Please help me give some Hog's Head Cheese a try

All good advice. I used mostly pork butt, and some loin, for the meat, along with several feet for collagen.

Taste your liquid as you go…always over season as the end product will taste milder than the unmolded ingredients.

2024 batch

quote:

---

You can use the meat from a pork butt

---

Would using some leftovers from a smoked butt make sense? Or would you boil the butt from raw for the flavor?

quote:

---

Would using some leftovers from a smoked butt make sense? Or would you boil the butt from raw for the flavor?

---

I've never used already cooked or smoked meat in the head cheese I've made. The smoked meat may make for an interesting flavor profile, but I'd only add it near the end of the cooking cycle to not overcook it and have it practically disintegrate in the liquid.

I just called the wife and told her to stop at Ideal on Jeff. Hwy. and get me 3 pigs feet and I bought a couple packs of what Rouses calls "Pork Fingers or Country Style Ribs" that I'll trim off the bone and use that to make my HHC tomorrow.

You won’t get any meat off the tails or feet unless you are trying to pick them after they are cooked. All your meat is coming from your butt meat.

No problem using boil bags.

Can you use cooked smoked meat? Sure if you want. I don’t think it would make it better though.

Tip: after you boil your broth for a few hours, put a little bit of liquid in a bowl or something else. Put it in the fridge until it gets cold. You can kind of check the gel by doing this. If it firms up, you’re good. If it’s not firm, keep reducing the broth. Just keep the broth warm or boiling while you’re waiting for the fridge test to cool.

Correct. The feet stayed in the pot the entire 3 hours. I didn’t want to boil the butt for 3 hours, so I began with the feet first.

Got everything else going, gave it a quick taste and I got it to spicy and too salty, but I expect that to mellow out of the next couple of hours.

Hog Head Cheese Recipe

Below is a recipe that I wrote down earlier for family members that wanted to know how I made a batch in late December. Hopefully it will help somebody develop their own recipe and method.


“When I made this batch in late December, it was about twice the volume of what I have described below. I probably made 15 or so pounds of HHC, as I was giving a lot of it away. My guess is the recipe below will give you at least 7 to 8 pounds. That’s more than enough for the freezer and to give away.

A few general instructions first. Basically, there are two big steps in cooking. Preparation of the meat is the first step. Then, you cool the meat down for processing while you continue to reduce the liquid component and add more seasoning. Lastly, after cooking, you simply mold it.

Ingredients for meat preparation:

1 whole pork butt 4-6 pounds

2-4 pounds pork loin
Four pigs feet, more or less
A couple of pig ears if you can get them
4 ribs celery
1 large onion, halved
5-6 pods of garlic
2-4 bay leaves
2 whole jalapeño peppers
2 lemons, halved
1/2 cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons Tony’s seasoning

Debone the pork butt. Also remove fat from the pork loin. The pork loin should be cut into chunks that are three or 4 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches wide. You just want it to be able to cook through properly.

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Use just enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil and reduce to a decent summer.

Cook it at least an hour and a half, stirring every once in a while to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of your large pot. I do this outside to keep from getting divorced. It creates quite an aroma. Ha ha.

After @ an hour and a half, using tongs, remove all of the meat from the pot and place on a tray/pan to cool. It helps if it’s very cold outside . You can work with the meat safely that way.

Strain all of the vegetables out of the stock. I use a very large, mesh strainer. Then, return the strained liquid back into your pot and bring it back up to a low boil. Your goal is to reduce this liquid greatly. When I have time, I will cool it, while the meat is cooling. I then remove any fat that rises to the top. This is optional.

Second Cooking

First, process the cool meat. I like to cut the loin into 1/2”x 4“ strips. Some of the strips will be thinner, possibly 1/4 inch. I do this with approximately 3/4 of my pork. Makes for a nice presentation in the molded product. The rest of the meat, possibly 1/4 of it, gets cooked a little more so it breaks up.

You will get very little meat off of the feet. They are generally just used to get gelatin into the broth. I throw them away.

If you used ears, you can slice some of them into very, very thin strips.Adds a little texture to the finished product.

Ingredients (new)

Green onions, 1 bunch minced
Italian parsley, 1 bunch minced
Pimento peppers, 2 small jars
16 ounces pimento stuffed olives, sliced …drained
4 jalapeño peppers, finely diced, seeds and all
Garlic powder (maybe 1/2 tablespoon)
Onion powder(maybe 1/2 tablespoon)
4 paper packets of dry plain gelatin

Salt, red pepper and Cajun seasoning to taste. I use Tony’s. I use it like a seasoned salt. That’s basically what it is. Then I add more red pepper until it taste good to me.


Method:

Continue reducing your broth until you only have maybe a quart, more or less, left. Add all of the above ingredients. Simmer at least 10 minutes. Taste it. Adjust your seasonings for plenty of pepper and salt. You must over season. The final product will not taste as spicy as the hot broth. Trust me. So you over season.

While you were doing this, add at least one quarter of the meat back to the broth. Break it down a little bit. This may take a little more time. Be sure and scrape the bottom of your pot as it simmers. You do not want anything to stick and burn. You may wish to use about 1/3,of your meat during this simmering process. It’s just a matter of personal preference as to what you want the final product to look like. When you add the packets of gelatin, be sure and stir well. It needs to dissolve into your broth. Add the gelatin early. It is easier to dissolve into the product.


Molding:

I like to use small bowls, Cool Whip containers, little loaf pans, etc., to mold it.

I line the container with plastic wrap. This makes unmolding the finished product very easy.

Put some of your reserved cut up pork in each container. Fill them at least 3/4 full. Then ladle the cooked product over the top. Let it sit and settle. You’re trying to make sure you don’t have any air pockets and the containers are pretty much filled up and ready to jell.
Once cooled , cover and refrigerate overnight. I have discovered that you get a nicer, firmer product if you can place a little weight on top of your molds, but I’ve not done this with each package.

After 8 to 12 hours of refrigeration, you can unmold the product. I simply pull it out by the saran wrap. Then, you can wrap the packages in tinfoil and they are ready to either freeze or give away. I’ll leave the plastic wrap on as an extra layer of protection for the product.

Tips: everything can be adjusted to your taste. I sometimes add a little more lemon juice during that final simmer stage.

I add the sliced olives to the mixture during the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking. No need to cook them much.

Your mixture, before you mold, it, should be very thick. If it is extremely soupy, you need to reduce it a little longer.

For additional seasonings, you may wish to add a little black pepper. You may also wish to add a little paprika. I started using onion powder and garlic powder during the last summer instead of using chopped onion and chopped garlic. That’s your call. Just do what you like.

And if you lose this recipe, and ask me to send one in three or four years, I’m sure I’ll be doing something slightly different!”