fat rises to the surface and firms as the liquid cools, so it can be lifted off cleanly. Removing it well keeps the final set clean and less greasy.
“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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