2009.02.20
I'm a head cheese convert
I haven't had a desire to try the stuff before. For most of my life, all I knew about head cheese came from the Little House on the Prairie book series, which described the Ingalls family boiling the pig's head until all the meat fell off, then forming that meat into a "sausage" of sorts bound together with pork broth or gelatin.
Back then, they were pretty good about using every animal part they possibly could. So I figured head cheese was kind of a lowly dish made out of necessity to prevent wasting meat. And every picture I'd ever seen of head cheese left me feeling a bit repulsed. Savory dishes involving gelatin are low on my list of preferred foods. The name alone is a bit repulsive.
But last night, I had some delicious head cheese at the Town House restaurant in Chilhowie. Look for more about this fascinating restaurant in an upcoming Extra story. I was apprehensive when I heard that head cheese was on the menu, but this didn't look like the processed mosaic of pig parts I'd seen before. There was no gelatin, no gristle, no huge chunks of fat, no snouts slipped in.
When it was spooned onto my plate, it looked more like a pile of pulled pork. And the flavor -- Oh! The flavor! This was not a lowly dish in any respect. After tasting it, I became fully aware of how many delicious bits of meat go to waste when the head is discarded.
I'm probably ruined for most head cheese after tasting the Town House version, though. It was truly a wonderful treat and a surprise.
Anybody out there a fan of head cheese?
I've never had it. I would probably give it a try, but with great anticipation.
Comment by Amy Hanek — February 20, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
Oops! I meant "trepidation." lol
Comment by Amy Hanek — February 20, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
Wow! I never would've thought! Perhaps I'll have to swing by the Town House on my next trip to Marion.
Comment by Jason P. — February 20, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
At least it's not brains, eh?
Doesn't sound too appealing to me. It'd have to pass the "sniff test" first.
Comment by Ed S. — February 21, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Jason, the head cheese was part of a farm to table dinner series. It featured pork this month. They don't usually have the head cheese on the menu, but you'll HAVE to try the regular menu.
Ed, I don't know the exact details on the brain. Maybe I'll message my chef friend and ask him. I'm almost afraid to.
Comment by lindseynair — February 21, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
It sounds like all you commenters are young people who have never lived on a farm. Me, I'm as old as dirt and lived on a farm as a child and teenager, and I have eaten all the above, plus liver, heart, kidney and tongue; just about every part of pigs and cows. Each part has its own texture and taste, and it's all good. Be venturesome, expand your comfort zone.
Comment by Fletch — February 21, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
I am with Ed on this one. Doesn't sound appealing. There are so many other tasty parts of the pig, I think I can pass on this. But I applaud you, Lindsey. You are much more adventurous about food than I am. As much as I love to cook and try new techniques and seasoning, I like to stick to proteins that are familiar.
Comment by Nona — February 22, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
One chef tells me he splits the head and removes the brain before cooking.
They save the brain for a breakfast dish.
Comment by Lindsey — February 22, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
I'm not one to ever eat that, ever. I don't eat pork products of any kind for starters, and to top it off I don;t touch any of the internal organs so the brain breakfast would be a no-go. I'll stick with seared flesh and muscle tissue.
Comment by Other John — February 22, 2009 @ 8:10 pm
I have only one word: blech!!
The last time I even saw a pig's head was at a pig roast. The host put the pig's head on the top shelf of the smoker, and by the end of the evening he had a cigarette in his mouth, a bandana around his neck and a Budweiser can next to him.
Comment by Kathy — February 23, 2009 @ 8:32 am
Westlake Kroger has Boars Head brand Head Cheese in the Deli. Looks like a bunch of cubed meat bundled together.
Comment by Tammy S — February 23, 2009 @ 11:38 am
So it's a real no brainer. Still though, I'll never be that brave or that hungry. My dad used to eat it, but in this part of the country I believe it's better known as Souse Meat.
Comment by Thom — February 23, 2009 @ 11:50 am
I am becoming more adventurous as I get older, and have had liver and kidneys. I would be willing to try the head cheese and maybe the tongue, but I'm sorry Fletch, I just can't bring myself to eat an animals brains or heart. It just seems wrong somehow. I know if you eat the rest of it, you might as well try that too, but I just don't want to. I did have blood pudding for the first time a couple yrs ago, and grossed my daughter out eating it.
Comment by Debbie — February 23, 2009 @ 11:57 am
NO organs of any type for me! Blah! And no head cheese! Double blah. I know, I know, I'm sure it tastes like chicken... And no way would I eat tongue! I'm not eating anything that comes out of somethings mouth! Give me an egg instead. GROAN, I'm sorry ya'll! I just couldn't help it...LOL!
Comment by Dennis — February 24, 2009 @ 12:53 am
I can't say that I would never eat head cheese. Perhaps if it was presented as sausage, I'd eat it. That's how my mother got me to eat either squirrel or rabbit - she told me it was chicken. I have to agree with Fletch - people who grew up on a farm think of food differently. To them, it's wasteful not to use the whole animal.
I've seen Anthony Bourdain eat head cheese and some of it looks pretty good, like sausage, but some of it just looks quite disgusting.
The last adventurous thing I ate was probably foie gras. I didn't find it very palatable alone, but when I paired it with the port soaked pear that was plated with it, I liked it. Some people might not think that's very adventurous, but for me it sure was!
Comment by Lori — February 24, 2009 @ 9:44 am
If given a fair chance head cheese is quite different but very good. The Kroger Teeter on 221 also has Boars Head Cheese. Although this may not be representative of the home made type. If you can watch Tony Bourdain in his travels or what Andrew Zimmerern eats then you can eat and certainly enjoy head cheese.
Comment by Bobby — February 24, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Back in the mid 70's, on summer break from college, I worked at the Valleydale packing plant in Salem and saw souse (AKA head cheese) for the first time. They would mix it up in bathtub sized vats on wheels and chill it in the coolers. Everyone told me that after working in a packing plant you wouldn't eat anything made there ever again. I continued to eat sausage and bologna with no problem but have yet to try souse. Just can't do it. The old-timers at Valleydale always said they used everything on the pig except the squeal.
Comment by Justafan — February 24, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
headcheese is great! we used to make it at the farm I grew up on - back in the "old country," that is. I think they should rename it so it does not sound as it does. whoever named it in the english language probably did not want you all eating it, so he named it something you would never touch. more for him/her....
Comment by sid — March 18, 2009 @ 5:48 pm