Braised pig's head with black pudding and pumpkin

by Matt Gillan
Return to Recipe
Print
servings4
5 hours

Ingredients

Braised pig's head

  • 1 pig's head
  • 2l water
  • 140g of salt, plus extra for seasoning
  • 750ml of red wine
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 3 carrots, large dice
  • 1 celery, large dice
  • 1 leek, large dice
  • 2 large onions, large dice
  • 10g of pistachio nuts, chopped
  • 2 banana shallots, finely diced and mixed with lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp of tarragon, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp of grain mustard
  • 1 dash of lemon juice
  • 300ml of red wine beef jus

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

  • 100g of black pudding

Pumpkin seeds

  • 40g of pumpkin seeds
  • 100ml of vegetable oil

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
  • 2l water
  • 140g of salt
  • 1 pig's head
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
  • 750ml of red wine
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 leek
  • 2 large onions
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
  • 10g of pistachio nuts
  • 1 banana shallot
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
  • 2 tbsp of tarragon
  • 2 tbsp of grain mustard
  • 1 banana shallot
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