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Pig's Head, Roast
Take up a pig's head which has been already boiled until it is sufficiently tender to take out the bones. Shape it neatly, and skewer it firmly. Sprinkle over it some sage-leaves, finely powdered, and a little pepper and salt, and hang it before a clear fire. Baste it well whilst it is roasting. Serve on a hot dish, with a good gravy poured over it, and send apple sauce to table in a tureen. Time to roast, half an hour.
A two-stage dish: the head is boiled and boned first, then re-formed and roasted just long enough to brown and crisp. The instructions assume a spit or a bottle-jack in front of an open fire, which is the main thing to translate.
- The hinge: it is already cookedThe half-hour of roasting is for colour, crust and the sage flavour only — all the tenderising happened in the initial boil. If the head is not falling from the bone at that stage, no amount of roasting will fix it.
- Sourcing the headAsk a butcher for a head split into halves, with the brains removed and the ears and snout cleaned; whole heads are often special-order. A half head will usually weigh in the region of 4-5 lb, enough for a substantial main course for several people.
- The first boil, which the recipe omitsSimmer the head gently in salted water with an onion, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns for 2 to 3 hours, until the bones lift out clean. Skim as it comes up to the boil, and keep it at a bare tremble rather than a rolling boil so the skin stays intact.
- Shaping and skeweringBone the head while it is still warm and pliable, lay the meat and skin flat with the skin outermost, and roll or fold it into a neat oblong. Metal skewers or butcher's twine both work; press it under a weighted board for an hour if you want clean slices.
- "Hang it before a clear fire"A clear fire means one burned down past flame to steady radiant heat. In a modern oven, use 425F on a rack over a tray, turning once — the aim is the same, dry heat on the outside and no steaming.
- BastingSome of the head's fat renders out in the boil, so keep melted lard, dripping or the skimmed fat from the cooking liquor to hand and baste often, as the recipe directs. This is what gives the powdered sage something to adhere to.
- The gravyReduce the boiling liquor hard, skim it thoroughly, and thicken lightly; it will be gelatinous and needs no flour if reduced enough. Season late, as the cooking liquor concentrates its salt.
- ServingSlice across the roll so each portion carries skin and cheek meat (and tongue, if the tongue came with the head). Apple sauce in a tureen is not decoration — the fat here is considerable and needs the acid.
This is a lesson in economy rather than a showpiece: the head was the cheapest part of the pig and the one that most needed technique. Boiling to loosen the bones, then re-forming the meat inside its own skin, is the same manoeuvre that produces brawn and the French fromage de tête — the difference is that here the roll goes to the fire instead of into a mould to set in its jelly. The pairing of pork with sage and apple is long-standing in English cookery and is generally explained on the grounds that both cut richness, sage aromatically and apple with acid. Roasting before an open fire on a spit or clockwork bottle-jack persisted alongside the closed range, and recipes of the kind often give both methods.