Brawn from Pig's Head

Ingredients

• a pig's head
• 40 peppercorns
• 2 blades of mace
• 4 cloves
• 12 allspice
• A bunch of herbs
• 2 onions
• one pint and a half of the strained liquor

Method

1. 1

   Salt and boil the pig's head as previously described.

2. 2

   Remove meat from bones, cut into small pieces.

3. 3

   Boil bones with spices and herbs, strain the liquor, and mix with meat.

4. 4

   Pour into a mold to set.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The official handbook for the National Training School for Cookery (1891) by National Training School for Cookery (London), page 52. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

2 onions 1 small carrot Pepper and salt fib. of flour 5 lb. of suet 1 teaspoonful of baking powder s. d. 1 8 o 1 o o| o if O 2.\ Time required about iwo hours. Now we will show you how to make a Sea Pie. 1. We put two pounds of buttock steak on a board, and cut it in slices with a sharp knife. 2. We take two onions, peel them, and slice them as thinly as possible. 3. We take a small carrot, wash it, scrape it clean with a knife, and cut it in thin slices. 4. We season the slices of meat with pepper and salt to taste. 5. We put the slices of meat in layers in a two quart saucepan, sprinkling a little of the sliced vegetables on each layer of the meat. 6. We pour in enough cold water just to cover the meat. 7. We put the saucepan on the fire, just bring it to the boil, and then move it to the side of the fire to simmer. N.B. — During this time we make the crust. 8. We take a quarter of a pound of suet, put it on a board,, cut away all the skin, and chop it up as finely as possible. 9. We should sprinkle a little flour over the suet, to prevent it sticking to the board or knife. 10. We put three quarters of a pound of flour foto a basin,. Lessons on Cooking Meat. — Sea Pie. 133 and mix into it half a saltspoonful of salt, and one teaspoonful of baking powder. 11. We now put in the chopped suet and rub it well into the flour with our hands. 12. We add sufficient cold water to mix it into a stiff paste. 13. We flour a board and turn the paste out on it. 14. We take a rolling-pin, flour it, and roll out the paste to the size of the saucepan. 15. This quantity of paste will roll out to the size of a two quart sattcepan, so that if a smaller saucepan is used less paste will be required. 16. We put this paste over the meat in the saucepan, and let it simmer gently for one hour and a half. N.B. — The lid should be on the saucepan. 17. We must watch it, and be careful to pass a knife round the sides of the saucepan, or the paste will stick. N.B. — Sailors add sliced potatoes to the pit when they can get them. 18. For serving, we carefully remove the crust, turn the -meat, vegetables, and gravy on to a hot dish, and place the trust over it 134 National Training School for Cookery. BOILED PIG'S HEAD (salted) WITH ONION SAUCE. Average cost of " Pig's Head" $d. or 6d. per lb. INGREDIENTS. For " Brawn." s. d. j a pig's head i 3 40 peppercorns 2 blades of mace ..... 4 cloves 12 allspice A bunch of herbs 2 large onions ) • For " Onion Sauce." d. 3 onions \\ 3 gills of milk 1^ i oz. of flour o^ \ oz. of butter "> , Pepper and salt j °^ si Time required (after salting) for boiling pigs head about two hours ; for making i?ito brawn, two hours. Now we will show you how to boil Pig's Head. 1. We take a pig's head, wash it thoroughly in plenty of tepid water. 2. We take out the brains and throw them away. 3. We cut out the little veins and all the splinters of bone. 4. We wash the head in all parts with plenty of salt, thoroughly cleansing it from blood. 5. We lay the head in pickle (see Pickle for Meat) for three days. 6. When the head is salted, we put it into a saucepan with cold water enough to cover it. 7. We put the saucepan on the fire to boil. 8. When it boils we draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and let it simmer gently for from one hour and a half to two hours, according to the size and age of the pig. N.B. — Boiled pig' s head is eaten with boiled rabbit, or with veal, or with onion sauce. N.B. — If preferred the pig's head can be made into brawn (see below). For making Onion Sauce, 9. We take three or four onions, peel them, and cut them in quarters. Lessons on Cooking Meat. — Pig's Head. 135 10. We put them into a saucepan with water enough to cover them. 11. We put the saucepan on the fire to boil until the o?iio7is are quite tender. 12. We then strain them off, throw the water away, put the onions on a board, and chop them up small. 13. We throw the onions into a saucepan with three gills (one gill is a quarter of a pint) of milk, put it on the fire, and let it come to the boil. 14. We put one ounce of flour into a basin and mix it with half an ounce of butter into a paste with a knife. 15. We stir this paste smoothly into the boiling milk and onions, and continue to stir it until it boils. 16. We season the sauce with pepper and salt to taste, and then move the saucepan to the side of the fire to keep warm till required for use. 17. We take a grater and grate some bread crumbs on to a plate. 18. We put the plate in the oven or in a Dutch oven to brown the bread crumbs. 19. When the pig s head is sufficiently boiled we take it out of the saucepan and put it on a hot dish. 20. We take out the tongue, skin it, and put it back on the dish with the head. 21. We sprinkle the browned bread crumbs over the pig's bead, and pour the onion sauce round it, or, if preferred, it may be served separately in a sauce boat. For making the pig's head into Brawn. 1. We salt and boil the pig's head in the same way as above from Note 1 to Note 8. 2. When the pig's head is sufficiently boiled we take it out of the saucepan and put it on a board. 3. We cut all the meat off the bones, and cut it into small pieces the shape of dice ; we also cut up the ear and the tongue (the tongue should be previously skinned). 136 National Training School for Cookery. 4. We put the bones back into the saucepan with a quart of the liquor (in which the head was boiled), forty pepper- corns, two blades of mace, four cloves, and twelve allspice. 5. We also add a bunch of herbs, namely, a sprig of marjoram, thyme, and two bay leaves tied tightly together. 6. We take tzvo onions, peel them, cut them in quarters, and put them into the saucepan. 7. We put the saucepan on the fire and let it come to the boil, we should remove the lid and let the liquor reduce for about half an hour. 8. After thai time we strain the liquor into a basin. 9. We pour one pint and a half of the strained liquor

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.