Saturday, August 29, 2009

BBQ PIG'S FEET aka "TROTTERS"

HAVE I GONE NUTS ???...


"why yes, i believe you have", i say to myself.


and they say that's the 1st sign ya know...talking to yourself...myself...


any-whoo...i have no idea what has gotten into me and why i just had to try me some pig's feet. last month i wanted to cook my own octopus, but as stated a few days ago, i found an easier way out of that obsession. i thought this would be a bit easier to find, so i called around and asked for pig's feet, but found out i would have to special order them and 5 lbs is the minimum. i knew i was all alone on this one so i thought 5 lbs might be just a bit much. one of the butchers at Bristol Farms suggested going to a Mexican market or a carniceria. so off i went. obsession going at full speed.

BINGO!..i hit up the 1st carniceria and WOW!...beautiful meats and poulty. i was like a kid in a candy store...so to speak, but i was there for one thing so i stayed focused. i ran into a little language barrier (at first he was going to sell me a beef foot/HOOF the size of a small tree stump), but i walked out with a huge smile of sucess and 3 feet-1 whole and 4 halves.


so...cooking them....i googled and googled about the preparation. i found that you have to get friendly with your feet. wash them carefully and one REAL special thing you must do is get out a disposable razor and shave the stray hairs you will undoubtedly see. YIKES! after that i threw them in a large pot filled with water, 1/2 - 1/3 c. white vinegar, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, peppers, chili powder cayenne, cumin and red pepper flakes. basically a spicy stew. bring to a boil, then simmer for about 2 1/2 hrs or untill tender. i really didn't know what a tender pig foot was supposed to feel like, so i guessed. when i thought they were done, i drained them, stared at them, and decided to put them in the fridge overnight and deal with them later. (my insecurities about the whole ordeal were creeping back).




so the next day i gave them a little reheat and i'm thinkin' they don't look half bad. i'll bet if i was more "cheffie" or just more aquainted with pig's feet i could get creative with them at this point. newbie that i am, i had to play around a little.


i had to take this picture...sorry, but i started to feel like this was a 3rd grade science project. the yellow pointer is showing the exact area and, i might add, THE ONLY area that there is any real meat. oh, by the way, the feet are cut in half...i had the option to buy whole and half(the butcher cut them right then for me), but they usually are sold in halves. also, (the weak stomach people cover your eyes and ears) you'll notice, as most certainly DID I, the lovely toenail directely above the yellow pointer. yes, that was hard to deal with. i probably should have removed it, but i was unaware and will know better next time.....next time?...maybe





for this 1st time experience i decided to go the safe route...


now you're speakin' my language...slop some BBQ sauce on anything and i'll eat it...well, i couldn't reeeeally say that was true before..., but i sure can now. solid proof right here.

all i did was slather them with Stubb's Classic Sauce and stuck them in a 390 oven. i think in the end it was about 40 minutes total. i kept taking them out, inspecting, poking and turning them...










one more shot for a comparison of before and after BBQ sauce...this is the next day warmed up after being refrigerated over night, before the BBQ treatment...trust me, you didn't want to see them straight out of the cooker. REEEELLLY gelatinous!


let's face it, there is nothing pretty about feet.





here we have the finished product. i think i could have left them in the oven a bit longer or moved them up to the broiler. i'll bet they would have gotten a nice crispy pig skin effect.


in conclusion...

will i eat these again?

if faced with the situation, i will not be afraid..

will i cook them again?

if given the task...i will not run...


all kidding aside...YES, i just might give this another try and i challenge anyone else who is a bit adventurous to just give it a shot...you'll have fun and maybe find your new favorite delicacy.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

I've never had trotters by themselves before. The only way I've had them was added to soup/stock for the gelatin. Nice post.

Brittany (He Cooks She Cooks) said...

Came upon this because I found myself with the urge to cook trotters for the first time too. I laughed because I also tend to talk to myself, acknowledging that I can be kinda crazy, most often when it comes to food.

I was glad to hear details about the cooking process, but barely a word on the final result! What was it like to eat them?

BajanBully said...

IN Barbados we eat them all the time

One of our main dishes is called pudding and souse

The pudding is made from sweet potatoes mixed with local seasonings n herbs. This mixture is then stuff into the pigs intestines and boil in a large pot. The souse is actually a mix of cooked pig feet, head, ears, snout and normal pork cuts.
The cooked pig parts are then serve in a spicy cucumber sauce

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Bajanbully...
yes i have seen what you are describing...only on TV. i would love to try the real stuff from Barbados...i have made real head cheese flavored with Mexican spices...i wonder if it "almost" tastes the same, although it's not cooked in the intestine. i bet the spicy cucumber sauce is fabulous with it. thanks for the comment.

Unknown said...

Having eaten brothers boiled, eating them are no worries to me. Today my butcher cut 3 trotters into four part. They look like medallions. I'm going to treat them like I cook ribs. Well the coals are just about ready and am about to place them on the weber...no pre-cooking just a sweet and heat rub. Will write later how they turned out...hopefully with photos. My prediction though is YUMMM

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Richard...what a great comment. i love that you are a trotter fan. i know grilled pig parts are delicious because i just BBQ'd some EARS. yum! i can't wait to hear how they turned out !!! i hope i hear from you. have a great week

Diana said...

Inspired by Bizarre Foods (I downloaded every show!)... I found a local farmer and filled my freezer with beef cheeks, beef bones, pork bones, pigs feet, Ox tails, beef tongue and a hog head :)
I happened across your site and... I think we are twins separated at birth!
Every post linked to another post that I needed... My head is swirling with ideas! Thank you for the content and inspiring me to chronicle my own culinary adventures in more than just a fb post. (My Facebook friends think I've lost my mind.)
I've subscribed to your blog and look forward to all you do!
I'm off now to make a call regarding a pork belly!
Be well!
Diana

Jules and Ruby said...

Diana...my sista from anotha motha...lol. how lucky you are to stuff your freezer with all those delicious goodies. what to choose from first??? i have cooked and played with all of those fabulous odd bits and pieces, although i haven't tackled the "whole head" yet. well, i did buy one already roasted and had a hay-day with that one for sure. the tongue was a challenge, oxtails are a regular at this table and i have some pickled pig ears just waiting in the freezer. i can't wait to hear what you do and i would love to know about your new blog? i hope you start one. thanks so much for checking my stuff out. hope to hear from you again...J

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang said...

haa haaa - I bought sum for the first time ever today and searching for recipes...found you. Hilarious... might just compost it though ;) Not so inspiring but great fun to read and heartening that I am not the only one to look at my piggy parcel with such trepidation!

Jules and Ruby said...

HI CHITTY CHITTY....
so sorry about this late reply...trotters are very funny strange odd to work with, but hope you got a giggle just buying them.
Xj

jade said...

We wouldn't say it was exceptionally good but you may judge yourself if you're a die-hard fan of bibimbap. Food Truck Catering

Unknown said...

I got my feet ready to go. You are hilarious! My in-laws are Costa Rican and and cook Cow foot soup, except they use pig feet. Which would really make it pif foot soup but who am I to rename what they cook. Your comical story has helped me to get my plan ready for tomorrows feets. I mean feast.

Dub to the B

uncz1978 said...

I'm NC born and reared. That being said I was reared on a farm. My parents raised most of the meat we ate.

Pork was a big part of our meat. When what we called a hog killing there would be 7-8 hogs slaughtered All the work was done by my Mom, her sisters, and family friends. Cooking was done in iron kettles(which we still have).

Bacon and hams were put in salt to cure. Organs were cooked for liver pudding, meat was ground and seasoned for sausage which was air dried.

Pigs feet were cleaned to the point they were snow white. Boiled and then put in a vinegar brine in the refrig for several days before being eaten.

I still make pigs feet the same way my Mom did except I put them in the crock pot and slow cook them.

Lois said...

I'll be trying this. thanks for the recipe

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