What to do with a Hog Head.

[big brown horse]

They sell whole heads at the grocery stores in south Texas...big old ugly pig heads right there next to the beef cuts. (They also sell chicken feet, beef tounge and other wierd stuff too.)

Too funny about opening up the soup pot and seeing that gross head lookin up at ya.

 

[Grandma Goldie]

My grandma and mom always made mincemeat with the hog head. The head was cleaned with all the "extras" removed then it was just put in a big pot with water covering it and cooked like you would for chicken. The cooked meat was then scraped from the bone and mixed with fruits. It makes the most delicious pie . If I can find the recipe I will post it.

 

[Farmfresh]

When my Grandma Nettie prepared the hogs head for cooking she thoroughly cleaned the head first. Eyeballs were removed. The head was scalded and scraped, nose was cleaned and scraped, teeth were scrubbed with a brush and the ears were cleaned and dehaired, but the skin was left on.

Most of the time the pigs heads I get are the result of a pig getting processed for me. Most of those pig heads I get are skinned and pretty clean to start with. My processing orders always include that the jowl gets smoked for bacon, so that portion is missing. I often add some of the other "parts" like neck bones to make up some extra meat.

By the way hubby and I are both fans of pig trotters!

 

[Big Daddy]

Didn't I see this on Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

 

[me&thegals]

This thread makes me feel like a wuss! I thought I was all tough, but apparently not.

As for "Hog Heads," that's the phrase we use to describe someone who gobbles their ice cream so fast that they get brain freeze.

 

[Farmfresh]

It is also the way they used to store rum and beer - the big barrels were called a hog's head!

It is funny - I guess when you grow up watching your Grandma scalding and cooking a hog head you just kind of accept it as normal... NOT the thing scary movies are made of.

 

[big brown horse]

Didn't I see this on Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

 

[Farmfresh]

While surfing today I came across this good video about pigs heads. Gourmet Hog Head It demonstrates almost exactly how my Grandma Nettie used to clean the pigs head before she made her scrapple. This video goes a step further and shows how to debone the whole head. Grandma Nettie would have been proud!