Content
After slaughtering a pig, its head is first separated, after which the carcass is sent for further processing. Cutting a pig's head requires care. A novice farmer must approach this process responsibly in order to avoid possible spoilage of meat and offal.
Preparing tools and work area
The most important basics are a properly selected place and table on which the deboning process will take place. Cutting a pig's head at home should take place in a clean room. The table for her should be large and stable. Also for deboning you will need:
- several cutting boards of different sizes;
- deep bowls for laying out food;
- sharp knives - kitchen, fillet with a stiff blade, as well as a cleaver with a thick spine;
- paper towels or clean cloth;
- medical gloves;
- running water.
The need to use several knives is due to the specifics of cutting the head. For example, a cleaver is used to cut a skull. A fillet knife is used directly to remove the skin from meat.
How to butcher a pig's head without an ax
The first step is to clean off the soot formed when the pig is singed from the ears and other parts of the head.At this stage, you should not wash your hair - dry skin will make it easier to separate the outer parts when cutting. The step-by-step process of cutting a pig's head is traditionally performed in the following sequence:
- The ears are cut off with a sharp knife. You must try to keep the cutting line as close to the skull as possible. Pig ears are widely used in cooking for preparing various snacks and salads. Abalone cooked in a Korean marinade is extremely popular. One of the best options for using them is smoking - the resulting dish is considered a real delicacy.
- The next step is cutting off the cheek. It is separated with the same knife along with the meat adjacent to it. The correct cut is considered to be from the top of the head towards the snout. The knife should pass as close to the skull as possible without touching it. Particular care should be taken near the eye sockets - accidental damage to them can lead to eye fluid getting into the meat. The cheek meat is used to prepare various snacks - smoked, boiled and pickled. Many housewives bake it in the oven with vegetables.
- The head is placed cut down on the table, after which the meat is removed from the frontal part. Such meat can be used to prepare minced meat in combination with other parts of the pork carcass - shoulder or neck.
- Now you need to separate the tongue. To do this, the head is turned over and the flesh is cut off from the chin. The tongue is removed from the resulting hole. There are a large number of dishes that are prepared with this part of the pig. The tongue is stewed, fried, boiled and pickled. It is added to salads and snacks. Jellied, made from pork tongue, is considered a real work of culinary art.
- The next step is to cut the pig's head in half. To do this, apply a strong blow to the bridge of the nose with a cleaver. Next, the bones are cut with a sharp knife, separating the upper part of the head from the lower.
- The eyes are removed from the upper part. Then the brain is cut out with a sharp knife, which must be washed in clean water. The brain is most often used in the preparation of various pates.
- Cut off the patch. It is used in cooking for making jellied meat and saltison. Housewives also stew it with vegetables and add it to casseroles.
- To separate the jaws, it is necessary to cut the ligament connecting them. The bones on which the meat remains are separated from the lower part. They are perfect for making rich broths and soups.
The preparations obtained from cutting a pig's head must be treated with special care. It is believed that they must be cooked immediately after deboning. If offal is prepared for future use, it is necessary to soak it in cold water for 6 hours and then wipe it with paper towels.
How to cut a pig's head into jellied meat
The most popular dish that housewives prepare from pork head is jellied meat. This part of the pig contains a large amount of cartilage and skin, which, when cooked for a long time, actively release collagen, a substance necessary for solidifying the broth. The ears and snout are the parts from which collagen comes out the fastest. They are often added separately when cooking jellied meat from ham or shank.
Preparing jellied pork head requires a responsible approach to the preparation of ingredients.Initially, you need to soak your head in water for a long time. The ideal condition would be to keep it in water for 12 hours. Then they wipe it dry and start cutting.
It is worth removing parts unsuitable for preparing jellied meat in advance. These include eyes and teeth. The eyes are removed using a spoon, being careful not to damage the integrity of the eye shell. The teeth are removed using pliers or cut out along with the jaws.
First, the snout and ears are cut off from the head. Then it is cut into two equal parts between the eyes. Then each of the resulting parts should be divided into two more. For jellied meat, a strict division into the cheek, frontal part, and so on is not important. The main condition when cutting a pig's head into jellied meat is the need for approximately the same size of pieces. Each piece should end up being 8-10 cm in size. This approach will allow you to get the perfect broth.
Conclusion
Cutting a pig's head is a simple process. If all the rules are followed, a fairly large amount of meat and offal is obtained, which can be used to prepare a large number of culinary delights. If the head is cut for jellied meat, then the process is not at all difficult.
