Ever since samplin' both Chef Ed Kenney's and Chef Bob McGee's porchetta di testa, I've always looked for it on charcuterie menus whether here at town or when visiting the Golden State at Chris Cosentino's Boccalone, Poggio in Sausalito or Oenotri in Napa Valley. It's just that perfect blend of softened connective tissue and cartilage, succulent meat and unctuous fat seasoned with black pepper, salt and chopped herbs. Perfect with a glass of Lambrusco or Brachetto d'Acqui.
What is porchetta di testa? It's basically a boned pig head that's marinated for a couple of days in herbs, red pepper flake, lemon zest, garlic and salt and pepper then rolled, placed in a vacuum sealed bag and cooked sous vide slow for 14 to 18 hours. I always wanted to try and create my own but I don't have a commercial refrigerator that can fit a whole pig head.
Then low and behold, the Mrs finds a boned pig head at our local Foodland supermarket...
It actually was only one-half of a boned pig head but at a little over 5 pounds, that'll do...
So I rinse and try to remove as much of the course outer hair as possible then coat it with chopped fresh rosemary, lemon zest, red chili flake and chopped garlic along with liberal doses black pepper and black garlic sea salt then re-bag it and let it sit refrigerated for another 2 days.
After 2 days, I attempt to roll it into a log shape - it would've helped quite a bit if I had that elastic netting you see on shrink wrapped boneless leg of lamb or ham... Oh well, I'll place an order on Amazon for the next time I attempt a porchetta di testa...
Then sous vide cook it at 190 degrees for the next 18 hours...
You wouldn't believe just how much gelatin melted off of the head... a conservative estimate would be at least 2 cups. Chris Cosentino's recipe then says to place it in ice for the next 2 days (four bags of ice in a large cooler did last the 2 days)...
After removing the outer congealed gelatin layer and slicing thin (with my sashimi knife), it was thoroughly enjoyed with several glasses of Brachetto... Rich pork flavor, unctuous gelatin and skin and almost as good as the pros do it...
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