What is Head Cheese? (with pictures) What is Head Cheese? Written By: S. N. Smith Edited By: Bronwyn Harris Last Modified Date: 13 December 2016 Copyright Protected: You won't believe these 10 facts about people Head cheese is not actually cheese, but a jellied meat dish made from the head of a pig or calf. Occasionally, a sheep’s or cow’s head may be used. Head cheese typically takes the form of a large sausage and is served sliced as a cold cut. Alternatively, it may be made in a mold or pan and served as a terrine . It is usually eaten slightly chilled or at room temperature, to prevent the gelatin from melting. To prepare head cheese, the cook must procure the head of a freshly slaughtered pig or calf. The head must be carefully washed and scraped clean. If the head is a pig’s, the bristles are shaved or plucked. If another animal, such as a calf or cow, the head is skinned. The head is split or quartered and the eyes are removed and usually discarded. The ears are removed and the ear canals cleaned of wax.

To make head cheese, the split or quartered head is then simmered in a large stockpot until the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone. The skull is removed from the cooking liquid and allowed to cool enough so that it can be handled. The meat is then picked off the skull and chopped. Ad Seasonings and sometimes vegetables are added to the chopped meat. The cooking liquid is strained and added to the chopped meat. The cooled meat mixture is then poured into pans or molds and refrigerated until set. The collagen that has leached into the cooking liquid from the marrow and cartilage of the head will gel the stock upon cooling. When cold and solidified, the head cheese is removed from the mold, sliced, and served. The cooking process is where head cheeses diverge according to culture and taste. Some cooks add a pig’s foot along with the skull for added collagen. Ingredients vary by culture and region, thus altering the color of the head cheese accordingly. In Southern Louisiana, in the United States, head cheese, also known as souse, is traditionally flavored with vinegar and hot sauce. Vinegary Pennsylvania Dutch souse is also made with the addition of a pig’s foot, and occasionally the tongue of the animal.

Germany’s presskopf features vinegar or pickles and may also contain beef tongue. Denmark’s sylte is spiced with thyme , allspice, and bay leaves and served with pickled beets and mustard . Head cheese in England is called brawn, and in Scotland, it goes by the name potted heid. In Latin America, you can find it on the menu as queso de cabeza, and in Mexican markets, look for queso de puerco. Head cheese is also available in Hungary, disznósajt; Croatia, tlačenica; and Estonia, sült. The latter variety of head cheese often features the addition of green vegetables and carrots. Modern cooks who wish to produce their own head cheese but lack ready access to a fresh pig’s head can substitute pork shoulder and unflavored gelatin. Also, varieties of head cheese are made that contain no red meat but instead are made with chicken and fish. Ad In the UK we call this Brawn. anon322535 Post 19 If you're going to eat meat, show some respect to the animal you killed by eating all of it -- plus, headcheese is just tasty.

Not to go on a rant here, but if you want the pleasure of enjoying meat, you should probably kill, gut, and skin something once in awhile. Wild game just tastes better and reminds you of all the work that goes into your steak (this from a member of a family of butchers). serenesurface Post 18 Head cheese is not as popular anymore, but it used to be very common during America's early years. Poverty was more back then and people couldn't afford to throw anything away. So they used as many parts of the animal as possible. This how many dishes that contain animals' head or intestines or stomach lining came about. donasmrs Post 17 @anon70810-- Many do include the brain. There isn't one type of head cheese, there are different types. Different people include different things in it but most will include the brain. Head cheese is nutritious because it usually contains parts of the animal we usually don't consume. These parts are often the parts that are rich in collagen, essential fats and protein. However, it's a bad idea to eat too much head cheese, especially head cheese with brain. Brain is very high in cholesterol, it's mainly a saturated fat.

So those who suffer from high cholesterol beware! turquoise Post 16 The picture looks delicious but I have no idea how people make head cheese at home. I could never skin an animal's head, cut it up and remove the eyeballs. Yuck! I don't know how people do that. I wouldn't mind buying head cheese from the store though. anon306451 Post 15 Where can I purchase this in Ireland? I'm intrigued. Slightly disgusted but at the same time, oddly fascinated. I like pate and by the descriptions some have posed, it sounds quite similar. anon285829 Post 14 For those who have never tried it, and think "oh that's nasty!" You should really try it. It tastes like several different kinds of prepared pork, all in one big bite. Nothing is chewy or has a weird texture. Just nice soft meat. The only weird thing to get used to is that is falls apart when sliced thin. So I wouldn't recommend slicing thin for a sandwich. Maybe 1/8th of an inch minimum. I like to slice a piece and eat it on a cracker. So delicious!

anon245494 Post 12 I just had some Saag's Bavarian Head Cheese bought at a supermarket and found it very tasty. I love animals and would rather we were all vegetarians, but (a) we probably couldn't produce enough vegetables and grain to feed 7 billion people (and growing), at least not in any nutritious, protein-rich way; and (2) we are evolved as omnivores. Meantime the use of all the parts of the animal for food does more honor to the slaughtered animal than just trashing bits of it, in my opinion. anon242425 I eat meat and all, but that's gross. anon146976 Post 10 I love head cheese. Boars Head does a great job of making it. more people should try it. anon125007 Post 9 I used to sit and eat headcheese with my Grandpa. He was German and the Germans loved it. Yes, they never wasted a thing! However, I think of it today and wonder how I ever ate it as a child. I guess if it was good enough for Grandpa, it was good enough for me.

Susan K anon84848 Post 8 oh so good! the name really throws the mindset off, but it really is a delicacy to be had. anon79651 Post 6 anon71537: Guess you are a vegetarian. You don't eat meat at all? Here in southern louisiana we eat meat, and we eat all the meat. We don't kill a cow or pig, cut a steak out and throw away the rest. now can you imagine that? anon71537 Post 5 This sounds so trifling. How can people eat this? I can't even imagine cutting the head off of a beautiful animal that didn't do anything to me. It's disgusting. But hey, you know how it is. anon70810 Head cheese then would include brain, right? anon44540 Publix deli sells head cheese made by Boars Head brand. anon42751 How to Make Homemade Head Cheese | Simple Bites 2 star anise 1 teaspoon whole allspice This formed the basis of my pork stock and I was off! I brought the stock up to a boil, then reduced to a simmer.

I cooked it for 3 hours. You could make up your own aromatics for the stock. I could have been more exciting, but this was my first attempt and I wanted to stick to the basics. I apologize in advance if the following images make you squirm, but they are all part of the story. Step 2: Collect the pork and strain the stock This was the most disgusting part, but it goes fast. I recommend having a highly distracting podcast playing (thanks, Joy and Tracy ) and don’t for one second think about what you are doing. OK. Roll up your sleeves! Collect a large bowl for bones and scraps and a smaller bowl for meat. Find a large tray or baking sheet to work on. If you have a large slotted spoon or an Asian Spider Strainer grab one of those too. Now might be a good time to wear thin plastic kitchen gloves, although I didn’t have any around. Fish out the head (it may have fallen apart with the slow cooking) and place it on your tray. (It helped to have the snout pointing away from me.) Basically, pull off the skin and get rid of it.

Next, pull every single bit of meat off of the bones and place it in your ‘keep’ bowl. No need to dig around in the skull; we’re not using the brains. Or eyeballs. Shudder. Cover the meat with a little stock, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate. I got about 4 cups of pork. Once you’ve collected all the bones from the pot, it is time to strain the stock. Pour it through a fine sieve and into a large bowl or bucket. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate so that the fat can rise and congeal. Step 3: Build the head cheese Skim the fat off of the stock and bring it to a boil in a large pot. Reduce it by about half, then season it with salt. Be sure to taste it and adjust the salt accordingly. Cool slightly. Line a loaf pan (or your mold of choice) with plastic wrap. Finely chop a few tablespoons of parsley. Shred the pork into strips and lay it in the loaf pans. Pour a little stock over the top and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Repeat until all the meat is used up. Top with a little more stock, then place in the refrigerator to set. Chill overnight, minimum.

You will have leftover pork stock. Freeze it for soups or braising. Or reduce it to make homemade bouillon (recipe coming later this week). To serve: unmould the head cheese. Slice with a very sharp knife. Serve with bread, mustard and pickles. Or make some fantastic Bahn Mi. Your call. Thanks for reading! I know this was a little unusual for this space, but this was such a fun little project, I had to share. Questions? Comments? Would you ever make head cheese? About Aimee Cooking has always been Aimée's preferred recreational activity, creative outlet, and source of relaxation. After nearly ten years in the professional cooking industry, she went from restaurant to RSS by trading her tongs and clogs for cookie cutters and a laptop, serving as editor here at Simple Bites . Her first book, Brown Eggs and Jam Jars - Family Recipes from the Kitchen of Simple Bites , was published in February 2015. Subscribe For Free! Head Cheese Recipe - Food.com 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 -- . Would you like to attach a photo to your submission? Browse The image has been attached to your submission. Close Are you sure you want to report this post for review? Yes, report it. You must be logged in to interact with the activity feed. Log in now Best Head Cheese Recipes and Head Cheese Cooking Ideas by Don This is a very old recipe handed down in my family through the years. It is almost always made around Christmas. As far as I know, I am the only one left in the family who knows how to make it.

It is very time consuming, so be prepared to spend the better part of a day to make it. 1 by eCuisine.org Ingredients Head of a moose, elk or Caribou plus [optionally] Heart, tongue and trimmings0.50 cup Salt1.00 gal Water For each 3 lbs meat:1.00 tablespoon Salt1.00 teaspoon Pepper1.00 tablespoon Onion flakes1.00 tablespoon Red and green pepper ... 1 by John DOH this recipe was "published" 20 years ago in a small Mennonite community in Saskatchewan for a Church cookbook. Still, it makes up a great "crackers and meat" hors d'ourve and gives us some clue as to true "Heritage" cooking! In my DS's family, this was a staple at Christmas and New Years and so I have to share it! 0 by Chef #586028 This is my Uncle's recipe from poland. Its basically meat in aspic. This recipe uses beef, but pig feet can be used too.

0 by Golden Wookie As a child in England, my Mum would make this with a pigs head, but later in life she used pigs "trotters" and pork hocks. I still have her recipe and one day had a craving for this. It wasn't easy finding the trotters, but one day my husband went to our local grocers and there they were! Serve on hot buttered rye toast. The contrast of heat and cold is fabulous! 0 by LADYEM1 This is not actually cheese. It is a wonderful, spicy appetizer mold made of pork roast that is great served with crackers. 0 by P_D This used to be made with the pig's head when I was a young child and lived on a farm. I now make it with pork hocks as I now live in the city and pigsâ€™ heads are not readily available, lol. All the ingredients are to taste so no amounts are listed. 0 by JEFF CALKINS Blue cheese and head cheese are tossed in a flavorful Dijon vinaigrette dressing with onion and garlic.

0 'Head Cheese' Probably Isn't What You Think It Is (PHOTOS) | The Huffington Post 'Head Cheese' Probably Isn't What You Think It Is (PHOTOS) 11/05/2013 09:12 am ET Rebecca Orchant Co-Owner and Sandwich Pusher at Pop+Dutch Getty Some foods get a bad rap based on their names alone, and head cheese has got to be one of the foods hit hardest by this phenomenon. We're content to euphemize all manner of other, stranger things. Blood sausage gets called blood pudding, testicles have been re-branded as "prairie oysters," and I don't even want to think of what we would call hot dogs if we were being literal. For some reason, head cheese gets referred to as almost exactly what it is. Almost. Head cheese is, in fact, made with heads -- real ones, from pigs. But there is no cheese involved, and really the word "cheese" was probably employed because referring to something as "head loaf" is really quite unappetizing.

Now, unless you are an offal devotee , you might see the phrase "pig's heads" and want to hide under the covers, but the truth is that there's a lot of great meat hiding in there, and once it's separated from its admittedly graphic housing, has some of the best and porkiest flavor you'll find on the whole pig. We've never made head cheese ourselves, but after seeing brave Redditor mrmexico25's step-by-step head cheese tutorial , we might have to give it a shot. If a picture of an animal's head stewing in a pot is going to make you woozy, you might want to consider switching over to a more vegetable-oriented post right now. For the rest of you, here's how the head cheese gets made. This is where you start. A couple of heads in big old stock pot with vegetables, aromatics and seasoning. This stews for an incredible six hours to get everything tender.

Pro tip from mrmexico25, "The part that takes the longest to cook is the tongue, so once it's fork tender, then you're done!" After stewing, straining the stock, picking the meat and stuffing it all into large sausage casings, the finished product is then chilled overnight. What you end up with is a piece of charcuterie that looks completely at home next to things lots of people are way more comfortable with -- salami, prosciutto, pancetta, foie gras. Head cheese, at its core, is just another kind of chunky paté. I'd always thought that head cheese required adding in gelatin to set, but when you cook down pork bones for that long, the collagen that gets released into the broth is enough to bind everything once it's chilled completely. That, friends, is what we call making something out of nothing. A lot of the commenters on Reddit were understandably shocked by the photos in this how-to, and you might be also. But it's pretty undeniable that using all the parts of the animal, making them all taste good and helping them all to be appreciated, is about the most respectful thing you can do. Plus, it tastes delicious.

Click over to Imgur for the entire tutorial gallery, with way more step-by-step photos. We just might have to make our own head cheese now, thanks to mrmexico25. We salute you! Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest and Tumblr . Also on HuffPost: Homemade Head Cheese Homemade Head Cheese 8 Comments Of all the recipes that I made until now, if there was one that I really wish my dad could’ve tasted, this would be the one. He was such a huge fan of head cheese! You should’ve seen the look on his face when my mom returned from the grocery store and he would retrieve a jar of the stuff from the bags as he helped unpack. He looked like someone had just told him that he’d won the lottery or something! I’m absolutely positive that he would’ve said (and meant) that this Homemade Head Cheese was the best he’d ever tasted. To be honest, I’d been wanting to make this for a very long time now, but kept putting it off because I was very afraid to face the actual pig’s head. It had been sitting in my freezer since I’d purchased my side of pasture raised pork .

The thing is, I had no idea of what to expect when I’d cut open this neatly wrapped package. Pfft. Had I known! See those beautiful pieces of meat up there? That’s my pig’s head, along with a couple of tongues. Looks like the butcher had taken the liberty of cleaning that head for me: he removed the eyes, brains, ears, facial features and all the stuff that I didn’t really care to see. Heck, he even went ahead and cut it into manageable pieces. In fact, one could barely tell that this was even a head to begin with. Boy was I grateful for that. And you know what? I’m sure that if you ever decided to purchase a hog head and asked your butcher nicely, he would gladly clean it up for you like that. Oh, he might ask for a small monetary compensation, perhaps, but I’m sure it would be very minimal and totally worth it. After all, pork head isn’t all that expensive to start with, and the meat that it conceals is so freakishly tender and delicious! Especially after it’s been slow cooked like this. So what say you? Will you dare try it?

At least, take a peek at the entire process, then you can decide for yourself. You’re not even gonna have to work that hard, I swear. To begin with, place your meat, veggies and aromatics into a 6 quart slow cooker and cook on low for 20 to 24 hours. The long cooking time will ensure that you extract as much nutrients as possible out of all those bones and fat. Once the meat is done cooking, carefully remove it to a large bowl to collect the juices. See that chunk of meat right in the middle? The one with the little dimple on it? That’s a tongue. Doesn’t look so scary, does it? And it’s pretty much all meat, too. The only thing with tongue is that it has this thick skin that covers it, and that has to be removed. Frankly though, it removes just as easily, and fairly similarly too, as chicken skin does. While the meat is cooling some, pass the broth from the slow cooker through a colander and then transfer it to a medium saucepan. Bring that broth to a simmer over medium heat and let it reduce until there’s only about 4 cups left.

Meanwhile, carefully pick the meat from the head and tongue and discard everything that’s not obviously meat. This is the meat from the tongues alone. Like I said, basically all that needs to be done with tongue is remove the tough skin that covers it. The rest is all beautiful meat like this. And that is the meat that I got to pick from the head. Can you get a feel of how tender and juicy that is? I’m telling you, if you didn’t know this was head meat and someone served it to you as pulled pork, you would DEVOUR it in seconds. It’s freakishly delicious, I swear! When all your meat has been carefully retrieved, you may want to pass the bones and fat through a colander to collect all the precious juices that will have released during the picking process and then add those to the ones that are already in the saucepan. If you have a stand mixer , we’ll put it to good use right about now. Equip the paddle attachment and place all the meat right into the bowl Add reduced broth and mix on low speed until the meat gets finely shredded and the mixture is evenly combined.

Now it’s very important that you do this ON LOW SPEED, else you’ll send broth and meat flying all over the place and this will be a messy operation, trust me. Slow and low, baby, that is the tempo! This is the kind of final texture you should be looking for. Alternatively, if you didn’t own one of them fancy stand mixers , you could pull the meat by hand using 2 forks (like you would if you were making pulled pork ) and then mix the broth right in with a large spoon. The final texture won’t be quite as delicate and creamy, but it will taste just as good. Pour the meat mixture into a greased loaf pan or terrine mold (you could also use several individual ones if you preferred) and refrigerate overnight. To unmold, delicately run a thin blade around the terrine then slightly warm the bottom of your mold by dipping it in hot water for a few seconds. For even easier unmolding, line your pan with plastic film like I did with when I made this Salmon Terrine . It will leave a few fine lines and wrinkles but your head cheese will come out of there like a charm!

Invert your head cheese onto a plate or wooden board and garnish with fresh greens. Wouldn’t that look nice on a brunch buffet table? You could cut it into thin slices or simply let people dig at it… Or, like I said earlier, you could also use little individual molds and serve the head cheese right in them. Now that I’ve successfully made my very own head cheese, I’m left with one tiny little problem. I really want crackers to spread it on… Real thin and super crispy crackers. Guess there’s only one thing left to do: find me a good paleo cracker recipe ! Or better yet, come up with one.. Homemade Head Cheese How to make head cheese - YouTube How to make head cheese Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Apr 26, 2011 Headcheese is pig head meat suspended in a jellied stock. Head cheese has different names all over the world.

In England and Australia, it's called brawn. In France, it's fromage de tête. And in Latin America, it's queso de cabeza. Here's how to make it. Category Head Cheese Head Cheese Jellies Head Cheese Traditionally head cheese was made entirely from the meat of the head of a hog, cured and stuffed in large beef bungs or in pork stomachs. We may find this choice of meat today less appealing, forgetting at the same time the fact that pork head meat is highly nutritional and flavorsome. Do not confuse head meat with brains. Bear in mind that the head is boiled first until the meat easily separates from the bones and then it looks like any other meat. Persons living in metropolitan areas cannot buy pork head anyhow but still can make a great tasting product by using pork picnic and pigs feet. Nowadays head cheese can include edible parts of the feet, tongue, and heart. A plate with a variety of meats and sausages. Traditionally made head cheese incorporates many different meat cuts. A head cheese incorporates a variety of meat cuts: pork head meat, jowls, skins, tongue, snout, ears, heart; all those cuts exhibit different texture and flavor.

It is a combination meat platter inside one casing. In English, the name head cheese doesn't sound appealing and it prevents many people from trying the product. In other languages it is called in a friendlier manner, without the word “head” being part of the name. When vinegar is added, it is called “souse” and this already sounds much better. Head cheese, brawn, or souse are not cheeses, but rather jellied loaves or sausages that may or may not be stuffed into the large diameter casing. They can be easily found in places that cater to Central Europeans, Eastern Europeans and Italians. Many of us have made a head cheese before without even realizing it, although pork head meat was not a part of the recipe. Every time we cook meat stock or chicken soup based on bones we are making a weak version of a head cheese. The reason the soup does not become a meat jelly is because there is too much water in it. If this stock would simmer for a long time, enough water will be lost, and the resulting liquid, when cooled will solidify and become a jelly.

In the past, after the first and second World War, or even in most countries today, people had no opportunity to buy a commercially made gelatin. And this is why those unappealing cuts of meat like pork head, jowls, skins, hocks, legs and fatty picnic legs started to shine. You cannot make the real head cheese by using noble cuts like hams, tender loins or other tender lean meats. Those expensive cuts don’t contain enough connective tissues (collagen) in order to make natural gelatin. You can use them, but a commercial grade gelatin must be added and of course the taste and flavor of the finished product will be less satisfactory although the resulting jelly will be very clear. Making head cheese is quite easy as the procedure does not involve the use of special equipment like a grinder or stuffer. Every kitchen contains all utensils that will be needed. Types of Head Cheeses Regular head cheese - pork head meat, jowls, skins, snouts, pigs feet, gelatin. Tongue head cheese - in addition to the above mentioned meats the tongue added. It should be cured with salt and nitrite in order to develop a pink color. Blood head cheese - head cheese made with blood.

Such a head cheese is much darker in color. Souse - a typical head cheese to which vinegar has been added. Similar to sulz but not limited to pig’s feet only. Most people eat head cheese with vinegar or lemon juice anyway so it comes as no surprise that vinegar would be added to head cheese during manufacture. It also increases the keeping qualities of the sausage as all foods containing vinegar last longer. Souse contains more jelly than a regular head cheese. In addition pimentos, green peppers or pickles are often added for decoration. Both sulz and souse contain about 75% of meat, 25% of jelly and around 3% of vinegar. Sulz - original head cheese made of pigs feet with the bone in. Later bones were removed to facilitate slicing. This name can be found in some older books. It was made with pig’s feet only but often snouts and pig skins were added as well. Meat jellies made from pig’s feet are still popular in many European countries, for example in Poland where they are known as pig’s feet in aspic ( Nóżki w Galarecie). Pickled pigs feet which are sold today are basically sulz in vinegar.

Head cheese, souse and sulz are all very similar, the main difference is that souse and sulz contain vinegar and more gelatin. Manufacturing Process Meat Selection Traditionally made head cheese requires meats with a <em>high collagen content to produce a natural gelatin. </em>Anybody can buy a commercial gelatin, mix it with water and create jelly. However, such a jelly has no taste at all and is a poor in=mitation of a naturally produced meat stock. Meat cuts such as pork head, hocks and skins are capable of producing a lot of natural gelatin as they contain a lot of connective tissue that will produce gelatin. In addition tongues, hearts, snouts and skins are also used as filler meats. Commercially made products don’t depend on natural gelatin and use commercially produced gelatin powder instead. It is a natural product which is made from bones (pork and beef) and skins. Before meats will be submitted to cooking in hot water a decision has to be made whether the meats will be cured or not. Commercial producer will invariably choose to cure meats with nitrite in order to obtain a typical pink color.

Meats that were traditionally used for head cheeses were: Pork heads (cured or not), often split in half - boiled in hot water at about 194º F (90º C) until meat is easily removed from bones by hand. They should be first soaked for 1-2 hours in cold water to remove any traces of coagulated blood. Pork hocks (cured or not) - boiled at about 194º F (90º C) until meat is easily removed from bones by hand. Skins - pork skins should be clean without any remaining hair or excess fat. They are cooked at 185-194º F (85-90º C) until soft. This may require a longer cooking time. Pork shanks with meat (picnic), cured or not - boiled in hot water at about 194º F (90º C) until soft. Lean pork trimmings (cured or not) - boiled in hot water at about 194º F (90º C) until soft.

Hearts (cured or not) - boiled in hot water at about 194º F (90º C) until soft. Hearts are first cut open and any remaining blood is rinsed away in cold water. The heart is a very hard working muscle and will be of a dark red color due to its high content of myoglobin. It should be diced into small diameter pieces (1/4”, 5-6 mm) otherwise it will stand out. Tongues (cured or not) - boiled in hot water at about 194º F (90º C) until soft. Pork or beef tongues are very often used but the outer skin on the tongues must be removed due to its bitter taste. It is easily accomplished once the tongues are submerged for a few minutes in hot water. Looking at the above listed meats it is easy to conclude that a person living in a large city should not face any difficulty in making a head cheese. Some substitutions need to be made as pork heads will not be generally available, but tongues or even hearts are frequently seen in supermarkets (they are of least importance as they contain little collagen).

Instead of using unusual and fatty cuts of the hog (head) which may be available only at specialty butcher stores, the similar results could be achieved by smart substitution of meats and adding some gelatin, even if a natural less fatty broth is produced. Picnic (lower front leg) and pork butt are common items and will make a great head cheese. Picnic and <em>pig feet</em> will produce a lot of gelatin. A meat plant or a farmer will have access to traditionally used cuts of meat: Every year for Christmas and Easter "Dziadek" - the Polish sausagemaker slaughters his own pig What you see may look gruesome but will make great liver, blood and headcheese sausages. Pork head Traditionally used casing is pork stomach Applying weight on top of the sausage during cooling. Traditionally made headcheeses are flattened Finished product. Note the pink color of meats which were cured with sodium nitrite Head cheese and liver sausage ready to eat Head cheese Curing Meats Traditionally made products may employ meat curing with nitrite or not. If meats are not cured with sodium nitrite the product will be of grey color.

Curing pork head or legs is a hassle that requires an extra space in a cooler, needs dedicated containers and will take some time. A hobbyist may not care much about the fact, but a commercial plant need those meats to be pink. Head cheeses are not smoked so there is very little need for sodium nitrite at least for safety reasons. A commercial producer will cure meats as he is mainly concerned with the profit. The product must look pretty and must have a long shelf life otherwise supermarkets will not carry it. As a customer judges a healthy looking meat product by its red or pink color (poultry meat is an exception) the commercial producer must cure meats and add nitrite to get this pink. Another incentive for a commercial plant to cure meats is that they gain weight and that leads to increased profits. Cutting Meats The grinder is usually not employed as this will extract proteins and will break the fat’s structure. As a result a cloudy stock will be obtained. Meats are much easier to cut into smaller pieces when chilled. After they are cut, it is a good idea to rinse them briefly in hot water as this will eliminate unnecessary grease that would normally cloud the jelly. Until now the process of making head cheese or meat jelly has been the same.

What differentiates them is that head cheese being a sausage is stuffed into casings and meat jelly is not. Split pork heads. It is much easier to separate meats when the cuts are still warm. Cooking Meats and Making Broth This is basically one easy process but certain rules must be observed. Head cheese differs from other sausages in that meats are cooked before stuffing: All meats, skin included are cooked until soft. Meat is separated from bones. Meats should be covered with 1-2 inches of water and simmered below the boiling point for 2-3 hours. The skins should be boiled separately until soft but still in one piece. When still warm, cooked meats should be removed from bones and cooled down. The skins are cut into strips. The resulting meat broth should be filtered though 2-3 layers of cheese cloth until clarified. The better clarity obtained, the better looking cheese head will be produced. Such a jelly is a fat free and rich in protein product. When too much water was used it is possible to end up with a broth that will contain not enough gelatin and will not set. This may be corrected by additional boiling of the meat stock.

As more water evaporates from the stock, the resulting meat broth gets concentrated and when cool it will become a jelly. If this does not work you will have to re-heat the jelly, strain the hot gelatin and add a packet of a commercial gelatin. Then re-arrange meats on a plate and pour the hot gelatin over them. This will become a serious issue if the meat was stuffed into the casing. When in doubt it is safer to add powdered gelatin straight from the beginning than to create unnecessary extra work for yourself. As an extra precaution you may test your meat broth before it is added to the casing. Place some of it in a refrigerator and see whether it solidifies within one hour. If not enough collagen is present, for example mainly lean meats were used, little gelatin will be produced and the resulting meat stock will not solidify. This can be easily corrected by adding commercial gelatin. For best results mix powdered gelatin with the existing meat broth and not with water. Water will dilute the flavor of the broth. Mixing Meats are mixed with all other ingredients.

Although the recipe provides the amounts of all ingredients, nevertheless due to precooking meats in water, then washing them with hot water later on, it is recommended to taste the mixture and refine the recipe if needed. Do not mix meat and jelly together before stuffing. The hot jelly will draw some of the juices out of the meat and the jelly becomes cloudy. A good idea is to scald meat with hot water to remove any grease that might cloud the gelatin. Stuffing Head cheese was traditionally stuffed into pig stomach. Pig stomach is a one unit chamber of uniform oval shape with two easy to saw openings. Stomachs of a cow or a sheep are basically three stomachs in one unit. The shape of those stomachs is irregular and not easy to fill. After filling, the stomach's opening had to be sewn with butcher's twine. Today, head cheese is stuffed into a large diameter synthetic casing, preferably a plastic one that will prevent loss of aspic during cooking. The tied or clipped at the bottom casing is held vertically and meat pieces are placed first. Then a gelatin, from naturally produced meat broth or made from a commercial powder, is carefully poured down into the casing. This is normally done through a big funnel using a ladle.

The casing is tied or clipped on the top and head cheese is ready for cooking. 1. Stomach need to be cleaned. It is reversed first. 2. Unnecessary fat is trimmed off. 3. Gentle scraping works well. 4. Cleaned stomachs are rinsed. 5. Small opening is tied. 6. Now the stomach is filled with meats. 7. Filling stomach. 8. The stomach is tied. 9. The stomach's skin is hard so you need a special tool. A tool for fixing bicycle tire flats will work. Cooking Head Cheese Cooking head cheese at 80-85° C (176-185° F). Checking internal temperature. Cooling Head Cheese After cooking head cheese should be left at room temperature for a few hours to let the steam out. After that the head cheese was placed between two wooden boards. The top board was weighted and the sausage was stored overnight in a cooler. This permanently flattened head cheese and gave him the rectangular shape with rounded corners. Short partial cooling/washing in cold water. Finished product ready for pressing. Unpressed head cheese with finely cut meats. Head cheeses stuffed into round fibrous casings are not flattened.

Ingredients and Spices Amount of salt varies between 1.5-2% which is the same as for a typical sausage. Commonly used spices: pepper, nutmeg, mace, allspice, cloves, marjoram, cardamom, onions, garlic, caraway, thyme, ginger. Notes Head cheeses, liver sausages and blood sausages belong to a special group of products that incorporate less noble cuts of meat that will be much harder to sell to the public at least in their original form.What separates those products from other common sausages is the fact that meats are precooked before being stuffed into casings and then they are submitted to a hot water cooking process. Another pecularity is that all those products are often made without being stuffed into casings: When placed in forms and baked in the oven, liver sausages become pates. When placed in forms and baked in the oven, blood sausages become blood puddings or blood meat patties. When placed in forms and allowed to cool, head cheeses become meat jellies.

Traditionally made head cheese or meat jelly may look less pretty but will be a product of much higher quality due to the following reasons: No chemicals added No water pumped into the product (stronger meatier flavor) Natural broth (no gelatin added). Commercially prepared gelatin is a combination of neutrally flavored powder (natural glue) and water and natural broth is a combination of natural glue plus highly flavored meat stock that remains after cooking bones. On cooling this gelatin will subsequently become a jelly and accounts for about 30% of the total weight of the product. What would you prefer to have in your head cheese or meat jelly: 30% of water or 30% of meat broth? Many people limit themselves to making just one or two types of sausages (fresh or smoked variety) and mistakenly believe that special sausages (liver, blood or head cheese) must be very complicated to make. Yet a head cheese is a very simple product to make as long as one forgets he is making a sausage and starts to think in terms of cooking a hearty meat broth.

And when the broth is cooked, all that remains is to separate meats from bones and stuff them in a large diameter casing or place them to cool in any kind of a food grade container. Commercial processors like to add some wine or vinegar to create a slightly sourly flavor as this will extend the shelf life of the product. Most home made head cheeses don't contain vinegar or wine in its composition. Head cheese is consumed cold and freezes very well. Final Note If head cheese is such a great product why is not commonly available? Well, the manufacturing process is more complicated as it requires precooking meats and separating them from bones. The process becomes time consuming and requires more equipment. As a result the processors will have to charge a steep price to break even. It is more profitable to make a sausage than a head cheese. Secondly, American consumer knows less about head cheese or blood sausage than his European counterpart. We may eat a lot of sausages in the USA, but they are mainly hot dogs, bologna and fresh sausages that will be grilled. Variety of cold cuts: liver sausage, blood sausage, head cheese, Krakowska sausage, smoked butt (baleron), smoked loin, smoked ham, baked loin.

Head Cheese - Recipes - Cooks.com Boil meat with onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, water and vinegar till falling off the bones. Allow to cool until able to handle with bare hands. Pick meat ... Ingredients: 8 (ears .. garlic .. onions .. sage .. salt .. vinegar ...) In a 4-gallon stockpot, place ... meat together. Cover with clear wrap and refrigerate to set, overnight. Head cheese is best eaten as an appetizer with crackers. Ingredients: 14 (leaves .. peppercorns .. roast .. thyme ...) Burr out ears to bone. Cook the heads in water until meat falls ... well. Press into a container. Must be kept refrigerated. Will keep for one week. Can be frozen. Ingredients: 3 (heads .. sage ...) Place all ingredients in a large pot and cover with water. Simmer until meat is tender. Remove meat from broth. Discard fat and bones chops meat into small ... Ingredients: 7 (feet .. paprika .. parsley .. skim ...) Clean hog head by removing eyes, ears and ... peppers, vinegar and salt, put in cheese cloth, hang, let drip overnight. Slice and enjoy.

Refrigerate unused portion. Ingredients: 6 (head .. onion .. salt .. vinegar ...) Measure water into 5-quart saucepot. Add pork meat, pig's foot, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until meat is tender and pig's foot can easily be boned. ... Ingredients: 10 (flakes .. foot .. meat ...) 4-6 pork hocks. Cover with water; add 2 bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook until tender. Cool. Save liquid. Chop up meat; cubed. Discard bones. Mix together ... Ingredients: n/a Drain and cool enough to handle. Remove bones from feet and shoulder. Grind together or process in food processor until small lumps remain. Season with 4 to 6 ... Ingredients: 2 (feet ...) Place pig's head, feet and ears in ... remaining in pot. Pour this liquid over meat in mold; refrigerate until mold has set, or congealed. When cold, slice and serve. Ingredients: 10 (ears .. feet .. head .. leaves .. salt .. tops ...) Clean pig head and split open. Place head, ...

Turn into crock and add as much liquid as necessary to fill crock. When cold, this will set. Makes about 4 1/2 pounds. Ingredients: 10 (feets .. head .. hocks .. leaf .. mace .. peppercorns ...)

Question: What is the foodstuff head cheese made from?
Answer: Meat