Pig half head

[Dom]

Looking for ideas on how to cook/smoke/SV/grill/whatever method a half pig head. My brother-in-law is arriving today from Chicago and is bringing a half pig head with him, apparently it's pretty cheap and we've always wanted to try pig snout, pig ears, and jowls. Thanks in advance.

[bbqoaf]

I've never done one but I really hope you post pics.

My gut tells me to dry brine and maybe rub with MMD then smoke it low and slow till probe tender.

[Skip]

When I was a little kid (a long time ago) my Mom would boil a pig's head and make ponhaus or by today's name-scrapple. It sounds gross now but it was actually pretty good. You can google that and see what you come up with. It's probably no worse than a lot of the sausage we eat today. I have seen scrapple on one of the Food Channels in the past couple years. I will be curious what you end up doing with it. Be sure to post! Good luck.

[Thunder77]

Love Scrapple! But as the saying goes, "if you like it, just eat it. Don't ask what's in it! :-P

[Atalanta]

Being in PA, scrapple is pretty much a staple here. Bizarre Foods Pennsylvania had a segment on scrapple and, of course, not shy about the ingredients.

[Dom]

I'm in northern Maryland and we have scrapple here, and I think it's better than spam!

[Atalanta]

If it includes half the brain, scramble it up with some eggs. I sometimes get the head when a place does a whole pig. So the brains I'm getting are already cooked. Tried to share with BF, he wasn't brave enough. The cheeks are the best part.

[Dom]

Thanks for the tip. Yes, the cheeks/jowls is said to be the best part.

[Nuke em]

Never heard of scrapple till I moved to pa. The way I was taught, was never eat ANYTHING that spells scrap and crap in the same word. Tried it not the best thing in my mouth I prefer grits any day over that stuff. My other half thinks it's the greatest

[gcdmd]

I Googled "pig head recipe" and got a lot of hits, many involving boiling or stewing. However, I did find some for roasting that are probably more up our alley. They could easily be adapted to a smoker, rather than the oven. Here's one that particularly intrigued me. We might be inclined to do it with less liquid or put the liquid in a drip pan. The web site looks like it could be fun, too.

https://www.lifestylefood.com.au/rec...oast-pigs-head

Roast Pig’s Head
Recipe by Paul West from River Cottage Australia

Olive Oil
2 large onions, cut into chunks
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
1/2 a pig’s head (remove hairs with a razor or by singeing)
1 cup sherry
1 small bottle cider
1 litre chicken stock
3 bay leaves
Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.

Dollop the olive oil into an oven tray that is wide and deep enough to accommodate your pig’s head and put it on the heat. Add the onions and garlic and leave them to sweat. Cook gently until soft and slightly coloured.

Rub salt and pepper over the head and cover the ear with foil to stop it from burning.

Pour liquids over the pig’s head, add the bay leaves and season with salt & pepper.

Cover the tray with greaseproof paper to ensure that the pig doesn’t dry out and cooks evenly.

Cook for 2 1/2 hours until it is completely giving and yielding (soft). If you want to create crackling take the grease proof paper off after this time and leave in the oven to brown for half an hour.

When ready, remove the head to a warm plate.

Serve with a salad and the porky juices from the pan.