A few weeks ago I was dining on a patio and enjoying a Lone Star longneck when a friend of mine started rambling about an art project involving a hog head. I could see her lips moving, but the sound of the words faded into a childhood memory of eating something super-delicious that my grandma (Maw Maw, that is) used to make: hog head cheese. My friend noticed the glazed look on my face and asked me what was up.
"Nothing. I gotta go home and make some hog head cheese," I blurted before hopping the patio fence and diving through my car window Duke boy-style.
Before it was trendy at restaurants, people used to cook every single part of swines, bovines and any other animules that they had nearby because they couldn't afford to waste anything. Most farms had hogs, since they were the original green machines, getting fat off of food scraps tossed in their trough. Slaughter the hog, prep all the good parts and what's left? Head, feet and tail.
Naturally these culinary visionaries of yesteryear saved the tail for pin the tail on the donkey and tossed the rest in a pot and wrangled it until something good came out.
I called 92 year-old Maw Maw on my way from Moon Tower to Foodarama, quizzing her on the ins and outs of making hog head cheese. The first words out of her mouth were, "Don't use a hog head. It's too much work. Use a Boston butt instead." She went on to explain that Great Maw Maw used the head, as did she, until deciding that picking meat off the head wasn't worth it. Further, no one could tell that it was a butt (which is actually a pork shoulder).
Before you bomb me with "it's not authentic if it's not a head" in the comments, you need to consider that it's not truly authentic unless you've got a hog in your backyard that you plan on field dressing on your clothesline posts before butchering it in front of your astounded neighbors. Should you insist on using a genuine head, Maw Maw advises that you remove the eyes before you boil it. She did not proffer any additional details on why, not that I wanted them.
Maw Maw's Hog Head Cheese
- 4 - 5 lbs. Boston Butt
- 4 pig feet
- 3 onions finely chopped
- 4 - 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 envelope gelatin
- 1 bunch green onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp. all spice
- ½ cup oil
- Salt, black and red pepper to taste
Put the pig feet (yes, you need these because the feet contribute natural gelatin and flava) in a large pot with just enough water to cover them. Boil them for about 30 to 45 minutes.
Cube the butt, trimming the fat along the way. Add cubed pork, onion and garlic to the pot and cook until tender; about 20 to 30 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the feet and meat from juice. Leave juice in the pot; skim fat if desired.
Pick all feet meat from bones. Chop meat into small pieces (authentic) or use food processor on course setting (be careful not to over-Cuisinart your way straight to pork paste).
Return the pork to the pot and add salt, peppers and allspice. Cook until the mixture gets very thick; roughly 15 minutes.
Mix gelatin with ¼ cup cold water. Add gelatin and green onion to boiling liquid.
Remove from fire and pour into molds (authentic if they're cast iron) or a 9" x 13" nonstick baking pan (reality).
Let the hog head cheese cool before refrigerating it.
Notes:
Don't be shy when adding the pepper to taste, but remember that you can always spice it up during serving. And, not everyone wants something that melts their fillings PS.
If you find that the mixture does not congeal properly, you can cook it down again, add another gelatin envelope and repeat the molding step.
') let lineHeight = jQuery('[line-height-check]').get(0).clientHeight; jQuery('[line-height-check]').remove() if (jQuery(element).prop('tagName').match(/HIDDEN/i) !== null) { jQuery(element).children('div').last().css({ marginBottom: `${lineHeight*2}px` }); } else { jQuery(element).css({ marginTop: `${lineHeight*2}px`, marginBottom: `${lineHeight}px` }); } } } jQuery(element).insertBefore(this.paragraphEndNodes[index]); } else { console.warn('Foundation.ParagraphTool.insertElemenAt: invalid insertion index', index); } } this.insertElemenAtEnd = function (element) { if (this.paragraphEndNodes.length) { let lastNode = this.getNodeAtIndex(this.paragraphEndNodes.length -1); if (this.isDoubleBrParagraphBreak(lastNode) || this.isBrParagraphBreakBeforeBlockElement(lastNode)) { if (jQuery(element).get(0).tagName.match(/SCRIPT/i) !== null) { jQuery('
').insertAfter(this.paragraphEndNodes[index]); jQuery('
').insertAfter(this.paragraphEndNodes[index]); } else { jQuery('div.fdn-content-body, div #storyBody').append('
') let lineHeight = jQuery('[line-height-check]').get(0).clientHeight; jQuery('[line-height-check]').remove() if (jQuery(element).prop('tagName').match(/HIDDEN/i) !== null) { jQuery(element).children('div').last().css({ marginBottom: `${lineHeight*2}px` }); } else { jQuery(element).css({ marginTop: `${lineHeight*2}px`, marginBottom: `${lineHeight}px` }); } } } } this.bodyContainer.append(element); } this.getNodeAtIndex = function (index) { return this.paragraphEndNodes[index]; } }
FAQs
Made of boiled scraps of pig, including the feet, the fat from the cooked meat provides a gelatinous binding. The boiled pig parts are preserved in vinegar and allowed to cool and set in a jelly roll pan, loaf pan, or some other mold.
How do they make hog head cheese? ›
Made of boiled scraps of pig, including the feet, the fat from the cooked meat provides a gelatinous binding. The boiled pig parts are preserved in vinegar and allowed to cool and set in a jelly roll pan, loaf pan, or some other mold.
What is the difference between scrapple and head cheese? ›
Head cheese is made from all the parts of the pig's head, simmered slowly to create a rich, gelatinous stock with is then used to hold all the bits together. Scrapple is made from other parts of the pig. Pork butt (actually the shoulder) trotters, the liver, maybe a few other parts that aren't eaten as regular cuts.
What is the difference between souse and hog head cheese? ›
Souse, a highly seasoned hog's head cheese, is very popular as a cold cut or appetizer. In Mississippi, Alabama, and other southern states, it is encountered in a spicy form known as souse or less spicy hog's head cheese. Hemphill's souse has vinegar added, and is sold in the flavors of mild, hot, or extra hot.
What's the ingredients in head cheese? ›
It is made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig (less commonly a sheep or cow), typically set in aspic, and usually eaten cold, at room temperature, or in a sandwich. Despite its name the dish is not a cheese and contains no dairy products.
What part of the pig is in hog head cheese? ›
Head cheese is made of pig scraps that primarily come from an animal's head: tongue, snout, cheek, ears, sometimes heart, and, if they are feeling wild, the feet. Thankfully, they leave out the eyes and brain because that would be “too weird.”
Why is Boar's head cheese so good? ›
Boar's Head is a family-owned and operated company that has been making high-quality deli meats and cheeses for over 30 years. They use only the finest ingredients, and their products are minimally processed. This means that you can taste the difference in every bite.
What is scrapple called in the South? ›
In the South, scrapple is often called livermush.
Do Amish eat scrapple? ›
Scrapple is primarily eaten in the southern Mid-Atlantic region of the United States (Delaware, Maryland, South Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.). Scrapple and panhaas are commonly considered an ethnic food of the Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Mennonites and Amish.
Why do they call it hog head cheese? ›
This was known as “cheesing.” Two of the most popular were “cheesed curds” (what we call cheese) and tureens of meat and aspic, especially those with the tender and delicious meat from the face of pigs and calves, called “cheesed head”…which eventually morphed into the term we use today… headcheese.
How to eat head cheese. You can absolutely dig right in with slices from pre-made rolls, but eating head cheese with thin crackers is common. Treat it like a pâté, and you'll be on the right track. You can also approach it like deli meat — toss it on a sandwich with some light mustard and lettuce, and you'll be set.
What is in Louisiana hog head cheese? ›
INGREDIENTS: Pork Snouts, Pork Broth, Pork, Onions, Celery, Green Peppers, Salt, Spice (Paprika, Pepper, Red Pepper), Parsley, Sodium Diacetate, Nisin, Rosemary Extract, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite.
What is another name for hog head cheese? ›
It is often referred to in North America as “head cheese.” Many people believe that calling it cheese makes it sound more appetizing, especially to those who squirm at the thought of eating a pig's head. Other names that it goes by include “brawn,” potted heid,” and “souse.”
What's in Boar's Head head cheese? ›
Carefully crafted with select cuts of ham blended with sweet red peppers, this Old World terrine resembles a rough pâté and is uncommonly flavorful. Boar's Head Head Cheese is an authentic take on a traditional German delicacy.
What is the clear gel on my deli meat? ›
That's because the goo you see is produced when harmless lactobacillus bacteria start feasting on the sugar that some manufacturers add for flavor. However, if lactobacillus bacteria multiply to the point that a smell develops, there's a small chance that bacteria responsible for foodborne illness could multiply, too.
Can you freeze hog head cheese? ›
-In small blocks, the hog's head cheese will last frozen for many years. It's perfect to serve at breakfast melted into grits or as a Cajun delicacy at parties with jalapeños, olives or cheddar cheese on a cracker – or in my case, with low-fat cheese and a jalapeño on a gluten-free rice thin.
Is hog head cheese healthy? ›
Head cheese contains minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, which contribute to maintaining strong and healthy bones. Including head cheese in your diet can help prevent conditions like osteoporosis.
Does boars head make its own cheese? ›
According to the source, Boar's Head doesn't actually make their own cheese. Another company, Bongards Premium Cheese, is apparently contracted to produce many of Boar's Head's cheese varieties. This is a common practice in the industry called contract packaging or copacking.
What holds head cheese together? ›
Head cheese is the great equalizer. Once you've done all of the hard work cooking the head and picking the meat, if you still want to share, you season the meat and press it into a mold. There's enough natural gelatin available that it will usually stick together without any additional help.
