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Baked Pigs' Ears
The cartilaginous nature of pigs' ears--while it is a serious drawback to their transformation into "silk purses" --makes them a desirable article of food.
Singe off the hair, then scrape and blanch 6 or more pigs' ears; when cold, put them into warm butter, then cover thickly with bread crumbs; dip into well-beaten egg yolks, and again cover with crumbs.
Place in a baking-dish and bake moderately till done and slightly browned. Arrange on a hot dish, pour remoulade sauce over them, and serve.
A period recipe for a cut that has largely vanished from Anglo-American cooking but is still sold at Chinese, Mexican and Southern markets. The instructions assume you know that pigs' ears must be fully tender before they are ever breaded.
- Blanching is really long simmering"Blanch" here does not mean a brief dip. Pigs' ears are almost entirely cartilage and collagen and need 1½ to 2½ hours at a bare simmer, with aromatics, until a knife passes through the thick base with no resistance. Undercooked ears bake into something inedibly rubbery no matter how well crumbed.
- Cool them flat and weightedThe recipe says "when cold" for a reason: warm ears are floppy and will not hold a coating. Press them flat between two trays with a light weight as they chill, which also makes them easier to cut and serve.
- "Warm butter" means melted, not hotButter just liquid enough to coat, around body temperature.
- Oven temperature"Bake moderately" is usually taken as somewhere around 350-375F. Bake until the crust is a solid brown; the ears themselves are already cooked, so you are only crisping. A brush or drizzle of extra butter partway through helps colour.
- Egg yolks aloneYolks alone give a richer, deeper-browning coat than whole egg but are stiffer to work with. Loosen with a teaspoon of water or cream per yolk if it drags the crumbs.
- SingeingEars may still carry stubble along the outer edge. A gas flame or a kitchen torch, then a scrape with a knife under running water, deals with it.
- RemouladeBy the later nineteenth century remoulade generally meant a mayonnaise sharpened with mustard, capers, anchovy and herbs, served cold, though the name had also covered simpler mustard-and-vinegar sauces. Spooned over hot ears it loosens rather than melts; it can also be served alongside so the crust stays crisp.
- YieldSix ears serve three or four as a course, or six as an appetiser if cut into strips after baking.