Headcheese...today's the day!

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Rick
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Headcheese...today's the day!

Post by Rick » Sat Sep 08, 2012 14:59

Okay I just picked up my hog head, tongues and snouts are ready to go.

My plan is to first parboil the tongues for about 5 minutes, cool and skin before adding to the rest of the kettle full of meat.

Then I'll cook the head, snouts and tongue meat at 190 degrees for a couple of hours to firm up the meat. Then let it cool so I can pick it off the bone.

Now here's the part I'm not sure about. While I'm picking the meat from the bone, I've also put the cooking liquid in the fridge to form a layer of gelatin which I hope to skim off once formed.

Day 2: My meat is cold and I have my gelatin layer off the water. I believe I can grind the snouts, tongue and skin through a grind plate, along with the gelatin for a rough distribution.
The rest of the meat I can chunk into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Mix all this together well and stuff.
So I then put the big chub into the water bath and cook until the proper internal temp which should also liquify the gelatin back up and promote better distribution throughout the chub.

Remove and return to the fridge to cool and solidify the gelatin.

In reading my Rytek book, he talks of dissolving some store bought gelatin in a quart of warm water to add to the meat mix. Is this good insurance to add this along with the natural gelatin to ensure good outcome?

Does this look like the proper sequence of cooking and handling the meat? Obvious the spice will be added at mixing.
Thanks to all for your consideration to my question.
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Post by Baconologist » Sat Sep 08, 2012 15:21

Rick wrote:Now here's the part I'm not sure about. While I'm picking the meat from the bone, I've also put the cooking liquid in the fridge to form a layer of gelatin which I hope to skim off once formed.
Skim off the fat, the remaining liquid will all be gelatinous, there is no gelatin layer.
In reading my Rytek book, he talks of dissolving some store bought gelatin in a quart of warm water to add to the meat mix. Is this good insurance to add this along with the natural gelatin to ensure good outcome?
It won't hurt, but I've never found it necessary, there should be plenty of gelatin.
Godspeed!

Bob
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Post by redzed » Sat Sep 08, 2012 16:24

You will waste a lot of meat if you try to skin the tongue after only 5 minutes of cooking. Cook it together with the rest of the meat and the skin will peel off nicely. I would leave the tongue in chunks rather than grinding it. It will be the tastiest meat in the potpourri you have assembled.

Please post pics of this project.
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Post by Gulyás » Sat Sep 08, 2012 16:26

Hi Rick.

The top white layer is fat, the gelatin is in the liquid. My parents never used store bought gelatin, maybe because they didn't have stores. (?) But it won't hurt.
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Post by Rick » Sat Sep 08, 2012 17:55

Thanks for the advice. Everything is in the 30 qt. pot covered with water and waiting for it to boil, at which time I'll turn it down to a small roll.
After the meats removed, I'll remove the lid and let the liquid reduce, as I only need a quart of liquid to add before stuffing. It should give me the highest concentration of gelatin then.
I'm looking forward to the outcome.

As for pictures, I'll have to study up to see how to insert from my desktop into my message for all of you.

Rick
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Post by Gulyás » Sat Sep 08, 2012 18:07

Hey Rick.

One more thing. Watch the meat, because the are different sizes, they get done in different time too. Take out the smaller pieces when cooked.
Reducing/concentrating the liguid a very good idea.
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Post by Rick » Sat Sep 08, 2012 18:38

Gulyas, will do. Thanks
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Post by Rick » Sat Sep 08, 2012 20:48

Okay the meat is done and here is my assessment so far. Per Rytek's recipe, he calls for snouts, tongues and skin. I understand why. As for using a head, I don't think I'll go that route anytime soon. It's a lot of work to get what doesn't amount to a whole lot of meat from the head. Some jowl meat and some around the back of the head, other than that, not much more. I sure my slaughter house charged me a premium for providing the head which probably goes out with the waste anyway. The tongues were way cheaper to buy, I believe $1.39 per pound and look the best of all the meat. The snouts were less than $2.00 per pound and feel like rubberized fat. There's no meat in the snouts that I can see. So now the meats in the cooler and I'm reducing the liquid in the kettle to reserve my quart.

Tomorrow I'll grind the skin and snouts and chunk the tongues and other meat. I'll heat up the quart of stock and use it to dissolve the spices in and any additional gelatin I might want to add before mixing with the meat.

As for stuffing, I think the wife's canning funnel will fit that job just fine. The bigger chunks of meat will pass through the funnel better than the largest tube on the "Little Dick" stuffer.
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Post by Gulyás » Sat Sep 08, 2012 21:11

You're right Rick.

In pork head the best part is the cheek meat, and the jowl. But they have much better use for that, then waist it..... :wink: (I mean the jowl)
Grind some for fillers in between the larger chunks, that's all. Look at my sausage in the photo tread.
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