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Farced Head

A pig's head stuffed with bacon, nuts, truffles, and wine, then braised.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 34,118 recipes mention both. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: egg, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Clean and singe the ears of the pig's head, then cut out the nose bone and brains without cutting the skin.

  2. Keep the film of the eyes whole and soak the head in vinegar and sweet herbs for 8-10 days, or in salt for 3-4 days.

  3. Bone the head and lay pieces of meat where it is thinnest.

Stuff and tie

  1. Wash the head with yolk of egg and sprinkle with parsley, mace, pepper, garlic, and coarse sea salt.

  2. Cover with high-seasoned bacon farce and lay large fillets of seasoned bacon across it.

  3. Fill the head with a mixture of bacon, pistachios, truffles, orange chips, confected melon or citron, and almonds or cocoa-nut.

  4. Sew the head tightly to maintain its shape and wrap it in a clean cloth.

Braise

  1. Place it in a kettle with 3 bottles of red wine, cider, or ale and braising ingredients.

  2. Bring to a boil or quick simmer, covering with buttered paper.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together34,118 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together9,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Vinegar + red winetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together569 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  4. Pepper + garlictop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together27,044 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Parsley + macetop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,268 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Pig's head
Forms the main body of the dish, and its meat and skin hold the stuffing together while cooking.
Vinegar
Acidity in the soaking liquid firms the meat and adds a sharp tang.
Yolk of egg
Binds the seasonings to the surface and helps the coating set during cooking.
Bacon
Adds fat and savory flavor to the farce and the wrapping fillets, keeping the stuffing moist.
Truffles
Add a strong, earthy aroma that perfumes the stuffing.
Red wine, cider, or ale
Liquid for braising that tenderizes the meat and adds flavor to the cooking broth.

The step that matters

Sew the head tightly before braising. A loose seal lets the stuffing escape or dry out, and a firm wrap in a cloth helps the head keep its shape as collagen softens during long, gentle cooking.

Flavor stand-ins for the pistachio

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, egg, parsley, mace, pepper, garlic, truffle):

  1. Peasbetter flavor fit
  2. Walnutbetter flavor fit
  3. Beansbetter flavor fit
  4. Pistachiothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, egg, parsley, mace, pepper, garlic, truffle. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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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