Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Pigs' Feet


pups224

Recommended Posts

Thanks jackal10 for that demo of pure porky goodness. I never knew you could cook pig's feet without adding water or some other liquid during the cooking process--you are so brave. You're absolutely right, I couldn't imagine trying to bone a pig's foot/leg raw. I assume you poached the foot/trotter with the plastic wrap still on. When you say you poached it in the normal way, just in plain water and for how long? I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks. BTW, even the goodies left on the bones look great. :smile:

Inside me there is a thin woman screaming to get out, but I can usually keep the Bitch quiet: with CHOCOLATE!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Crispy Pata from the Philippines is one of my favourite dishes ever. Pork hocks are usually recommended, but I've also tasted it with both hocks and trotters. It involves slowly simmering the hocks in seasoned water until they're soft; some recipes call for marinating the meat before simmering. After the hocks have cooled in the fridge, they're then deep fried to crisp the skin while the meat inside stays tender. Crispy Pata is usually served with a dipping sauce made from cane vinegar, chili peppers, minced garlic and soy sauce. A porkstravaganza of goodness!

Here are some different variations of the recipe for this dish: one from the Market Manila foodblog, one from Pinoy Cook and another two on ChileMasters [sic].

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you say you poached it in the normal way, just in plain water and for how long? I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks. BTW, even the goodies left on the bones look great. :smile:

Yes, poach in the plastic wrap.

As it happened I put these back into the baraising casserole and back into the low oven for an hour, but you could just as well poach in simmering water for maybe 15 mins until the internal temperature is over 60C and the mousseline is firm.

For restaurant use I would make and cook them, cool, then just reheat for service

Edited by jackal10 (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When you say you poached it in the normal way, just in plain water and for how long? I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks. BTW, even the goodies left on the bones look great. :smile:

Yes, poach in the plastic wrap.

As it happened I put these back into the baraising casserole and back into the low oven for an hour, but you could just as well poach in simmering water for maybe 15 mins until the internal temperature is over 60C and the mousseline is firm.

For restaurant use I would make and cook them, cool, then just reheat for service

I made your pigs feet last night. They were delicious. Went to the German butcher and got some small trotters and added two small hocks. Braised a la Jackal with the addition of star anise for 8 hours. De-boned (you can't do this cold) and stuck in the fridge. The skin was still a bit tough, so the next morning I braised for two more hours, and basted them. I'm glad that I added the hocks..no meat on the trotters. I was too lazy to stuff them, so I made some basmati rice and spooned that lucious, gelatiny sauce over it. Very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I was happy to find that pig's feet are fairly cheap in Korea, as opposed to soup bones, which are so expensive you'd have to get them on layaway.

Either I miscommunicated with the lady at the butcher, or she just ignored me because I was a stupid foreigner, but she told the butcher to chop it into four sections and split the feet.

It actually turned out to be a blessing because it gave me an opportunity to try two different techniques.

Details on the Food Journal.

German Roasted Eisbein (basted in dark beer)

gallery_44307_3586_148187.jpg

And trust me. Kimchi goes great with German food. Korean sauerkraut.

ChefJohnny's Braised Trotters

gallery_44307_3586_29685.jpg

DISCLAIMER: Actually, I based it on ChefJohnny's recipe -- followed it in spirit with what I had available. And I was too lazy and hungry to make rillettes.

Question, though. Most of the readers of my web site in Korea don't have ovens. Is it possible to come out with similar results by stewing the trotters on the stove top rather than braising them?

<a href='http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal' target='_blank'>ZenKimchi Korean Food Journal</a> - The longest running Korean food blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Braising on the stovetop is perfectly acceptable, in any case where the oven is called for. just make sure to use a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, also make sure to keep the temp. low.

does this come in pork?

My name's Emma Feigenbaum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know im still a noobie here and all... but this is the coolest thing EVER! You cant imagine my amusement when I saw "ChefJohnny's Braised Trotters." I hope you enjoyed them, both eating and making. Thanks for the compliment!!

Cheers!

-Chef Johnny :biggrin:

I was happy to find that pig's feet are fairly cheap in Korea, as opposed to soup bones, which are so expensive you'd have to get them on layaway. 

Either I miscommunicated with the lady at the butcher, or she just ignored me because I was a stupid foreigner, but she told the butcher to chop it into four sections and split the feet.

It actually turned out to be a blessing because it gave me an opportunity to try two different techniques.

Details on the Food Journal.

German Roasted Eisbein (basted in dark beer)

gallery_44307_3586_148187.jpg

And trust me.  Kimchi goes great with German food.  Korean sauerkraut.

ChefJohnny's Braised Trotters

gallery_44307_3586_29685.jpg

DISCLAIMER: Actually, I based it on ChefJohnny's recipe -- followed it in spirit with what I had available.  And I was too lazy and hungry to make rillettes.

Question, though.  Most of the readers of my web site in Korea don't have ovens.  Is it possible to come out with similar results by stewing the trotters on the stove top rather than braising them?

John Maher
Executive Chef/Owner
The Rogue Gentlemen

Richmond, VA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question, though.  Most of the readers of my web site in Korea don't have ovens.  Is it possible to come out with similar results by stewing the trotters on the stove top rather than braising them?

Thats totally do-able. Ive done it before when all of our ovens were full. Just keep the flame low and keep a close eye on it.

-Chef Johnny

John Maher
Executive Chef/Owner
The Rogue Gentlemen

Richmond, VA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This all looks so good. I love pigs feet, having first eaten and prepared them regularly in China and now in France. I learned to cook them the Chinese way but I have to say that stuffing them Jack's way just looks too good not to give a try. I also like ChefJohnny's ingredients for the braise, using apples & juice.

For C.Johny's recipe, I am assuming that the leeks will give a lot of flavor to the dish. So much so that using fennel in the mirepoix might be a symbolic gesture. Any thoughts? When shopping for this dish, can I save a few centimes and use onions, leeks & apples or should I definitely try and get fennel?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Can you use pigs feet in a stock or something along that nature? I'm getting 20 of them tomorrow and while I think I can turn a couple into something for me to eat, I doubt my wife is going to be so game! So I'm looking for ways to use them that do not involve serving the trotters directly: suggestions?

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Chris, trotters freeze quite well so you don't have to worry too much.

In the sequel of the whole beast nose to tail, Henderson has a recipe for "trotter gear" which he uses in another half dozen recipes. In short, it is simply precooked and deboned trotters and the cooking liquor. The idea is to use it to increase the unctuosity of certain dishes that could be otherwise a bit dry (braised and then deep fried rabbit for example).

I you like beans, a pig trotter in the pot does marvels to improve the texture and taste of even the old beans that has been sitting on your shelf for a few years.

Otherwise you could add pig trotters to your stock pot but they don't have much flavour by themselves so don't forget to add other bones and meat scraps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With trotters you can yield some wonderful tonkotsu as a soup base; the gelatin content is amazing, and there are bits of unctuous meat to be picked from the metacarpels . Add some heads and you're prepped for souse/headcheese. Neckbones and livers and it screams for scrapple, goetta, or livermush.

Here's a tonkotsu pork broth using trotters that's really good: http://www.manthatcooks.com/2005/08/making...otsu-ramen.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

New member here, first post.

Back in 1976 I shared a house with a friend in Newport RI. Both Italian guys from Yonkers NY. We regularly got shipments of Italian foods from home and his always contained a few jars of pigs feet in brine, not exactly high cuisine but they sure were good right out of the jar with cold beer.

That was the last time I ate them until two weeks ago. I was taken to Babbo in NYC for my birthday and as my appetizer I order the Pig's Foot Milanese. Decadent and wonderful. It seems they bone it out, pound it thin, bread and fry it. It's served with bean and an arugula salad base. Just great, I'm going back in a few weeks for seconds.

Rob

Edited by Recoil Rob (log)

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

- Errol Flynn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few of my trotters:

gallery_56799_6183_65351.jpg

As you can see, they still have the hair attached. How do I get it off? I have seen references to both singeing it off and shaving it off. Singeing seems like the way to go if someone can explain to me how it is done...

Blow torch!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blow torch!

That's what I figured, but I wanted to know if there was a trick to it to prevent the skin from burning or anything along those lines.

Nope, just a quick wave of the torch over the hair, it singes a whole lot faster than the skin burns.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome, thanks Kerry. On to my next question: regarding food safety this time. Are there any hygiene concerns with the feet that I need to be aware of? The reason I had to go pick them up myself was because some sort of local regulation prohibits the processor from putting them in his cooler with the rest of the pig. Any idea what the concern is, and anything I can do to alleviate it?

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like you i have my concerns about the hygiene of trotters so I always like to blanch mine for 10-15mins before using them. Gets rid of the impurities and alleviates some of those concerns. If you are looking for something to do with them then i make this great trotter, tripe and chorizo stew that i've posted on the Dinner!thread thread before, of course you can omit the tripe. My wife is like yours in that she probably wouldn't gnaw on a trotter just like that, but de-boned she absolutely loved this stew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Singe it outside, the burnt hair smell will linger...don't ask me how I know.

Blow torch!

That's what I figured, but I wanted to know if there was a trick to it to prevent the skin from burning or anything along those lines.

Nope, just a quick wave of the torch over the hair, it singes a whole lot faster than the skin burns.

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.

- Errol Flynn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Sure you could, but the joy of them is the skin - gelatinous if braised, crispy if roast. There is not much meat on them and lots of little bones, so its usual to bone and stuff.

You can bone them before or after cooking. I do it after, but professionals do it before as it gives a better shape. Once cooked you can egg and breadcumb and grill or fry, or stuff with a mousseline and poach, or just reheat in the sticky braising liquid and eat...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...