Labor Day weekend I was hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law at the lake and they excitedly told me they’d ordered an entire pig from a local butcher. Maybe it was the fact that I’d had far more Jameson that I should have by 3 p.m. on a Saturday or that I was in the middle of reading the galley of a friend’s book about butchery, but I immediately said “I’ll take all the parts you don’t want!”
I’d forgotten about said parts until my sister and her husband came by on Friday and told me that they had a freezer full of swine innards with my name on them.
After the jump, an inventory of my pig parts.
This is how they’re packaged, anyway:
-Heart (1)
-Tongue (1)
-Cured pork hocks (4)
-Pork liver (4)
-Pork neck bones (2)
According to the aforementioned book, when prepared correctly pork heart can induce a food orgasm, but other than that I’m pretty much at a loss for what to do with these parts. So, if you have any ideas for what I should do with neck bones and such, please let me know in the comments section.
#1 by NolaRoll at October 13th, 2009
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Check out seriouseats.com. They have a weekly article feature called “The Nasty Bits” that feature intestines and other unusual recipes. I think this week was duck tongue, but I know that they have covered pork parts over the past few months.
#2 by Emily at October 13th, 2009
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Well…for the bones, you could roast them and then make a stock. I’ve never done this before…with pork bones anyway, but you could try it. For the hocks, you could definitely make a pea soup or collards. Yum, yum, yum. Otherwise, I”m out of ideas. Can’t wait to hear what you cook up though!
#3 by Heidi at October 13th, 2009
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Um…donate them to a homeless shelter?
#4 by Corrie at October 13th, 2009
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For the neck bones: Boil them in beer with a couple of quartered onions and whatever spices you like - we like hot, so a lot of cayenne or any other crushed/ground chilis until they are very tender. Being as how the bones are, well, neck bones, they are difficult to eat, but tasty nonetheless.
#5 by Danielle at October 15th, 2009
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my mom uses the pork neck bones in her sauce. she makes her secret tomato sauce recipe, and if she is making meatballs and sausage as well, they go into the giant vat with pork neck bones. it adds a nice flavor, and small bits of delicious meat.
#6 by Alison at October 15th, 2009
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Pork neck bones: I cook them up, cool, pick out the bones and use the meat. (tortilla filling, etc). Slow cooker is ideal (or moist/braise) . As for liver, it makes good, rustic pate or sausages. It’s not as delicate as calf, but it’s tasty. Instead of the ubiquitous fried, how about cutting some pieces off, and grilling them until crispy? Maybe with Yakitori-style sauce? I’ve only cooked cow/ox tongue, but I like it pressed, cold, with its jelly. You just boil it with juniper berries, peppercorns, onion and cloves; skin it; and press it overnight. Have fun!
#7 by Ana at October 16th, 2009
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I would boil the tongue, slice it, and make tacos. Use plenty of chopped onions, salsa and such, since tongue is good but a bit bland. After you boil it, it keeps in the fridge for a few days.
You could also pickle the tongue. Generally, beef tongue is the one that’s pickled, but it should work for pork tongue too.