Pork Head Cheese
Description
It works for both holidays and everyday meals. For head cheese, it's good to boil a whole pig's head, along with the tongue, which can also be minced and added when shaping. But even a small amount makes tasty head cheese. It's convenient to use a slow cooker to cook the head cheese. The appetizer is ready. Serve immediately.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
The ingredients for zelyets are the simplest. Wash the pieces of pig's head very well and scrape the skin with a sharp knife to remove any remaining bristles and dried blood. If the head is whole, pay special attention to the ears and remove the eyes. Then place the pieces in a spacious bowl and cover with cold water for 5–6 hours. During this time, change the water 2–3 times.
- 2
Step 2
Place the pieces of the head in a sufficiently large pot and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Then drain the water, rinse the pieces, and cover again with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook at a bare simmer for 3–4 hours. After half an hour, add one whole onion. After another hour, add a second whole onion and carrots cut into large pieces. If you have any, add herbs—leftover stems will work. Salt a little more heavily than for regular eating, add black peppercorns, crushing them with a knife. Cook until the meat begins to fall freely off the bones.
- 3
Step 3
Let the pot and its contents cool until warm, then remove the pieces of the head. Pick through the pieces very carefully and thoroughly, separating the meat from the bones. The only difficult part of making headcheese is picking out all the small bones left from chopping the head.
- 4
Step 4
Finely chop the meat and skin with a sharp knife. Piece size is up to you, but smaller is better. Put the meat in a bowl and squeeze garlic on top to taste. Season generously with pepper; if you like, add a little hot red pepper. Mix well.
- 5
Step 5
Strain the remaining broth through a damp muslin cloth. Add 2–3 spoonfuls of broth to the meat mixture and mix thoroughly.
- 6
Step 6
Next, shape the zeltz using a piece of damp cheesecloth. You can simply line a colander with cheesecloth and pack the meat mixture tightly. I have a special plastic container for zeltz with the bottom cut out. It is convenient to pack the zeltz into it by placing the container on a plate. Then the finished zeltz will be a neat piece.
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Step 7
Place the assembly in a colander. Fold the cheesecloth edges over the aspic and press down lightly with a small weight on top. Refrigerate for about 3–4 hours until fully set.
- 8
Step 8
The finished zeltz is aromatic and firm, and slices well into thin pieces. Serve it with mustard and black bread.