Headcheese is easy to make. Split the head, remove the eyes, clean the ears and nostrils, cover the cleaned pieces in water with the tongue, heart, and some lean trimmings and cook until the meat is well done and separates easily from the bones. Grind the meat and cover with broth. Add seasoning (salt, pepper, and others if desired), cook for 15 to 20 minutes and pour into pans. Headcheese can be eaten cold or fried the same as scrapple or panhas. Headcheese does not hold together as well as scrapple because of the absence of corn meal and flour.
The following quantities of seasoning per 100 pounds of cooked meat, including the added broth, are recommended:
- 2–2½ pounds of salt
- 3–5 ounces of black pepper
- 1 ounce of red pepper
- 1 ounce of ground cloves (if desired)
- 1 ounce of coriander (if desired)
- 2 ounces of sweet marjoram (if desired)
Panhas (pon-hos)
Using the broth remaining after making headcheese, strain out all the bones and thicken with corn meal, buckwheat or rye flour. Use three or four parts broth to one part meal to make a thick paste. To prevent lumping, it is best to slightly moisten the meal with a little cooled broth before adding it to the other broth. Season to taste with the seasonings given for headcheese. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes and pour into shallow pans to cool. Slice and serve like scrapple.
Pickled Pigs’ Feet
Pigs’ feet should be clean, free from hair, and the toes removed. Make certain to clean between the toes and trim any remaining hair.
Cure clean, chilled feet in brine for 15 days to 3 weeks. Use the same brine suggested for curing hams. Weight the feet to keep them from floating above the solution. Use enough solution to completely submerge the feet. Keep the feet cold throughout curing period (at 36° to 40° F, if possible).
After curing, slowly cook or simmer the feet until they are tender. Cook them slowly to keep the skin from parting excessively and the feet from pulling out of shape. Thoroughly chill the cured, cooked feet and pack them in cold, moderately strong vinegar, add spices such as bay leaves or allspice. Use the feet at once or store them in the vinegar.