The name “head cheese” may let you think that it’s a cheese made of head meat, right? Okay, that’s quite right, but what contains in head cheese is not only head cheese.
Head cheese is an ideal choice to add to your sandwiches or bread. Besides, it’s dairy-free. It is delicious, rich, and easy to get, you can buy it from a grocery store or make it yourself.
Now let’s learn more about head cheese.
What is Head Cheese?
Despite its name, head cheese contains absolutely no cheese. It is merely jellied meat made from a calf’s head, a hog’s head, or occasionally a sheep’s head. Along with the tongue and jowl trimmings, this treat also occasionally includes the heart or feet. The fun doesn’t end there.
Head cheese is served cold, sliced, and shaped into a sausage. You could also prepare it in a pan or a mold to use as a terrine. To keep the gelatin from melting, note that it is chilled.
What is Head Cheese Made Of?
Just to be clear, when someone uses the term “head cheese,” they do not mean the brain, ears, or eyes. Typically, the leftovers from removing those organs are used to make head cheese. Additionally, it may be combined with heart or tongue meat.
Head cheese comes in a variety of forms and uses a variety of ingredients. Here are some of the more popular recipes::
- Regular head cheese – uses pork head meat and can also include the jowls, skin, snout, feet, and gelatin.
- Tongue head cheese is primarily made of tongue, and after it is made, salt and nitrite are used to cure it and give it a pink hue.
- Blood head cheese – uses blood to create a darker-colored head cheese.
- Sulz – an original Most popular in Eastern Europe is a recipe for aspic made with bone-in pig feet.
- Souse – According to usage in Australia, the name refers to vinegar-based head cheese.
By culture and region, ingredients can also differ. For instance, head cheese is flavored with vinegar and hot sauce in Louisiana. The Pennsylvania Dutch, however, will also include tongue, vinegar, and pig’s feet.
How to Eat Head Cheese
Slices from ready-made rolls are perfectly acceptable, but eating head cheese with thin crackers is common. You’ll be on the right track if you approach it like a test.
Alternatively, you can treat it like deli meat and put it on a sandwich with some light mustard and lettuce to be all set. This is one of my favorite methods of taking pleasure from it. In a more natural setting, you experience the punchiness of the flavor.
Frequently, people either buy pre-made head cheese sausage rolls or make their own from prepared head cheese meat. If you want to go back a step, you could make the head cheese meat yourself, but that would require a lot more work, and your best option if you’re concerned about using the wrong parts of the head would be to let a pro handle it.
What Does Head Cheese Taste Like?
The head’s meat is incredibly rich and tender. Think of it as a combination of the two if you’ve tried other offal, such as sweetbreads or pâté. You’ll want to add this delicious savory spread to everything. I enjoy serving head cheese alongside the charcuterie at the start of a substantial meal. To hold guests over until the larger meal, it is a special treat.
Nutritional Value of Head Cheese
When consumed in moderation, head cheese has many benefits due to the high concentration of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients found in organ meats (offal) and organ sausages.
Here’s the specific nutrient breakdown for three ounces (85g) of regular beef head cheese:
- Calories: 190
- Calories from Fat: 140
- Total Fat: 16 grams
- Saturated Fat: 8 grams
- Trans Fat: 1.5 grams
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5 grams
- Monounsaturated Fat: 6 grams
- Cholesterol: 75 milligrams
- Sodium: 510 mg
- Total Carbs: 0 grams
- Protein: 11 grams
- Iron: 10% of Daily Value
Where Can I Buy Head Cheese?
Why don’t you hear of people eating head cheese more often, you might be wondering by this point if it’s so delicious? In contrast to hotdogs or sausages, which are inexpensive to produce and purchase, it can be a bit pricey due to the manufacturing involved.
You’ll have the most success looking for it in Central European, Eastern European, and Italian delis in Europe.
How to Make Your Own Head Cheese Rolls
It’s easy and delicious to make a roll of head cheese! It resembles making turkey soup with a few more steps. It only requires a cleaned pig head or head cheese end pieces after which the meat must be boiled, the cooking fats and liquid must be reduced, and the meat must be allowed to set.
Here’s how to make homemade head cheese:
Step 1: Place the entire head, the cheese on top, and the meat in a large pot. Fill the pot with filtered water.
Step 2: The cuts should be brought to a low simmer, covered, and allowed to simmer for 24 hours or until the meat is incredibly tender.
Step 3: Removing the cuts while leaving the cooking liquid in the pot. Pick out as many of the delectable meat pieces as you can and throw away the rest once the meat has cooled enough to handle.
Step 4: To begin, season the meat with salt and pepper after gathering it all together in a large bowl. Any spice combination from the list above may then be used after you’ve completed that. You can choose from coriander, rosemary, or garlic for that. Since the head cheese will be cooled and eaten with crackers or bread, we advise erring on the side of extra saltiness. It can have a little more punch if you want it to.
Step 5: The cooking liquid should now be heated up and brought back to a vigorous simmer. The liquid should be reduced until it becomes nice and thick. We’re about to set this in a pan!
Step 6: Place the meat in a casserole dish or other dish and add the reduced liquid on top. Until the meat is thoroughly coated, submerge it in the liquid and spread it out.
Step 7: Place the pan in the refrigerator until it sets. It will become a sort of loaf as it sets.
Step 8: Enjoy while serving with bread, crackers, or whatever else you have on hand. To avoid having to freeze the roll, just make sure to consume it within a week.
Conclusion
There isn’t any cheese at all in head cheese despite its name. It is simply jellied meat made from a hog head or a calf, and sometimes a cow or sheep’s head. If you want to have a try on head cheese you can buy it from stores or make it at home, it’s not difficult!
Related Reading
What is Hoop Cheese & How to Cook
FAQs
Is There Dairy in Head Cheese?
Nope. Not a single bit! Again, that was just a choice to attract more people to the idea of eating that part of the pig or cow. Head cheese is completely dairy-free, so you have nothing to worry about if you have any sort of lactose intolerance.
Why Would People Eat Head Cheese?
The meat from the head is extremely tender and rich. If you’ve tried other offal like sweetbreads or pâté, then think of it as a combination between the two. It’s a fantastic savory spread that you’ll want to add to everything. I love to place head cheese toward the beginning of a big meal alongside the charcuterie.
Is Head Cheese Healthy to Eat?
Consuming collagen-rich foods, like head cheese and bone broth, can help build healthier, stronger tissues. The collagen also helps the head cheese maintain its structure when it’s cooled.
