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To Collar Pig's Head

A preserved pig's head salted with sea salt and saltpetre, boiled and rolled with ears.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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To Collar Pig's Head

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Scour the head and ears thoroughly.

  2. Remove the hair and snout.

  3. Take out the eyes and brain.

  4. Soak the head in water overnight.

  5. Drain the head.

Cure

  1. Salt the head generously with coarse sea salt and saltpetre.

  2. Let it sit for five days.

Shape and cook

  1. Boil the head until the bones can be removed.

  2. Shape the head into a roll, turning the thick end towards the thin end for even size.

  3. Sprinkle the head with salt and white pepper.

  4. Roll the head with the ears.

  5. Optionally, add boned pig's feet or thin parts of cow-heels around the outside.

  6. Wrap the head in a cloth.

  7. Bind the cloth with tape.

  8. Boil the wrapped head until tender.

  9. Place a weight on the head.

  10. Let the head cool.

  11. Remove the covering.

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

Pig's head
Forms the main body of the dish and supplies the meat, skin and gelatinous texture.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the meat during the curing period.
Saltpetre
Helps the meat keep its pink colour during curing.
White pepper
Adds a mild, sharp seasoning to the outside of the rolled head.

The step that matters

Curing with salt and saltpetre for five days. Salt must penetrate evenly through the thick meat to season and preserve it. Uneven salting or too short a cure leaves spoilage risk and bland patches, while saltpetre supports colour and cure stability.

“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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