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Brawn

A meatloaf made from pig head, feet, onions, herbs, spices, and stock, baked after boiling.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Brawn

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the meat

  1. Wash and scrape the pig's head, then soak it in strong brine with a little saltpetre for 1-2 days.

  2. Add the pig's feet to the head.

  3. Remove the meat from the brine and wash it well in hot water.

Cook and shape

  1. In a large saucepan, bring enough boiling water to cover the meat.

  2. Add the onions, savoury herbs, salt, and pepper to the water.

  3. Boil the head and feet until tender.

  4. Let it cool slightly, then remove all bones and cut the meat into small pieces.

  5. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and mixed spices over the meat.

  6. Place the meat in a mould and add a little stock to fill the mould.

  7. Lay the bay leaves on top of the meat.

  8. Place a small plate and weight on the meat, then bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.

  9. Let it stand until cold, pressed down with weights or a presser the whole time.

  10. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + clovetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together16,901 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Pig's head
Provides the gelatinous connective tissue that binds the pressed meat into a firm set once cold.
Pig's feet
Adds extra gelatin, helping the brawn set firmly when cooled.
Stock
Adds moisture and savour, helping the meat settle and hold together in the mould.
Mixed spices
Adds aroma and warmth to the meat.

The step that matters

Pressing the meat while it cools. Pressing keeps the meat pieces compact and bound together as the gelatin sets, so the brawn slices cleanly instead of crumbling.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clove, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Eggplantfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clove, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

More brawn recipes

Mock 21Tonbridge 19Sauce 4Ox Head 4Pickle 3Calf's Head 3 See all 9 →

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