Best Head Cheese Recipes

HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Place pork hocks, veal shank and salt in large kettle. Cover entirely with water. Bring to full boil then reduce heat to slow simmer. Cook until fork penetrates meat easily. Periodically rearrange meat so it doesn't stick to bottom of kettle. Skim off scum which forms on top of water. Keep adding boiling water to keep meat covered until done.
• When meat is done, place on large cookie sheet for cooling. Strain remaining water into another kettle to remove any small bones and other matter; set aside strained water. Place meat on tray and cool. Remove all fat and bones. Dice remaining meat, skin and soft gristle. Add diced meat to strained water. Bring to full boil and reduce to very slow simmer. Add salt to taste at this time. Periodically test mixture to see if it sets by pouring a small amount in a bowl and putting in freezer. Mixture is set when it is the consistency of jello. Add vinegar and nutmeg and remove from heat.
• Ladle into bread pans making sure to distribute meat evenly. Fill pans no more than 3/4 full. Leave at room temperature until cool then refrigerate overnight. Next day, unmold onto plastic wrap and double wrap in foil. refrigerate until ready to use. To serve, remove any fat from top of loaves and cut into chunks. Some prefer more vinegar and salt added at this time.

HOG'S HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a 4 quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork roast, and brown on all sides. Reduce heat to medium, and add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Season with garlic, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Pour in 3 cups of water or pork stock, and bring to a boil.
• Cover, and simmer over medium heat for 2 hours, stirring vigorously every 15 minutes. When the pork is ready, it should be completely shredded and reduced to a stringy consistency.
• Dissolve the gelatin in 1 cup of boiling water, then stir into the pork mixture very well. Pour into a mold or casserole dish, and chill until set, about 8 hours.
• To unmold, dip the bottom of the mold in hot tap water for about 1 minute, then invert onto a serving tray. Serve with your favorite crackers.

UKRAINIAN JELLIED PIG'S FEET (HEAD CHEESE)

Steps:

• Wash and scrape the feet and shanks very thoroughly.
• Wipe dry and broil on all sides until they are a delicate golden color. Do not scorch. Should any part become scorched, scrape it and wash well.
• Cut the feet in half lengthwise. Place the meat in a large kettle, add the salt, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and skim. Cover and simmer very slowly for about 3 hours. The success of this dish depends on slow simmering. Rapid boiling makes the liquid milky in color.
• Cut the onion in half, and brown it in an ungreased pan. This enhances the flavor and color of the broth. Add the onion and the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the vinegar, to the meat, and continue simmering until the meat comes off the bones easily.
• Total cooking time is about 5 hours or longer. When done, strain, remove the bones, spices, and vegetables except the carrot.
• Arrange the meat and chopped carrot in a suitable dish. Add the vinegar to the broth and season to taste with salt.
• If a firm jelly is desired, soften 1 tablespoon of gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Blend it with a small quantity of the hot broth and stir into the broth.
• Some cooks prefer to add a clove crushed garlic to the broth at this stage rather than to cook it along with the other ingredients. If this is followed, strain the broth again to remove all the particles of garlic.
• Pour over the meat and chill until firm. Before serving, scrape off all the fat from the top.
• Serve in slices and garnish with sprigs of parsley and hard cooked eggs.
• JELLIED PIG'S FEET with CHICKEN:.
• Follow the recipe above, but replace the shank with 1/2 small chicken. Simmer the pig's feet until barely tender, and then add the chicken and continue simmering until all are done. For best results use gelatin in this dish as directed in the recipe above.

FRENCH CANADIAN HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Boil meat until very tender, adding water when necessary, save stock, remove meat. Allow meat to cool a bit and grind medium weight, then return to stock.
• Add onion and garlic powder to taste. Boil until thick.
• Add salt and pepper and allspice to taste.
• Pour into molds, cool and refrigerate until set, 3 to 4 hours.

HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Clean pork head, removing bristles, ears and eyes, jaws and bones of nose.
• Cook with hocks, tongue, heart and beef.
• Cook rinds in a sepatate container.
• When well done, remove meat from bones and grind all through a fine plate.
• Mis very well and add some salt and pepper with meat juice to make a good mix.
• Place the ground results in a cheesecloth bag and top with a heavy weight to press out the "extra" fat.
• When cold, cut in large slices, and make a mix of 2 cups of water and one cup vinegar, bring to a boil, then cool and pour over meat, letting stand in a crock pot for 5 days or until fully soaked through.
• Serve with raw onion and vinegar for dinner, or herat and serve with fried potato -- .

BLUE CHEESE AND HEAD CHEESE VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• In a large serving bowl, mix together the onion, garlic, mustard, red wine vinegar, and olive oil until well blended. Add the blue cheese and head cheese; toss until well coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill until serving.

HEAD CHEESE (HOGS)

Steps:

• 1. After curing, place all meat loosley in steam kettle. Cover with sufficient amount of water. Place the pork skins in cooking net. Cook for approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
• 2. After cooking, remove from kettle & let cool.
• 3. Grind pork skins through 3/16" grinder plate. Grind the remaining meat through a 1 1/2" plate.
• 4. After grinding, add the other ingredients & sufficient amount of cooking stock to arrive at a finished yield of 110% - 115%.
• 5. After the product is thoroughly mixed, stuff by hand into beef bung or hog stomach casings. Place in cooler & chill for 12 hours @ 34-36°F.
• 6. If forming is done in molds,place molds in ice water for approximately 2 hours to assist in rapid chilling.
• 7. After chilling, remove from molds & place on rack, properly spaced, in 38-40° F. cooler. Chill at this temperature overnight.
• 8. Peggi's Note: We used loaf pans or cake pans to mold it. It will remove from pan easier, if you line the pan first with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.

HEAD CHEESE/BRAWN

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients in a large pot and just cover with water.
• Bring to a boil, uncovered, then turn down, cover the pot and let simmer for hours, or until the meat falls of the bone. Skim any foam that appears.
• Strain liquid into a large bowl and remove the meat from the hocks. Shred or dice the beef and pork.
• Put the strained liquid and meat back on the stove and boil until the liquid shrinks 1 inch.
• Pour into moulds (I used a tray of 8 mini loaf pans and still had some left over, which I just poured into a dish).
• Put in the 'fridge until set. Any fat will rise and can be easily scraped off when set. There is so much gelatin in the feet that it sets up quite quickly.

UKRAINIAN HOG'S HEAD (HEAD CHEESE)

Steps:

• Have the hog's head cut into quarters by the meat dealer.
• Remove the brains, teeth, snout, and eyes, but retain the ears.
• Cut off the fattest part of the head for lard. Scrape and wash each piece thoroughly. Wash, trim, scald, and skin the tongue.
• Soak the meat in cold water to cover for 30 minutes to extract the blood.
• Drain and wash again. Cover the meat with fresh cold water; add the salt, bring to a boil, and skim. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
• Then add the remaining ingredients and continue cooking until the meat separates from the bones.
• This will take about 5 hours or longer. Be sure to simmer the meat over a LOW heat during the entire period of cooking. Rapid boiling will make the meat stock milky in color.
• Drain off the meat stock and save it.
• Remove the onion, garlic, and spices. Pick out all the bones from the meat. Cut the meat into coarse pieces.
• The stock may be flavoured with a freshly crushed clove of garlic and then strained.
• Season the stock to taste.
• If a firm jelly is desired, soften 1 tablespoon of gelatin in 1/4 cup of cold water and then stir into the hot stock.
• Put the meat into a mold and add enough strained stock to cover it. Chill thoroughly. Remove the fat from the top. Serve in slices.

STUDZIENINA - POLISH HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• put meat, vegetables, salt and whole garlic cloves in a big pot. If your foot is frozen you can put it in frozen. Its imporatnt to use feet or knees, "soup bones" wont cut it!
• add 5c water. This step is not as important as you can always add more or boil it down.
• put black pepper in a cheesecloth or tea bag. Makes it easier to remove when done cooking.
• Simmer 1-2 hours until meat is tender. I prefer to use veal meat as its more tender but beef will do. You can even cut up a cheap cut of steak or roast.
• Skim off any fat of foam that may form.
• Discard the vegetables.
• Now is the fun part. You get to butcher the foot. It should be falling apart, if its not you need to boil it longer. Take it out and put it in a bowl. Theres a thick skin and some fat on the outside of the foot, throw that away. Throw away any toes or bones which may have fallen off. You want to KEEP any tendons or cartelege you can get off. There should be a large tendon running along the back of the foot, as well as lots of (edible) cartiledge connecting all the bones together. The tendons are good to eat, but if its not your cup of tea you dont need to keep the cartiledge.
• Chop the foot "meat" into bite size pieces (1/4"), and put it back into the pot and boil for 15 more minutes, skimming any more fat or foam.
• Take out the cheesecloth of black pepper. You can discard some but throw some pepper back into the pot, its a nice surprise to bite into a piece of pepper when eatiing this.
• Tast the liquid. It should be strong, if not add more salt. This will be served cold, and stuff tastes more bland when cold.
• The important part is how much gelatin you got out of the foot bones. With 1 cow foot (hock attached) you should be left with 4 cups of cooked liquid afterwards.
• Pour into a deep 9x13" pyrex dish. The liquid should come up about 1". Put it in to the fridge to set 8 hours. If you press on it with your finger it should give a lot of resistance. Not to make this sound any less appetizing than it is, but you'll end up with a white, or slightly brown brick of meat!
• If you did not get the desired consistency, dont fret! Scrape off any fat which you didnt get by skimming, throw the slightly set jelly back into a pot and boil it down for another 30 minutes, and reset.
• Cut into squares and serve with lemon juice.

CHEESE HEAD CHEX MIX®

Steps:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in large serving bowl. Just before serving toss in the salami and cheese cubes.
• Serve immediately, refrigerate remaining.

HOG HEAD CHEESE - SOUSE - DOWN HOME RECIPE

Steps:

• Using a large stock pot; place tongues, pig's ears, pig's feet, chopped onions and cover with water. 2. Add salt, pepper, peppercorns, sage, cloves, bay leaves, pickling spice, garlic powder and vinegar. 3. Bring to a boil. Cook 2 1/2 hours until meat is cooked. 4. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. 6. Strain the broth. Measure 8 cups into another pot. Return broth to stove, and let simmer.7. Peel skin from ears, leaving the ear as intact as possible. Place the ears aside. 8. Remove gristle and fat from pig's feet, and combine with ear trimmings. 9. Cut off a large portion of tongue and set aside. Trim loose meat from remainder of tongue, and combine with other trimmings. 10. Put trimmings through a coarse meat grinder, then stir into broth; continue to simmer.11. Slice tongues into thin strips, and place lengthwise into 2 glass loaf pans, 9x5x3 inches. 12. Slice ears into thin strips, then cut the strips into 1/2 inch pieces. Arrange the ear pieces among the tongue strips. 13. Chop and divide the pepperoncini between the two molds. Sprinkle with pickle relish.Option: You can also add chopped Piemiento if you want to. 14. Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup water and stir into the simmering broth. 15. Carefully ladle enough broth into each mold to completely cover the meat. 16. Mix well. Let stand 15 minutes.17. Cover with remaining broth and allow to cool at room temperature for 2-3 hours until it starts to jell. 18. Refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.19. When set, remove any fat from the surface. 20. Run a thin knife around the sides of the mold to release the Hog Head Cheese. Enjoy!!Yield 2 loaves

HOG HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• 1. Place all the ingredients into a 6 quart slow cooker and cook on low for 20-24 hours.
• 2. Once the meat is done, carefully remove it to a large bowl to collect the juices,
• 3. Drain the broth from the slow cooker through a colander and then transfer to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and turn to a simmer over medium heat reduce until there is only 4 cups left
• 4. Meanwhile, carefully pick the meat from the head and the tongue and discard everything that's not meat. Pass the scraps through the colander to collect all the juices released during the picking process. add these juices to the sauce pan.
• 5. Place the meat and reduced broth into a bowl of a stand mixer equipped with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until the meat gets finely shredded and the mixture is evenly combined.
• 6. Alternatively, you could pull the meat by using 2 forks and then mix with the broth with a large spoon
• 7. Pour the meat mixture into a glass loaf pan and let set overnight in the refrigerator.
• 8. To unmold delicately run a thin blade around the loaf pan then slightly warm the bottom of the mold by dipping in hot water for a few seconds also line your pan with plastic. For easier unmolding you could
• 9. Invert onto a plate and garnish with greens and lemon slices

OLD FASHIONED HEAD CHEESE

Steps:

• Brine all the meat overnight. Drain and rinse the meat. Add the meat and stock ingredients to a 20 quart stockpot and add water to cover as much as possible. Bring everything to a boil and maintain a very slow simmer for 3-4 hours, skimming fat as needed, until the stock is very dark. Remove the meat and let it cool. Bring the remaining stock to a rolling boil until it reduces in volume by 1/3, about 2 more hours. Meanwhile, pick off the edible meat from the tongues, head, and trotters. The tongues must be peeled. Work around the bones and skin, judiciously selecting the meat and a little of the fat. The meat should fill one terrine, lined with plastic wrap, with some leftovers. Mix the meat with the parsley or other flavorings. Ladle the reduced stock over the meat to fill the terrine, then salt the entire thing to taste. Cover and refrigerate the head cheese overnight or until set. The terrine should be firm all around. Invert onto a serving plate, remove the plastic wrap, and serve with salsa verde, cornichons and other pickled accompaniments, mustards, bread and a salad.