Don't be Pig Headed When it Comes to Headcheese

So looking for something a little more adventurous my cooking buddy David and I thought it would be cool to sous vide a pig's head.  They sell them at a local market called Duc Loi.  A wonderful place where you can buy chicken feet, frozen fish balls, Italian tuna, fresh masa, organic produce and more Asian products than all the world's Whole Foods combined.  And at a significant discount, although you won't be able to visit an aroma therapist or buy a pba free Paul Frank thermos for your chai decaf  latte.

At DL you can get the whole beast, and that is a good thing, not only for the world but also for your taste buds.  In the western world of the last 50 years or so we have been too used to eating high on the hog.  But for centuries the whole beast has been not only enjoyed, but celebrated.  And David & I are into celebrating old things, tasty things and modern things so we went about making our modern day head cheese.  Following the guidance of @offalchris we started butchering our pig head.

For a more graphic detail on the butchering check our chef friend from PTC Jill's documentation here.  I will spare you most of the butchery, but for us it was awesome taking the meat off the bone. And there is a lot of meat on that bone/skull.  After removing the meat from skull we had nearly 10 pounds of meat to season and roll.  The the skull is useful as well - we roasted it then placed it in very large pot of water to get a porky stock out of it.

Once we removed the meat we concocted a flavor profile of garlic, lemons, rosemary and mint, with a spice rub that included coriander, cinnamon and dried chilies.

Once it was seasoned we got Alabama on it.  Roll and Tied..

After the meat was secured by twine we placed the 10 pound loaf in a vacuum sealed bag and let it marinate overnight.  Yeah, this is a multi-day process so if you are thinking about doing it plan it out 4 days in advance before enjoying it.  After its overnight marinade, it was placed into a water bath at 190 degrees F for the 24 hour cooking process.

 Once removed from the sous vide bath, it was plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking process let the meat set up.                                                      

Then back to the fridge for another overnight chill out. 

The next morning it looked like this.  The white part is the congealed fat, and the darker brown parts on the ends are delicious meat jelly, you want  the meat jelly. 

So after removing the the loaf from the bag and separating out the fat and meat jelly, I sliced into it and split it in half to reveal a beautiful marbled masterpiece of meat. The knife sliced through it like butter, amazing just amazing.  Dense, rich and fatty after tasting it David & I could only say it was "F-ing Delicious!"

It makes an excellent base for a salad.  Or as it is so soft and tender you can just spread it on like a meat mayonnaise on a nice piece of crusty bread with a few greens and a spicy picked pepper.  Don't be afraid eating delicious things, just because they're not high on the hog.  Don't be pig headed, enjoy and savor the pig head, it is F-ing delicious.

Due to the long cooking and cooling process I doubt it will ever be featured in a cooking class with Add Thyme, but when we do a sous vide class I will be sure to mention it.

Samgyeopsal Gui or Korean Pork Belly part 3

So after cooking for 24 hours at 160 F, took the pork belly out and chilled in an ice bath to bring down the temp to safely store in the fridge.

Out of ice bath and on to a tray ready to be squished.

High tech compression device, a heavy pot on a sheet tray.

After a few days of chillin in the fridge, the pork belly made the trip with us to the cabin at the river to serve as our first night's meal.

I sliced one up and left one whole for the grill. Since it was already cooked and ready to eat, next time I would just leave it whole because the slices became overcooked on the grill, still tasted amazing but leaving it whole and then giving a little char works much better. Also I wanted to get a taste before putting a char on it. The bowl on the right is the pork jelly.

Made a quick sauce out of the pork jelly that sorrounded the belly in the bag, spicy bean paste, sparkling rose and a little sugar, butter would have made it a little more saucy, but it was spicy and had a nice acidic bite, and Paula Dean didn't come up with this recipe I did.

Getting the char on the grill. The best part is getting that pork skin a bit crispy, that's right I didn't mention it before for the best tasting part of this beauty is the skin, leave it on even if there are a few hairs on it still.

Ready for slicing!

Sliced and ready to eat. Let me tell you it was Smurfing delicious! Next time I might shorten the sous vide time and increase the heat, and for sure I would leave it whole and sear off then slice. It was delicious and all who enjoyed it wished I had made more and next time I will.