Work is a bit slack at the moment so I've been taking advantage of the extra time to eat, and watch cookery programmes on iPlayer or 4oD. Along with the various televisual offerings of Mr Fearnley Whittingstall. One of these was a series called 'Kill it Cook it Eat it'. The most recent series dealt with fast food, with each episode exploring how a different animal was used for food. One programme showed a pig's head being cooked and turned into Brawn. I watched it and then it disappeared into the back of my head ready to be dragged forth when needed.
A few weeks later a friend visited Wolverhampton from the wilds of Shropshire for a look at The Sales. We ended up down the Market. The Market is in a part of town I've not been to for a while. Which is strange, as Wolverhampton isn't that big, but think about your own town. I'm sure there are bits you haven't visited in a while.
Whilst she perused the fabric stalls I took a wander down to the Butchers end of the market with the vague idea that there used to be a game dealer and I might pick up a brace of Pheasant. Or maybe a rabbit. There wasn't any Pheasant, there were some Rabbits, but they were £3.99 which seemed a bit expensive for something we used to get for free.
Lord of the Flies
There were Pigs heads sitting on the counters of some of the Butchers though. Well, not on the Halal butchers stalls. The episode of 'Kill it cook it eat it' I'd Idly watched came back to me. I'd not thought I'd be able to get a pig's head without a lot of hassle, as I do most of my shopping in Tesco's. Having seen them available I thought it might be nice to give cooking a pigs head a go one day. It wasn't the day to be buying A pig's head though. I'd got stuff to do and I didn't want to be carrying one around with me whilst continuing shopping with my formerly Vegan, now Vegetarian pal.
Over the course of the next week, on the days I had time, I popped into the market. Only to be disappointed with a complete lack of Pig's heads. One of the days I was told:
"I had ten, but 'The Chinese' nabbed them all this morning."
Substitute.
This is how I ended up getting some Trotters instead - 80p for four. If I couldn't have a head I'd have some feet instead. Obviously I was all prepared for Head (fnarr) and not for feet. So:
"TO THE INTERNETS!"
The Internet is great. If there's something you don't know about, and want to find out about, you can be sure there's information out there somewhere. The quality of that information is admittedly variable and depending on the subject it might take more or less time to find. As I needed information quickly my search was a bit slipshod and I ended up using this recipe for an Irish Dish called Crubeens. Basically you boil the trotters in water with some herbs, spices and some veggies. How hard can that be?
In the pan.
There is a bit of preparation. It's better if you wash them and remove any hairs that are still clinging to them. So I've already bought a pack of razors from the pound shop ready for the pigs head. I don't shave my own face, but give me a bit of pork and I'm happy to be a pig barber. Singeing them off is another technique you can use. If you've got a blow lamp. I don't have a blow lamp, but I do have a gas soldering iron. I couldn't find it that day. Being of a practical bent and always willing to improvise I tried using my camping stove. It worked quite well, but as you have to hold the two big toes open to get at the hairs between them I couldn't achieve that without the risk of burning myself. Plus there is the smell of Singeing hair. Ah well I thought. I can cut that bit off later. Now it's just a matter of waiting 3 hours whilst the trotters simmer away on the stove.
Pig Barber.
This is what you want? This is what you get
Eventually it's time to lift these bad boys out of the pan and onto a plate. It looks like a pile of land mine victims feet. The skin and flesh has softened in the hot bath and something in the joints has given way. I assume some other part of the foot's anatomy has shrunk in the heat and caused the joint to bend popping the bones through the softened flesh. The boiling hasn't added any real colour to the feet as roasting or frying might of. So it's a messy plateful of various shades of beige and grey with bone yellow.
To be honest not the most appetising looking repast.
Plated up (or dumped on a plate)
There's also the smell that'd been developing during the cooking process. It's not an unpleasant smell. It's not a nasty smell, but it's not anywhere near any of the great cooking smells. Like frying bacon or onions from a hot dog stall. It's difficult to describe and was partially masked by the onion studded with cloves. There was part of me that suspected the onion and cloves had nothing to do with the flavour of the dish, but was there to act as a pomander during cooking. I think it's probably just a smell I'm not used to. Like how people used to say garlic or curry stank, because they were foreign odours, before they became part of standard British food.
I'd got this far, why back down now? The trotters fell apart under the knife and fork. The skin was soft, slightly chewy and reasonably tasty, but there was very little meat on the feet. About a finger sized piece on each one. Literally that much. The rest of the foot consists of fat and gelatinous stuff, tendons? Connective tissue? I don't know. Whatever it is there wasn't masses of flavour. Even with the Onion, Cloves and Bay leaves. It had a succulent texture though. Actually quite pleasing to eat. After a while I gave up on the knife and fork and just started picking the bones out and spitting bits of bone, or pieces that were too chewy into the bin. I managed to munch my way through two and a half trotters before feeling full enough to give up. I picked the flesh from the last trotter and a half to try a trotter terrine. Though that's something for another time.
The aftermath.
So...
...was it nice and would I do it again? Let's say it was 'OK'. The texture is rather pleasant to eat, and I do like 'eating it with your fingers type food', but the lack of a full on taste left something to be desired. I'm guessing that I probably didn't cook them in the best way and that there are other recipes for pigs trotters. I'll have another more thorough search around the 'net and give them another go. 80p for a goodly quantity of potential food isn't to be sneezed at. I say potential food, as I'm not convinced I turned them into food, well not good food anyway. At least I've given them a go. Although I probably haven't enthused the reader into trying them. Not unless you like a challenge and think you can do something better with them.
If anyone has got any pointers on cooking Pigs Feet they'll be gratefully received.
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