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Pig head, part 1

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Watching lots of Anthony Bourdain will definitely give you a hankering for some odd cuts, so here's the first in what will hopefully be a series of snout-to-tail classics.

Cute ain't he? Well, not for long...
Researching how to go about this, I found this very useful video. I basically copied his technique for boning and curing. Here is the head midway through the boning process.
I'll ruin those good looks!
Basically, you gently pull the meat away from the bone and scrape at the connective tissue, with the tip of your knife, keeping it right up against and angled towards the bone. It's actually surprisingly easy; observe my successful yet amateur effort:


Those cheeks are much thicker with meat than they appear, and the ~5pound weight of the entire head is surprisingly about 40% flesh. And the head will make killer stock.

Per the instructions, I laid the meat flat and liberally covered it with salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon zest and juice, and in place of rosemary, fresh parsley. Included inside will be the tongue and what I think were sweetbreads from the back of the head (meaty dangly things at any rate)


Part 2.
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