Calf S Head Brawn
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the head
Remove the brains and bone the calf's head or have the butcher do it.
Rub a little fine salt over the head and let it drain for 10-12 hours.
Cure
Wipe it dry and rub it with the saltpetre mixed with the common salt and bay salt.
Turn the head daily in the pickle for 4-5 days, rubbing it each time.
Pour 4 ounces of treacle over it and continue to turn it daily, basting with the brine for a month.
Hang it up to drain overnight, then wrap it in brown paper and smoke it for 3-4 weeks.
Cook and serve
When ready to serve, wash and scrape it clean without soaking.
Place it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and heat slowly.
Skim thoroughly when it begins to simmer, then boil gently for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours until tender.
Pour off excess water, leaving just enough to cover the gelatinous part, and simmer until tender.
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
- Saltpetre
- Cures the meat and gives it a pink colour and cured flavour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the head during the cure.
- Treacle
- Adds sweetness and colour to the cured surface.
The step that matters
Skim thoroughly when it begins to simmer. Removing the foam that rises as the head heats keeps the broth clear and stops impurities from clouding the set brawn. Gentle simmering keeps the meat tender rather than tough.
“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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