Pigs head roasted.

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Hit a snag  here. They my butcher shop get the big pigs headless.Some sort issue about cross contamination from nose & having to pay by total weight.  They get the jowls in by the box cheaper in the long run.My butcher gets the little guys whole ,so I can cook a couple of little heads with zero prospect of company for dinner. Or keep looking.

My guy will give me the heads of the little guys.

There is a really highly regarded restaurant here that does a lot of nose to tail,if you order ahead you can get whole pigs head roasted. I will have to keep looking.
 
 
Good luck in your search!   I've had trouble with the big pig heads too.....lots of small pig farmers in the area willing to provide the heads, but I can't get the butchers to saw the heads in half (they say it dulls their saws too quickly).  An entire big pig head weighs about 15 lbs and is hard for me to manage as the weight of the head + water to cover in a stockpot is too heavy for me to shift off the stove without a struggle.  Easier to debone the head. 

Sorry that Butcher's Daughter is still sick....hope you are keeping in good health!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Clarissa
 
I remember watching Anthony bourdaine in Puerto Rico and he went to a bunch of places that cooked roast pig and he was just rapturous when he was chowing down on little crispy bits from the face....the jowls , the snout. Said it was like the best bacon ever! I have been to one pig roast in my life and it really was amazing. Every part of that beast tasted like heaven. Good luck in your quest.
 
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Good luck in your search!   I've had trouble with the big pig heads too.....lots of small pig farmers in the area willing to provide the heads, but I can't get the butchers to saw the heads in half (they say it dulls their saws too quickly).  An entire big pig head weighs about 15 lbs and is hard for me to manage as the weight of the head + water to cover in a stockpot is too heavy for me to shift off the stove without a struggle.  Easier to debone the head. 

Sorry that Butcher's Daughter is still sick....hope you are keeping in good health!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Clarissa
Clarissa - Mick,

To resolve the pig head problem, secure the large one. Go to the local hardware store and purchase a saw. Sterilize it then proceed as shown below.

Picture+13.png
 
Clarissa - Mick,

To resolve the pig head problem, secure the large one. Go to the local hardware store and purchase a saw. Sterilize it then proceed as shown below.

Picture+13.png
Is that your wife?  What a woman!

And that expression on her face is priceless!
 
Is that your wife?  What a woman!

And that expression on her face is priceless!
No, that's not my wife. If my wife would have been present at this "Halving" ceremony, she would have fainted and been on the floor earlier. More likely, she would have refused to be present. She's a bit squeamish.
 
Clarissa - Mick,

To resolve the pig head problem, secure the large one. Go to the local hardware store and purchase a saw. Sterilize it then proceed as shown below.

Picture+13.png
I use a large cleaver to split my heads and this is done after the cook.  They split very easily.

Tom
 
I think I will do the heads of suckling pigs as a warm up. My butcher brings them from his own farm,cuts them all up marinates them then sells them as mixed cuts.He has been throwing heads out.That Babe movie has had an effect!
Won't be that much meat but a head should be a portion.
That's a hell of a saw that lady has.Sort of domestic goddess but the warrior version!
 
I remember watching Anthony bourdaine in Puerto Rico and he went to a bunch of places that cooked roast pig and he was just rapturous when he was chowing down on little crispy bits from the face....the jowls , the snout. Said it was like the best bacon ever! I have been to one pig roast in my life and it really was amazing. Every part of that beast tasted like heaven. Good luck in your quest.
I do like Anthony Bourdain ,he has the hardest working liver in TV. Both he & Rick Stein did a segment on a famous pig roast joint in Bali. Whole pigs spit roasted over a fire of coconut husks. They do some stupid amount of portions a day. Theres a rub that goes on them thats got fresh turmeric,ginger ,garlic,chilli & bits.

Bali very popular with Aussies ,close ,cheap good surf & cheap booze. Never got there myself ,got a bit of a Cancun feel unless you get away from the crowds.
 
Good luck in your search!   I've had trouble with the big pig heads too.....lots of small pig farmers in the area willing to provide the heads, but I can't get the butchers to saw the heads in half (they say it dulls their saws too quickly).  An entire big pig head weighs about 15 lbs and is hard for me to manage as the weight of the head + water to cover in a stockpot is too heavy for me to shift off the stove without a struggle.  Easier to debone the head. 

Sorry that Butcher's Daughter is still sick....hope you are keeping in good health!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Clarissa
Heads are heavy part of the reason the butchers dont want the charge per kilo carcass weight.

Butchers daughter coming good.One of those nasty flu stains that just flatten you.

I think the head of a 10kg suckling pig would be a meal for one.I would still halve it just need a big plate to serve it on.

Tempted to do a whole pig soon with those Balinese flavours just for something different.
 
Balinese "babi guling" starting to look more like the next adventure.I will woodfire oven it not spit roast but keep the rest of the formula the same.
 
 
Suckling pig delivery tomorrow. Butcher cuts it all into portions then marinates it. I can have the heads for free . Figure I might as well take whats there if its only going into the bin. I dont know how many heads to a plate. I figure if I  cook 4 halves I may have some takers for the leftovers.


Butchers daughter has indicated that some things are not for sharing.
 
Suckling pig delivery tomorrow. Butcher cuts it all into portions then marinates it. I can have the heads for free . Figure I might as well take whats there if its only going into the bin. I dont know how many heads to a plate. I figure if I  cook 4 halves I may have some takers for the leftovers.

Butchers daughter has indicated that some things are not for sharing.
I do i do.. I want a half piggie head! Cant wait to see em Mick!
 
Suckling pig delivery tomorrow. Butcher cuts it all into portions then marinates it. I can have the heads for free . Figure I might as well take whats there if its only going into the bin. I dont know how many heads to a plate. I figure if I  cook 4 halves I may have some takers for the leftovers.

Butchers daughter has indicated that some things are not for sharing.

I can't wait to see how this comes out! If I lived in your area, I'd be hanging out with the pups on the sofa, just waiting for dinner!
 
I am running down to the weekender now that its spring here & the fishing should start picking up.

I will freeze the heads,the boys at the butchers will run them through the band saw for me. I will keep this dish  on the apple cider path. 

I will do a whole pig but not any bigger than 10kg or so. I do think the Balinese style with those flavours of turmeric,lemon grass etc is worth a shot. Never been to Bali myself but I have input from friends who go every year.Going to use coconut  in the baste.Just need that Anthony Bourdain episode on Bali to be repeated on TV.
 
 
Balinese "babi guling" starting to look more like the next adventure.I will woodfire oven it not spit roast but keep the rest of the formula the same.
 
Mick, if you're doing Babi Guling, which seems to be the National dish of Bali, I'm all in. I've never attempted to make it, but I've eaten several times in years past at the roadside shacks/stalls known as warungs in and around Ubud including Ibu Oka where the Bourdain video was shot. Also in the Jimbaran Bay area. I love pork, and it's easily the pork dish I've ever eaten.

It's interesting watching them make it with one guy slowly and constantly rotating the turmeric coated and seasoned pig on a spit and another guy constantly basting it with coconut water. A typical plate consists of a mix of meat from the pig plus some skin. The meat is outstanding but the skin is the star of the show. It's like crispy spiced pork flatbread. Another great thing was that the full meal, which also included a pork broth, rice, beans, raw vegetables, plus a cold Heineken or local beer, had an average price of around $3USD.

I'm looking forward to following your journey
 
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