I recently picked up a pig's head from a local farmer, inspired by Chris Cosentino's Porchetta Di Testa. This was my first experience with a pig's head and I learned quite a bit. After shaving the head and burning off all the extra hair, I boned the entire head in one single piece, then cured the face for a few days with rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon zest. I had to cut off a jowl and ear then rolled it so I could roll and vacuum seal the face. Poached for about 10 hours at about 180ish degrees F (using a stock pot, because I don't have an immersion circulator) I cured the extra jowl with pink salt and then smoked it, treating the jowl like I do bacon. The extra ear I made a lovely stock with then sliced and fried like cracklins. The skull I split and roasted to make a stock. I am very happy with the experience and plan on buying more pig's heads. The amount of meat on the head makes it a great deal. Just the jowl and cheeks make it worth while, but add the great stock making power of the snout, ears and skull and you can make tons of meals with the head. Some pictures: In the fridge: On the cutting board: Boning: Finished Boning: Final product cross section: Cracklins:
