Head Cheese Project

[Fatback Joe]

I have posted a couple of times about making head cheese and have been working to get it dialed in to where I was completely satisfied with it. The first time I made it, I went right with a "classic" recipe and found that it was too much tang, too much jelly, too herby and overall wasn't what I was looking for. First big step was putting it in a casing instead of a terrine/mold, that cut way down on the jelly factor. Knew I didn't care for all the herbs and such, so took that out. Then I thought some smoke would be nice. I had tried smoking the head first and, while it was good, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for on the smoke front. I had put that piece of the puzzle on the back burner and been focusing on getting the seasoning where I wanted it and, most importantly, consistent. Seemed like it was either too bland or over seasoned and rarely right where I wanted it. I am still not %100 there, but this one has been the best yet.

I have been getting the pig heads for free, the only catch is they generally have the jowls, ears, and skin removed. Although I would prefer all that to be present, I really can't biatch since I am paying nothing for them. Even cleaned like that I have been getting a pound to a pound and half of edible meat out of them.........worth the trouble IMO and it is nice to know that I am helping to use up more of the pig that might just get tossed otherwise.

Anyhow, enough rambling............I neglected to get a pic of the head prior to going into the brine since I didn't set out with a post in mind, but had another project I wanted to document going on over the weekend, so took a few pics of this process along the way.

Brine was salt, sugar, cure #1, black pepper corns, corriander seeds, and bay leaf. Along with the head was a couple of feet and some scrap pieces from a belly I had trimmed up.



I generally brine them for 3 days, but this one went for 4 since life doesn't always cooperate with my plans.......Took the parts out of and gave them a rinse. Not the prettiest thing to look at, but this is what a skinned, jowless, earless, brined pig head looks like.



Put the parts in the pot, covered with cold water and added leeks, onions, carrots, and a sachet of juniper berries, peppercorns, corriander seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, and herbs de provence.



Let that simmer for about 4 hours and pulled the pork out and ran the broth through a strainer. Put some of the strained broth back in a smaller pot and cranked the heat up to start it reducing. You can already see the gelatin in there.



While that was reducing got to picking the meat. Would have to check my notes again, but it seems as though I got just under 2 lbs of meat.





Seasoned the meat with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and a couple of other spices. The last couple of times when seasoning I went by a % of the meat weight instead of Tbs, tsp, etc............duh, why didn't I do this sooner. Anyhow, this has helped considerably with getting the seasoning dialed in.



Stuffed the meat mixture and broth into 12 inch collagen casings. Wound up 3 of them.



Hung them in the smoker for a couple of hours with a warm smoke......150 degrees with oak for the smoke. I put a water pan under them just in case I had a blow out or something I would not have huge mess and would possibly be able to salvage things.



Out of the smoker and into the ice bath for 15 mins or so then off to the fridge for a couple of days to let the flavors all come together.



Got a chance to try one last night.



Wish I would have paid a bit more attention to the lighting since the pics don't really do it justice.





I believe I have the flavor and the texture right where I want it, but could do with a little more smoke. Far cry from the first one I did..........in this, the pork is the star and not so much the jell and other components.

[CakeM1x]

Nicely done! I did a head cheese a couple weeks ago that wasn't porky enough for me. I'll have to try yours.

[Fatback Joe]

Originally Posted by CakeM1x

Nicely done! I did a head cheese a couple weeks ago that wasn't porky enough for me. I'll have to try yours.

I remember seeing that as part of a larger post. Any theories as to why?

[4ever3]

Awesome!!!

[jwtseng]

Wow, this looks like an enormously rewarding project! Great work! I'm not sure how my household would react to a pig's head brining in the fridge, but they all love headcheese even though they don't necessarily know that they've eaten it before in vietnamese banh mi, etc.

[Hoss]

A splash of vinegar and some fresh saltines please! I'm IN!!!

[fnjay]

Looks great! Never made it, but I dove to eat it!

[MisterChrister]

Joe, as usual, that looks amazing. Can I ask for your %s and specifics please? I've not been thrilled with my results for the same reasons you list, and trust your fine tuning 100%. I would love to skip straight to a solid "W" next time.

Chris

[Fatback Joe]

Originally Posted by jwtseng

Wow, this looks like an enormously rewarding project! Great work! I'm not sure how my household would react to a pig's head brining in the fridge, but they all love headcheese even though they don't necessarily know that they've eaten it before in vietnamese banh mi, etc.

The first time I brought a head home, my son was intrigued, my daughter was disgusted, and my wife just asked that I covered the eye since she felt like it was staring at her.

Don't know how many I have done now, but no one seems to notice or care and my wife usually helps pick it clean. Give it a shot.....

[Fatback Joe]

Originally Posted by MisterChrister

Can I ask for your %s and specifics please?

You bet. I had actually planned on posting the specifics, but when I found the time to make the post, my notes were far from me.

Anyhow........

Brine:
Gallon of water
2 C. Sea Salt
1/4 C Sugar
For the Pepper corns, garlic, fennel see, and coriander seed, I just kind of eye ball it......probably 1 TBS each
couple bay leaves
1 tsp of cure #1

I bring everything to a boil minus the #1, then dump ice in it, when it is cool, I add the cure and give it a good stir. Put in the head, trotters, and any other parts you want and add enough water to cover. Into the fridge for 3 days. Make sure the head stays submerged, I usually put a plate on it.

Cooking

Remove the head and parts and give them a good rinse. Into the stock pot with cold water, add 1 onion, 2 leeks, 4 or 5 carrots, the sachet with 1 tsp each of juniper berries, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, and herbs de provence. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer for 3 to 4 hours. Poke the head meat to get a feel for when it is ready. Skim off all the crap as you go........there will be a bunch.

When it is ready, remove the head and parts and set aside to cool a bit, run all the broth through a strainer and return to high heat to reduce it. When I first started I tried to let it reduce by 1/2, anymore I don't worry about since it seems to hold together well when in a casing. If you aren't going to case it, I would stick with the 1/2 to get as much gellatin as you can.

While that is doing it's thing, pull the meat and cut the bigger pieces to whatever size you want. I don't put in the eyes or the skin on the tongue, but everything else is fair game.

Now the part that really makes the difference IMO. Weigh the meat and season with the below.........% based on the weight of the meat.

2.5% sea salt
.3 % crushed red pepper
.17 % garlic
.5% black pepper
.15 % crushed rosemary

Mix that well. Stuff by hand into 2 in diameter collagen casings adding the reduced liquid with a ladle as you go.

If you do the casing, use something to pack it in good. I usually get it about 3/4 of the way full of meat, add a ladle or two of broth and then use the handle of a plastic spoon to run down the sides to make sure the juice gets to the bottom. Probably a better way to go about it, but it has been working for me. Squeeze it, roll it, etc to get as much air out as you can and tie it off. At this point, you can just put it in the fridge to set up or give it some smoke for a bit first. Let it site over night and give a try the next day.


Sorry if some of this is pretty basic..........never know who might get something from it.

I go in streaks on the forum so if you have questions, you will get a faster response if you PM me.

Good luck!

[CakeM1x]

Originally Posted by Fatback Joe

I remember seeing that as part of a larger post. Any theories as to why?

My guess was not enough salt in the initial boil so the meat was not as flavorful. I didn't want to salt it anymore since I didn't know how much the reduced stock would add to the flavor. Thanks for posting yours, will give it a shot next time!

[LYU370]

Looks great!!! Haven't had head cheese in years. Used to love it when I was a kid. That and blood sausage. All the other kids at school would be grossed out at lunch. Us wacky Europeans...

[Smoke Dawg]

That looks way better than what I have had. It was too much jelly and overly chewy parts. I do like the looks of this one!

[MisterChrister]

Thanks for the details Joe.

[jermoQ]

Excuse my ignorance in charcuterie, but could you cold smoke the head cheese either before it is cooked all the way or after you get it cooked? You were wanting more smoke flavor and I am curious.

Or, I guess the question is, will smoke be able to penetrate the jelly?