Porchetta di testa
As committed nose to tail eaters, we were delighted to discover porchetta di testa soon after arriving at Jonai Farms. A respectful and delicious way to use the whole head and acknowledge the living animal whose life we’ve taken for ours, the process starts by carefully skinning the head. Once pressed, the thin porchetta slices have the most beautiful patterns from the ear’s cartilage in them – very pretty on the plate with a selection of pickles!
Ingredients
Pastured pig’s head
Salt & freshly ground pepper
Seasonal herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley…), chopped
Local garlic, chopped
Method
Remove the tongue, tidy it up & set aside. Clean the head and shave any remaining hairs – check inside the ears for waxy dirt.
Carefully skin the pig’s head starting from underneath the chin, taking care not to pierce the skin. Also take care to bone out the cheeks with the skin, leaving them intact. Clean up any bits of cartilage, etc, that may have remained attached to the skin.
Tuck the ears through the eye holes and lay the skin out inside facing up. Sprinkle with herbs & garlic, then salt & freshly ground pepper. Lay the tongue in the centre & roll carefully, tucking any long bits into the inside of the snout. Tie firmly in several places.
Place in a roasting dish with a shallow pour of white wine and some roasting vegetables, cover tightly with aluminium foil. Braise in a very low oven (110C) for at least 8 hours.
When you remove the porchetta from the oven, you can either weigh it down and refrigerate for 24 hours before slicing very thinly for charcuterie, or slice and serve warm.
Porchetta di testa goes well with pickles, mustard, chutney & similar, as the acid and or spice cuts through the beautiful fattiness well.
