To Collar Pig's Head
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the head
Scour the head and ears well.
Remove the hair and snout, and take out the eyes and brain.
Soak the head in water overnight, then drain.
Cure
Salt the head generously with coarse sea salt and saltpetre, and let it sit for five days.
Boil and press
Boil the head until the bones can be removed.
Shape the head into a roll, sprinkle with salt and white pepper, and roll it with the ears.
Wrap in a cloth, bind with broad tape, and boil until tender.
Place a weight on it and leave covered until cold.
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
- Pig's head
- Forms the main body of the dish, which is shaped into a roll and set as it cools.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the meat during the cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives it a characteristic pink colour during curing.
- White pepper
- Adds a mild, sharp aroma and seasoning to the outside of the rolled head.
The step that matters
Salt the head generously and let it cure for five days. Salt and saltpetre must penetrate evenly through thick meat and bone; uneven salting leaves spoilage-prone or unevenly cured areas, and the full rest time is what lets the cure take hold.
“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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