Any advice on cooking a whole pig head?

gdenby · July 2012

Hi, all,

Anyone cook a whole hog head, or a head as part of a whole hog? Or go to a whole hog roast?

I found a place that sells whole heads. I thought it looked like the head had the eyes removed. I ordered one. The eyes are still in it. I'm finding different instructions. Some say remove the eyes (and the brain,) Other say just roast the whole thing. The folks at the shop asked me what I intended to do w. the head, and I said "Just stick it on my BGE." They responded "That'll work just fine. Nose up, give it about 8 hours."

But I don't know if it is one of those things that is just understood by most. "Well, of course you remove the eye..." Or, is it just a matter of style?

And pointers much appreciated.

xraypat23 · July 2012

yea, i cooked one along side a brisket i was doing in my weber 26.75 because the whole hog was too big to fit in my caja china. Pretty sure i cooked it at least 6hrs at 300, nice and tender cheek meat...good eats!

GA_Dawgs · July 2012

You should be able to cook the whole head without removing anything. Some people enjoy eyeballs and brains so if you have any adventurous eaters you can offer it to them. Like xray said, the jowl meat is going to be incredible, one of my favorite cuts of meat on any animal!

Pig tongue will be interesting. Let us know how it turns out!

Aviator · July 2012

there is something about a head on any animal or fish on a plate looking at you....

:-O

BigGreenBamaGriller · July 2012

My advice would be to return the head, or throw it out. That's disgusting... Have a nice day

MikeP624 · July 2012

There is a restaurant here in Chicago that has a dish called "pig face". They take the tongue and meat of the face and roll it together and braise it for a few hours. Then cook it in a wood burning oven to crisp it up. It is pretty amazing.

Browninggold · July 2012

I would say just leave the eyes in. Put toothpicks in and pluck out and put some hot sauce on them and munch away MMMmmmm.....

apphunter · July 2012

I've always wanted to try making my own headcheese. I will have to see if I can find a local butcher that sells pig heads

gdenby · July 2012

My advice would be to return the head, or throw it out. That's disgusting... Have a nice day

Hope I didn't offend. Growing up w. czenina and kiszka, my question was really just aimed at finding out if something needed to be cut out, so as not to mess up the flavor.

LizzieSamps · July 2012

Interesting, pics of this will be well interesting! Good luck!

gdenby · July 2012

You should be able to cook the whole head without removing anything. Some people enjoy eyeballs and brains so if you have any adventurous eaters you can offer it to them. Like xray said, the jowl meat is going to be incredible, one of my favorite cuts of meat on any animal!

Pig tongue will be interesting. Let us know how it turns out!

Thanjs, I think this will be good.

Yes, it appears that what to do w.the eyeballs is mostly a matter of preference. The tongue was removed. FWIW, I've bought a half hogs a few years ago, and because no one wanted the tongues, the farmer gave me several. I cooked them like I do beef tongue. But because they are relatively small, once I had sliced away the outer coating (whatever that is called) there was not much meat left.

When I get tongue cooked right, it is just as tender as bologna, but way more succulent. Very, very rich.

BBQBeerman · July 2012

Your cooking the wrong end of a pig

nolaegghead · July 2012

Unfortunately, I also eat with my eyes. But that's just me.

smokesniffer · July 2012

Good Luck and enjoy it. I don't think I could do that. Even if I did, I would be eating alone. :)

BigGreenBamaGriller · July 2012

My advice would be to return the head, or throw it out. That's disgusting... Have a nice day

Hope I didn't offend. Growing up w. czenina and kiszka, my question was really just aimed at finding out if something needed to be cut out, so as not to mess up the flavor.

Haha, no offense man. If I had a problem with pig, I'm definitely in the wrong place. Pig head just isn't my cup o' tea!

Hope you enjoy your head though.

FanOfFanboys · July 2012

Unfortunately, I also eat with my eyes. But that's just me.

this made me lol

I would try an eye, but not the brain.

billybon · July 2012

If it was me, I would make porchetta di testa. You bone out the head, cure, season, roll and cook. The end product is amazing.

Duganboy · July 2012

Don't would be my best advice.

billybon · July 2012

Here is a good link to a video on making the porchetta di Testa:

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

Way to bring it Billybon!

Love it.

Looks awesome (and medieval)

The Cen-Tex Smoker · July 2012

I love cheek meat. So good. i would do a whole head just to get the jowl.

Congrats to you for finding something out of the ordinary and giving it a rip. Love it

gdenby · July 2012

Took the eyes out this morning. Just for aesthetics. Hmm. Empty sockets... Think I'll pin the ears over them so my dear wife doesn't get grossed out.

FWIW, they were a lot harder to remove than I thought they might. I supposed they might just pop out, and tried sliding a small spoon in. Not a chance. Ended up using one of my very sharp and pointed wood carving knives to slice around the socket. And then used a wire cutter to sever the optic nerve. Managed to get them out clean.

Will try to post about the cook after tomorrow.

billybon · July 2012

Will try to post about the cook after tomorrow.

Where are the pictures?

xraypat23 · July 2012

the eyes usually just pop anyways, at least most times I've cooked them

gdenby · July 2012

Posted that day. Here's the URL:

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1141593/whole-pigs-head-on-a-medium#latest

I didn't get more than a few pics. We did, in fact, go into a bit of a feeding frenzy. My wife actually gasped when she took one particular bite.

Quick set up for a medium Egg: grill on the fire ring. 2 fire brick splits flat on the grill. Head wedged into a pan that just fits. Cook for 7 hours, w. temps starting at 200 dome, and finishing at 275. Spoon fat from pan during the cook.

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