Head cheese recipe.

91616 Views 12/08/2023 0 comments Posted By: Emmanuel Poulet-Harmel In: Recipes of gourmets

Don't look, there's no cheese in head cheese, just like there's no brains in canuts' brains!

So why is it called that?

That  comes from the fact that the head, once cooked, is deboned and pressed, like a cheese. It is "formed", "put into shape", a term which is the origin of the word cheese.

This dish has no precise origin, except Europe. As we know, everything is good in the pig, including the head.

Butchers used to cook a whole pig's head overnight in salted water.

In some regions it is called pâté de tête, which is actually incorrect, since it does not contain chopped pieces, but finely cut.

To make a good head cheese, we use the cheek, the snout, the tongue which are cooked in a broth then molded into jelly.

 Head cheese recipe:

Ingredients :
- 1/2 pig's head
- 1 bottle of white wine
- 1 bouquet garni
- 6 carrots
- 3 onions
- 1 C. c. peppercorns
- salt
- Juniper berry

Place the pig's head in a large saucepan with the ingredients and cover with water.
Cook on low for 3 hours, skimming regularly.
Collect the pieces of meat that have come off and take the head out.
Peel the tongue.
Cut all the parts into thin slices and place them in a terrine, alternating them.
Pour in a little degreased and clarified cooking broth.
Let set overnight.