Head Cheese (Souse)

Rinse the split half pig head and pork trotters under cold running water for 5 minutes to wash away residual bone fragments and surface blood. Place all meat in a 10L (10 quart) stainless steel stockpot, add the quartered onion, chopped carrots, celery, crushed garlic, black peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice berries, mustard seeds, and 1 tablespoon (15g) of kosher salt. Pour 3.8L (16 cups) of cold water into the pot to submerge all ingredients by 2.5cm (1 inch). Heat over medium-high heat until the water reaches a rolling boil, then immediately reduce heat to low to maintain a gentle, bare simmer with only tiny bubbles breaking the surface.

Keep the pot uncovered at low heat, skimming any gray foamy scum that rises to the surface with a slotted spoon every 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking. Continue simmering for a total of 3 hours, until the meat is extremely tender and pulls easily away from skull and trotter bones when prodded with a fork. Add 120ml (1/2 cup) increments of boiling water as needed if the liquid level drops below the top of the meat during cooking; do not allow the pot to boil rapidly, as this will cloud the stock and create a muddy finished texture.

Once the meat is tender, use tongs to carefully transfer the pig head and trotters to a large cutting board to cool for 20 minutes, until cool enough to handle comfortably. Line a fine-mesh sieve with 2 layers of cheesecloth and set it over a large heatproof bowl, then pour all remaining cooking stock through the sieve to strain out vegetables and spices; you should have approximately 1.2L (5 cups) of clear, pale golden stock. Discard the strained solids. When the meat is cool, pick all edible meat, soft skin, and tender connective tissue from the bones, discarding hard cartilage, bone fragments, and any thick, hard fat chunks. Tear or cut the collected meat into 1.2cm (1/2 inch) pieces.

Pour the strained stock into a clean medium saucepan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15g) of kosher salt, white vinegar, diced pickled gherkins, and chopped parsley. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then stir in the cut pork pieces, mixing thoroughly to distribute all ingredients evenly. Taste the liquid and adjust salt if needed—it should taste slightly over-seasoned and tangy, as the flavor will mellow significantly when chilled. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat to meld the flavors together.

Remove the saucepan from heat. Ladle the meat and stock mixture evenly into a 23cm x 13cm (9x5 inch) glass loaf pan, pressing the meat down firmly with the back of a spoon so all pieces are fully submerged under the stock (the natural gelatin from the trotters will set the loaf as it chills). Let the pan cool to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours (overnight), until the loaf is completely firm and jellied, with no liquid sloshing when the pan is gently jiggled.

Once fully set, run a thin, sharp knife around the entire inner edge of the loaf pan to loosen the head cheese. Dip the bottom 5cm (2 inches) of the pan in warm tap water for 10 seconds to loosen the jellied base, then invert the pan onto a clean cutting board, tapping the bottom firmly to release the firm, jellied loaf. Slice into 6mm (1/4 inch) thick slices, and serve cold.