Headless Hog Head Cheese and Healthy Hog Head Cheese

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• published: 23 Feb 2015
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Video to go with my new Apex Predator article. My family's old recipe from the farm using Boston butts and pig skins and my new healthy recipe that is nearly fat free and has less than half the calories than most versions including wild pig meat and Knox gelatin and remember never eat frozen and thawed hog head cheese until remelted because of horrible frozen taste and texture. please excuse any caption typos...these videos take many many hours and days to create and I try to work fast and mess up sometimes. healthy version: -Chop any amount of wild hog meat into small chunks removing as much fat as possible and be sure to take out any glands -Cover meat by several inches of water and boil on low covered for about 2 hours -Skim any fat or impurities that float to the top -Add in seasonings (red pepper, black pepper, hot sauce, sriracha, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Stubbs pork seasoning, Mrs. Dash Table Blend, Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce, liquid smoke) -Cook another 60-120 minutes covered at a low boil until stock is barely covering the meat or the meat is half shredded and tender -Taste the stock and reseason as needed -Take out all the meat and set aside -poor the seasoned stock into a large bowl -Put the meat back into the pot -Measure and put stock back into pot until it barely covers the meat -Stir in 1.5 packs of Knox Gelatine per cup of stock, no less but a pack or two extra to ensure firmness -Add in green onions, minced garlic, canned diced jalepenos, chopped yellow, green onions and green bell peppers to the amounts of your liking -Cover and simmer all the ingredients in for about 30-60 minutes on very low being careful not to cook out too much liquid -Give one final taste to check salt and spice levels -Cool until room temperature and poor into shallow pans -Chill in frig overnight -Slice thin and enjoy Here are the main steps to my dad’s version: -Start by adding pork skins to the pot and bring to a low boil covered until they are tender and make sure not to burn any by stirring occasionally (about 90-120 minutes and the skins can be easily sliced with a spoon when ready) -While boiling skins, cut outer layer of fat off thawed Boston butts and slice each into six large chunks leaving the shoulder bone in a chunk -Take the skins out of the pot and cool until warm -Pour the skin stock in a separate bowl (skim impurities and fat off the stock’s surface several times) -Put the meat into the pot, cover with water bring to a low boil covered until tender and meat begins to fall off the bone and be sure to stir occasionally (about 90-120 minutes) -While meat is boiling cut nipples from the skins then grind the skins in a grinder or food processor -After meat is boiled: strain, cool, then cut into small 1-2” chunks and take out as much fat as possible -Pour the meat stock in a separate bowl and skim the surface several times - Weigh the meat and skins, then use one pound of ground skins for every 2lbs of prepared meat - add in most of the skin stock back to the pot and bring to low boil(we used about 8 quarts) (do not use the stock from the bottom of the bowl and skim the top before using) -add in the ground skins (we used 8.5lbs for the 17lbs of meat we had) -add in the meat (2lbs of meat for every pound of skins) -add in 1-2 quarts of meat stock until all meat is covered by a few inches -After it reaches a low boil and skins fully melt after about 20 minutes it’s seasoning time (do not over season, when re-melted you can always add more seasonings): Salt, black pepper, red pepper, Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce, hot sauce of choice, liquid smoke -Personally I like more seasonings and use the above mentioned ones plus these: Stubbs Pork Seasoning, Mrs. Dash table blend, Sriracha, garlic powder, onion powder, diced jarred jalepenos, and minced garlic, chopped yellow onions and bell pepper -Continue the low boil covered, stirring every ten minutes until the meat tenderizes further for about 1-2 hours (the meat should be half-stringy and half-chunky, a several inches of water will boil out and stock will be slightly covering the meat and stock will begin to thicken slightly when ready ) -Turn off the fire, taste the brew and re-season as needed -It's best to leave it slightly under seasoned as when remelted from the freezer more salt or spices -Stir in chopped green onions (we use a lot) -Cool down for an hour -Poor all contents of the pot 2-3 inches in depth into large pans -After it races room temperature put in refrigerator and leave overnight -Scrape off any fat that forms and rises on the top -Slice thin and enjoy! -Freeze in small blocks will last frozen many years to serve at breakfast melted into grits and as a Cajun delicacy at parties with jalapenos, olives, or cheddar cheese on a cracker or in my case with low-fat cheese and a jalapeno on a gluten-free rice thin!scription