Pig Feet Loaf, whole and sliced
(click to enlarge)

Pig Feet Loaf


Poland

Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
4-1/2 #
***
8 hrs
Must
An fine appetizer to serve with condiments. Many Americans shrink at eating pig feet. Fine with we who love them - it keeps the price low.

4-1/2
3
10
1/2
3
3
2
1/2
7
7
4
1/2
2

#
#
oz
T
oz

cl
in



T
T

Pig Feet(1)
Hocks, fresh (2)  
Onion
Oil
Celery
Parsley Sprig
Garlic
Ginger root
Peppercorns
Allspice, whole
Bay Leaves
Salt
Vinegar (3)

Make   -   (8 hrs - 1-1/4 hr work)
  1. Wash PIG FEET and HOCKS. Examine feet for any hairs. If there are some, blast them off with your Kitchen Torch.
  2. Pack Feet and Hocks snuggly into a pot. You'll need at least an 8 quart pot here, as they will expand some. Fill with enough water to cover well and bring to a boil over high heat.
  3. When the pot comes to a full boil, let boil 4 minutes, then pour it all out into the sink.
  4. Clean the pot. Rinse the Feet and Hocks, remove any loose bones and pack back into the pot. Fill with water to cover and bring back to a full boil, then turn down to a simmer and simmer for 3 hours.
  5. While the pot is coming to a boil, chop ONIONS medium. Put in a skillet with Oil and fry stirring until light golden. Scrape into the pot.
  6. Chop CELERY coarse, Chop PARSLEY very coarse. Crush GARLIC, slice GINGER thin. Add all to the pot along with Peppercorns, Allspice, Bay Leaves and Salt.
  7. When the pot has simmered 3 hours, use tongs to fish out all the Feet and Hocks.
  8. Strain Liquid and use your gravy separator to remove all the fat. Put back on the stove (in a smaller pot) and bring to a high simmer to reduce to about 2/3 its volume.
  9. Meanwhile, debone Feet and Hocks. There is no delicate way to do this, just get your hands into the job and get it done. Try to get all the tiny bones out because they can interfere with slicing your loaf.
  10. Grease a 7 inch by 11 inch baking dish well. Break or cut up the meat into largish chunks and pack it into the baking dish.
  11. Turn off heat under the liquid and stir in Vinegar. Check for Salt and adjust if needed.   WARNING:   Do Not add salt with the liquid boiling. It will foam up almost explosively and flood your stove with sticky liquid.
  12. Pour still warm Liquid into the baking dish until nearly up to the rim of the dish. Let cool thoroughly. Excess liquid can be used in sauces.
  13. When fully cool, slip into the refrigerator where it will quickly gel solid. Let it soak in the fridge for a few hours to make sure it's gelled all the way through.
  14. If you greased the dish well, you should have no trouble turning the loaf out on to your cutting board.
  15. Serve sliced as a cold appetizer, along with mustard and horseradish.
NOTES:
  1. Pig Feet:

      These should be fresh as sold in North America, not salted as sold in Europe. Those would have to be soaked overnight. Have the meat man cut them in half lengthwise. If already cut cut both ways into 4 or 6 pieces, that is fine too. For details see our Pig Feet page.
  2. Hocks:

      Fresh, not smoked. Fresh hocks are not common in supermarket meat cases, but are easily available in markets serving an ethnic population (except Jewish or Muslim, of course). For details see our Pork Hocks page.
  3. Vinegar:

      Cider Vinegar is good here, (or most others).
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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