I roasted half our pig's head (following
these directions) for Christmas eve dinner. (Thanks to the butchers for cleaning most of the hair and bristle off, and washing in the ear hole.)
BB declared weeks prior that she wouldn't eat a single bite, and yet I think she enjoyed herself!
The process took awhile (over three hours), which gave me time to take pictures of the baby up to her mischief.
Drew tried to Google pig head carving, but there just isn't a lot out there on the subject.
The pig cheek meat was excellently tender and moist, as was some of the darker meat from ? part of the head. My favorite – and BB's – was the tongue, which was like a really dense pork chop; Drew's favorite was some part from the neck; and G's prized mouthful was the eye. Interestingly, I think we may have also found a part of intact brain, which was wonderfully creamy like a smooth cheese. (If we get a second pig head, I might venture on pig brain and scrambled eggs.)
This was a super rich meal (balanced out with mashed potatoes and broccoli). We may have wasted some tasty parts – e.g. I didn't have the space to make broth from the bones –, though we ventured to eat most of what wasn't obviously fat. Unfortunately, most of the skin was baked to a teeth-breaking crisp, which practically ruined the ear, nearly the whole point in getting the head in the first place. Next time I think I'll remove the ear and prepare it separately, and bake the rest at the higher temp for less time so the skin won't get so hard.
