Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Pig Head Experience...when OFFAL turns AWFUL


how much fun can you have with $ 3.62...???

let me explain...

i swear, i just went to the market to find some sweet basil seeds for a drink project i'm working on.  i took a left in the market and there it was...calling my name.  half a roasted pig's head with ears, nose and eyes intact.  the golden blistered skin, charred crispy ear, a whole hog jowl...it was flawless...it was right in front of me.  i couldn't pass it up.

"i'll take it, please."

"would you like that chopped up miss ?"

"NO, no...please wrap it carefully
AND don't break the ear !"


SO MUCH FUN...
ENDING WITH SO MUCH DISAPPOINTMENT.

i'll try to keep this short...

who in their right mind would come home with 1/2 a roasted pig's head ?  ME

i was a little apprehensive, but so excited and giddy to show off my new purchase.  grinning from ear to ear, i quickly unveiled it in all it's glory.  EYES POPPED, laughter aplenty, but come to think of it...there really wasn't the expected shock considering the odd purchases i usually come home with.
the niece and nephews were in town so i had to be a little cautious.  we all decided it was best to keep the two youngest out of the hilarious loop and not ruin their vision of "Babe".  not just yet.

BUT...the rest of the family?...
we were in stitches.
crispy skin pig cheek...looks delicious, right?...(read on)

i had my fun shooting the head every which way while family members stopped by in disgust, awe and amazement.  after an hour or two i had to call it quits.  even I was getting a bit...hmmm...queasy?
i quickly broke down the head with my trusty cleaver while the two little ones were at the park, removed all the edible meaty parts, packed them up and stuck them in the back of the fridge...
just wait 'til tomorrow...
i'll have my own private little pig party.



i wrapped up the bones and threw them away.
i had enough of the pig head for a day...deal with it tomorrow.

within an hour i was horrified that i could be so wasteful...roasted bones?  why not make a delicious stock?...i removed the tightly wrapped bones from the bin and set forth on a delicious porky-good stock.
5 hours of cooking, simmering and reducing with onions, celery, carrots, oregano, cumin, etc....
mmm... taste test...

IT WAS AWFUL...super bitter !
it had to go down the sink.
sad...so so sad...

i think this super charred side, the crispy ear and burnt snout were the culprit for the awful bitter stock.
this is the first stock i have ever had to toss.
SAD...so very very sad...

the next day i went straight for the crispy unctuous hog jowl.
i was so looking forward to this coveted bite.  i rewarmed and re-crisped it in the oven, watching the skin come back to "crispy perfection".  upon first slice i thought...i have to shoot this...it looks too good to be true.  after a quick impromptu photo shoot,  i settled in for the jowl feast of a life time..
  yikes!  it was like rubber.   we're talking "gummy bear" inedible!
the skin was crispy and delicious, but the meat was like a rubber tire.  it needed to be cooked for another few hours.  i ate the skin and threw the rest out.
i was sad...so very sad.

although the pig head turned out to be so disappointing, it was every bit worth the $3.62.
would i buy another?...maybe for a party and it's shock value.

next time i will cook it myself...BUCKET LIST

so there's my PIG HEAD EXPERIENCE...

and i'll wrap it up with this...

FOOD IS FUN

think outside the box...

you might not get a meal out of it, but you'll surely have an unforgettable experience.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are one brave and very adventurous woman!! Huge admiration ...

Nata

Anonymous said...

We are about to cook our pigs head tomorrow for mamabake....a little worried now but I'm sure my friend Nat will smash it out of the park!!!!

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Anonymous...i KNOW yours will turn out delicious. i bought this on a whim and it wasn't nearly what i expected, but if i could cook one myself i bet it would be heaven. good luck and i hope you enjoy all it's piggy goodness...AND have fun doing it! it'll be an event to remember.

Unknown said...

Loving your blog!
Boy can you cook, girl!!

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Suzy...my cousin spells her name that way. don't see that often. HEY, thanks so much. comments like yours keep me out there testing the "out of the ordinary". glad you noticed the "pig head". hope to hear from you again...J

Anonymous said...

rogaanLooks like all they did to cook it was deep fry it. The cheek will never get tender with a cook like that. These heads need to be either slow roasted or braised (in the case of head cheese). Dont get discouraged, try it again but do it yourself.....SO much more fun!

Jules and Ruby said...

Anonymous...yes you are correct that the head needed longer cooking. they slow roast 1/2 a pig everyday. the rest of the pig (body, arms, feet, etc) is cooked through with crunchy cracklin' skin. i have cooked many O pig part, but this beautiful head looked so very tasty. i know it was wishful thinking...but it sure was a lot of fun! thanks so much for stopping in.

Meggan said...

just stopping by in a google search, as I find myself with my own spare roasted pig head and trying to figure out what to do. it's already been frozen, and defrosted, so I'm currently slow roasting it, covered, and plan to crisp up the skin in a bit. I was told there was lots of good meat left in the head. we shal see!

Jules and Ruby said...

hi Meggan !...sorry, i'm late. oh, i wish i could see what happened. was there a lot of meat to pick off? did you get the cheek meat?...and there's good meaty fatty parts around the snout? i wish i could have enjoyed mine. it was just a bit too charred on the outside.
i hope i wasn't too late to get a report...J

Laura said...

we bought a whole pig a few years ago and the butcher asked if we wanted the head--we just go the jowl bacon i BET if you asked at a slaughter house you might get a whole fresh pigs head--now we raise our own and I have an AWFUL hard time eating them TERRIBLE and in my experience MOST pig/boar/hog stocks don't not taste good it's probably why there aren't a lot of recipe for them

-Will- said...

What a shame your pig head experience turned out as it did! That's another one on my bucket list. I've saved a few very informative youtubes on preparing a pig's head, all are time consuming.
You mention shooting food. Are you referring to hunting or photography? The reason I ask is that I dispatch several wild hogs every year and while we do use a lot of the meat I've yet to muster the courage to utilize a head. Probably best to get one from a butcher?? -Will-

Jules and Ruby said...

HEY WILL....
lucky you !...i just shoot with a camera, but i would love someday to see the whole process and use everything there is about the animal. i bet you could use the boars head. hey it's worth a try and it would sure be an experience to remember...and maybe be proud of...for sure. maybe you could made a headcheese terrine?

Anonymous said...

Hopeless cooks with no idea blaming a good piece of meat for foul taste

whats new..?



Paulo said...

It was quite fun stumbling upon this post. These glorious pictures! Riding the emotional roller coaster of experiencing a pig's head for the first time! I could almost taste it!
Quite lovely. And disgusting.

Thanks for sharing this!


Anonymous said...

My mom and I had the very same feelings when we bought our first Chinese roast pig head...a bit um disgusted. It was all that crispy skin and the cheap price that was so attractive..at first. The ear, eyeballs and nostrils on the serving platter made my date leave-permanently, but her dog was really excited, and so were we. Leave it whole teeth and all; it's a great compatibility assessment tool.

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