Whole Hog Head Results (and Pics)

bclarksicle

Following up on my thread from a few days back, decided to keep it pretty simple with the hog head. Rubbed the back (exposed) part of the head with my standard butt rub, gave the rest of the head a light coating of oil and good dusting of salt, some cayenne, and a little bit of standard rub. Basted it every few hours with a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar. Indirect, 275 dome til it was falling apart. In total, took about 8 or 9 hours. The cheek was measuring about 196, for what it's worth. 

Overall, it was delicious. Some areas of skin were a little tough, but the meat pulled easily off the bone and was really delicious. Took some time to find all the meat, but it's got a lot of variety. Lots of great cheek meet, jowls, and tongue. And the ears were crispy and delicious. It was good enough that I'll do it again at some point. Definitely a unique cook.

Rubbed and ready to go on the egg

Sweet dreams, little buddy!

Probably 2-3 hours in. Foiled the snout and ears at this point

The finished product

plated with brussels sprouts

The skull of success

jls9595

This. Is. Awesome.

DMW

I will be doing this. Where did you get the head? Custom butcher?

bclarksicle

I got it from a butcher shop as I was passing through Austin.

AD18

That is pretty neat.  Heard of it but never seen it done.  Great job!!!

Botch

Some future avatars in your post...  )

Mattman3969

Outstanding!! I love it even though it would never ever ever ever fly at my house :((

Greeno55

Oh wow!! That looks so creepy and delicious all at the same time.

berndcrisp

Beautiful and bizarre. I don't think I would be up to doing such an item. The most unique cook I've seen here.

You can use the carcass for stock!

yzzi

My wife would flip. Will have to plan a guys night I guess... How much did you pay for the head?

bclarksicle

$25

Carolina Q

The finished meat looks a lot like butt. I think I'll stick with that. The head just looks, well, grotesque.

And served with Brussels sprouts? 

)

Terrebandit

Never seen that before. Thanks

EggAg99

Haven't posted in a long time or much ever to be honest. But this causes me to log in. This post rivals Hapster

Mickey

Very good post. I have been wanting to try just that. Very good photos. Now I don't think I will. Really, thank you.

Carolina Q

Mickey said:

Now I don't think I will.

)  ) )

Mickey

bclarksicle please don't take what I said the wrong way. I am saying your post was so good now I don't have to try it. I have to sleep tonight thinking about it, but a whole different problem.

bclarksicle

Ha, not too many nose to tail eaters on here, huh? You're missing out.

texbagger

Can't outdo that cook. simply amazing you would even try it.  My hat is off to you sir, for your bravery and to go where most men will not!  BRAVO!!!!

caliking

Macabre, but **** awesome!! Bravo!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Fantastic. Great work. Who ate the eyeballs?

bclarksicle

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Fantastic. Great work. Who ate the eyeballs?

They didn't appear to be in edible shape after the cook. I was a little bummed.

hapster

bclarksicle said:

Ha, not too many nose to tail eaters on here, huh? You're missing out.

Not true... I love scrapple and hotdogs

gdenby

Hogs heads are great cooks.

I did one maybe 2 years ago. I have medium Eggs, and getting the head to fit was difficult. The head was sitting in the drip pan, and enough fat rendered that I had to spoon it out so it didn't overflow. Towards the end, even tho' the dome read just 210, the head was cooking in its own simmering fat. Didn't really know where to probe to take the temperature, but when I saw bubbles and steam coming out the hole between the eyes, I figured it was done.

My wife was initially grossed out by the project, and would not look at the head till I removed the eyes. But when I brought it into the house, the aroma was like cooked bacon times ten. Between me, the wife, and my son, all the easy to get meat, such as the cheeks, was gone in less than 10 min. It was the most sumptuous pork I had ever had, and as my son finished off his third plate, he remarked "This is what steak aspires to be!"

I got it from a special butcher shop. It was certainly fresh, as the markings on the package from the farm indicated the head was set aside for me the day after I ordered it. I'm sure the pig was very high quality, but from what I've read, it would have cost half as much in a larger city. Like bclarcksicle, I too picked every morsel of meat of the skull. I've since found a butcher that will sell me a case of cheeks, so I'll probably get some of those this summer.

TexanOfTheNorth

Was thinking of doing a ham for Easter but may just go this route instead!

Mickey

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Was thinking of doing a ham for Easter but may just go this route instead!

how about several bunny heads )

All in jest my friend. But I was wanting to try that till his post......

TexanOfTheNorth

Mickey said:

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Was thinking of doing a ham for Easter but may just go this route instead!

how about several bunny heads )

All in jest my friend. But I was wanting to try that till his post......

I can't even get Mrs. TOTN to let me use rabbit in paella and, when I showed her the pics at the top of this thread, my Easter cook idea was quickly shot down. Not to mention the fact that my in-laws would probably never come to eat with us again if I brought a hog's head in from the egg!

Needless to say, we're back to ham! 

brentsee

bclarksicle said:

Ha, not too many nose to tail eaters on here, huh? You're missing out.

No offence, but I could not do that.  I'm sure it was good.  I will stick to hot dogs cause they don't look at you while you eat them.

bclarksicle

brentsee said:

bclarksicle said:

Ha, not too many nose to tail eaters on here, huh? You're missing out.

No offence, but I could not do that.  I'm sure it was good.  I will stick to hot dogs cause they don't look at you while you eat them.

I definitely understand where you're coming from, but I suppose it's a matter of personal preference and perhaps culture. We have good friends that are from India, and vegetarians. Nothing is more "macabre" or disgusting to them than seeing a giant stack of rib bones.  Or eating the hind quarter of a pig. To us, it's just good eating. 

Hog head is more common in some Latin and South American cultures...you can even find whole hog head at some Mexican grocery stores.

Obviously a full head is more recognizable as an animal than a rack of ribs is. I get it. But if you can get past that, you realize how great the meat is. The fat was similar to bacon fat, and the head had both a light and dark meat. Some tasted more like pork butt, some even had a brisket-like texture. 

Also, you can get great value. I paid $25 for the 15 pound head. My family of 5 ate all we could and still had 2 pounds of meat left over, not to mention a 5 pound skull for stock and a bag full of skin to use in stocks/soups/veggies/etc. 

Lastly, I bought mine from a sustainable butcher shop that buys from local farmers. I chatted one of the farmers up recently...he struggles to profitably sell the entire animal. Restaurants can be great customers, but they only want specific cuts. Frequently just the sexy cuts like steaks/chops/brisket/butts/ribs. Difficult to actually turn a profit on the whole thing if you can't unload all the odd bits. So I guess in some very small way, it helps out the guy actually raising the animal.

I realize most people will not share my views, but it's a really fun cook, and a nice break from the typical bbq fare. 

Dyal_SC

Ahhhmazing!! In Belks with the wife right now so I'm surfing the forum while she pops tags. She came out of the dressing room just then and I showed her the pic of the head on the egg. She said, "omg, I'm horrified!" ) I think it looks delicious!!

TexanOfTheNorth

@bclarksicle... I dropped by a local butcher shop yesterday to ask about getting a hog's head. He's checking with his pork supplier and is going to let me know. He asked about the brain so, I'm asking you... was the brain in the head you did. If so, did you eat it?