Braised pig's head with black pudding and pumpkin

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A pig's head is braised, crumbed and fried in this rustic pig's head recipe from Matt Gillan. Served with black pudding and a pumpkin remoulade, this hearty dish is full of robust flavours and textures to keep any meat-lover happy.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Braised pig's head

Crumb for frying

  • 200g of plain flour
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 200g of breadcrumbs

Pumpkin

  • 200g of pumpkin
  • 1 tbsp of tarragon, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp pumpkin seed oil
  • 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
  • salt

Black pudding

Pumpkin seeds

Equipment

  • Deep fat fryer

Method

1
Mix the water and salt together to form a brine and pour over the pig's head. Leave refrigerated for 24 hours. Remove the head from the brine and rinse thoroughly under cold water
2
Place the pig's head into a large pan with the red wine, stock cube, carrots, leek, celery and onion. Cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 3-6 hours until tender
3
Remove the head from the liquid and cut off the snout. Cut in half and reserve. Peel the skin and fat away from the head. Remove the back jaw bone muscle and reserve
4
Peel away the white cheek meat and lay down on cling film. Remove the long jaw muscle and shred into a bowl. Combine and mix with the pistachios and half the shallots
5
Season and place the mix on the white meat and roll tightly in the cling film to form a sausage shape
6
Pick all remaining meat from the head and place into a bowl. Add the tarragon, mustard and remaining shallots. Mix well and season to taste. Shape into 20g balls/fritters and refrigerate to set
7
Prepare the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs for coating. Roll the balls in first the flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs, evenly
  • 200g of plain flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 200g of breadcrumbs
8
Heat a deep-fat fryer to 180˚C and preheat the oven to 170˚C/gas mark 3. Remove the ears. Scrape the skin away from the cartilage, keeping as much intact as possible
9
Heat the red wine sauce in a pan. Place the snout and jaw muscle in the sauce and warm through gently. Place the white cheek meat, wrapped in cling film, into a pan of hot water to warm through.
  • 300ml of red wine beef jus
10
Meanwhile, prepare the remoulade. Lightly salt the pumpkin and leave for 10 minutes to soften. Squeeze out any excess liquid and mix with the mayonnaise, tarragon and the oil
  • 200g of pumpkin
  • 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp of tarragon
  • 1 tsp pumpkin seed oil
11
Slice the black pudding into ½ cm thick slices. Fry the black pudding on both sides in a hot pan with a little oil until crispy. Drain of some absorbent kitchen towel and keep in a warm place
12
Lastly, deep-fry the balls for 3 minutes until golden in colour and crisp. Drain on absorbent kitchen towel and season with salt
13
For the pumpkin seeds, heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Carefully add the pumpkin seeds and fry until crispy. Drain thoroughly and season with salt
14
To plate, place the hot black pudding in the centre, followed by a quenelle of pumpkin remoulade. Place the hot pig's snout, cheek and fritter alongside followed by the crispy pig's ear and a drizzle of the red wine sauce. Scatter the pumpkin seeds around the plate to finish
First published in 2015

A protégé of Daniel Clifford, Gordon Ramsay and John Campbell, Matt Gillan is well versed in the hallmarks of high-end cuisine, yet he retains a dazzling streak of originality.

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