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Pig Head


Karen Resta

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just about everyday they get a new pig and she indicated that the head is one of the desired parts of the roast pig. It has a lot more crispy skin, she explained. She sells the head for $5 but it is usually gone by noon. Well had to give it a try so I picked one up yesterday. The skin is fantastic but I may have bit off more than I can chew. It is about 7 to 8 pounds and large. Other than me, no one wants to touch it in my house. Oh well.

I'd love to have a pig's head. If I ever make it to DC The Great Wall is now an early-morning priority.

I actually tried to get a (fresh) pig's head from the vendors at the Farmer's Market here and (after a few startled looks accompanied by stutters of 'Wh wh what? You want the head? WHY?') I finally got a lead.

(The reason I wanted the head was to make headcheese ha ha ha which of course sounds repulsive but I was just in the mood . . .)

So I e-mailed the guy who was supposed to have a pig's head since he has pigs, and this is part of the e-mail I received in response:

We just took some pigs to be processed and I inquired about getting a pigs head. The Federal Inspector told me that we could not keep the heads because they were shot in the head at the processing plant.Since all of our meat is Federally inspected we won't be able to get you a head. There are other farms that use custom processors and are not Federally inspected, they may be able to get you a head.

No pig's head found yet. sad.gif

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I'd love to have a pig's head. If I ever make it to DC The Great Wall is now an early-morning priority.

I actually tried to get a (fresh) pig's head from the vendors at the Farmer's Market here and (after a few startled looks accompanied by stutters of 'Wh wh what? You want the head? WHY?') I finally got a lead.

(The reason I wanted the head was to make headcheese ha ha ha which of course sounds repulsive but I was just in the mood . . .)

So I e-mailed the guy who was supposed to have a pig's head since he has pigs, and this is part of the e-mail I received in response:

No pig's head found yet. :P

Go to El Grande on Backlick in sprinfield. I always see a pigs head in the meat case. If I remember correctly, around $20 for the whole head (and its pretty big).

The one at GW is already cooked while the El Grande is fresh. Would love to hear you story of making head cheese. I haven't climb that mountain yet as I am the only one in my household who loves head cheese.

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Go to El Grande on Backlick in sprinfield. I always see a pigs head in the meat case. If I remember correctly, around $20 for the whole head (and its pretty big).

The one at GW is already cooked while the El Grande is fresh. Would love to hear you story of making head cheese. I haven't climb that mountain yet as I am the only one in my household who loves head cheese.

Actually it's now a Freshmart or something. They changed the main name for some reason. But, yeah, I do like them for meats. The fact it caters to both Koreans and Hispanics means you get some cool and different cuts.
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I've seen pig heads split in two on more than one occasion at the DC Farmer's Market near Florida & NY Avenues.

I'll add that Farmer's Market to the list of potential places to go to, then. My problem is usually time, with a teenage daughter generally alongside me who believes that before even entering DC the Tyson's Corner Malls require the attention usually given to a museum then afterwards the Georgetown shops require the attention generally given to Great Novels. Add a teenage son alongside who will demand equal time for visits to stores that stock pets and stuff for terrariums and I'm lucky if I am able to lobby for my third of time spent going where I would like. Add the fact that I usually get lost driving around, ending up in traffic jams centering around unusual happenings like fires and/or police activity with fire trucks trying to go the wrong way up a one lane one way street aiming directly at my car (of course it's always my car, this never happens to anyone else) and usually I just try to lobby for one good place to that I want to while trying to withstand the warring siblings who both are lobbying for their own stuff.

Nice image, though. The split pig's head.

:P

I'm going to need to bring a small refrigerator that can be hooked up to the car to store it in.

Now you've given me an idea. I could start a pig's head delivery service.

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I'll add that Farmer's Market to the list of potential places to go to, then...Nice image, though. The split pig's head.
I think you should try metro to the Farmer's Market..a split pigs head should cause a bit of a sensation on your return to your parked-in-the-metro-lot car. :P
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I think you should try metro to the Farmer's Market..a split pigs head should cause a bit of a sensation on your return to your parked-in-the-metro-lot car. :P

You should have seen the looks that I got walking to my car on K St. with a whole pig that I had just picked up.

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I will explain later.

Head cheese?

When do you need this? If you don't need it asap, you can call the folks at EcoFriendly and see if they can deliver to one of the farmer's market. If you are at the DuPont market on Sunday stop by and chat.

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Warning.... Juvenile sexually based pun ahead. Danger Will Robinson!!! Danger Will Robinson!!!!

saw both pig and lamb heads in the frozen meat section at El Grande (the current name might be fresh something) in springfield this weekend. The price was amazingly cheap.

Soup

Not for the pig and the lamb. Of course its all in a days' work for the chicken to produce an egg. That's why on the farm, its always better to get laid than to give a little head.
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I have plans to roast a whoIe pigs head and I just want to find if there are any new updates to this topic. I'm hoping to pick a 10-20 pound head for about a $1 or less per pound. Is this even possible anymore. I live in Rockville and asked someone at Great Wall on Hungerford. However, the person at the butcher section said that they don't carry pigs heads anymore. I also emailed Harvey's Market at Union Market in DC and they can get one for me for $2/lb which I feel may be tad bit pricey. Has anyone else found any other places that will sell a pig's head at my price point? 

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I have plans to roast a whoIe pigs head and I just want to find if there are any new updates to this topic. I'm hoping to pick a 10-20 pound head for about a $1 or less per pound. Is this even possible anymore. I live in Rockville and asked someone at Great Wall on Hungerford. However, the person at the butcher section said that they don't carry pigs heads anymore. I also emailed Harvey's Market at Union Market in DC and they can get one for me for $2/lb which I feel may be tad bit pricey. Has anyone else found any other places that will sell a pig's head at my price point? 

Lord have mercy. Has no one here read "Angela's Ashes?" We are SUCH privileged people.

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I have not read that book yet. Also, were my questions offensive or inappropriate in any way?

No, not at all. It's just that Frank McCourt's family in Ireland was given a pigs head from the St. Vincent dePaul Society and it was a sign that you were really, really poor and had to depend on charity. While I have no issue with the whole nose-to-tail use of any animal, it just struck me as being ironic that you would even have to do a search for something that once was a symbol of shame (although it shouldn't have been).

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I have plans to roast a whoIe pigs head and I just want to find if there are any new updates to this topic. I'm hoping to pick a 10-20 pound head for about a $1 or less per pound. Is this even possible anymore. I live in Rockville and asked someone at Great Wall on Hungerford. However, the person at the butcher section said that they don't carry pigs heads anymore. I also emailed Harvey's Market at Union Market in DC and they can get one for me for $2/lb which I feel may be tad bit pricey. Has anyone else found any other places that will sell a pig's head at my price point?

You might give Canales Meat in Eastern Market a ring:(202) 547-0542;canalesqm@aol.com.

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No, not at all. It's just that Frank McCourt's family in Ireland was given a pigs head from the St. Vincent dePaul Society and it was a sign that you were really, really poor and had to depend on charity. While I have no issue with the whole nose-to-tail use of any animal, it just struck me as being ironic that you would even have to do a search for something that once was a symbol of shame (although it shouldn't have been).

I see. It definitely is crazy where I'm having a hard time trying to find something that most people would be happy to give away.

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Just an update for everyone. Union Market was selling whole pig heads for $1.99/lb and they just need a few days notice. Union Meat Co. in Eastern market had them frozen for $2.79/lb and they are about 16 to 20lbs each. I managed to get a free one from a friend and the head weighed about 15 pounds. The people at Great Wall in Rockville said that they did not carry pig heads ( I went 2 different times and 2 different people gave the same answer.)

The biggest issue was removing all the hair. It took about an hour with a sharp knife and a bunch of disposable razor blades. Not fun. I ended up just salting the head and baking at 375'F for 1 hour and then 325'F for 3 hours. I also basted with a honey water mixture 3 times about 30 minutes before pulling the head out of the oven. Everything was cooked, but I think the meat would have been more tender if cooked for another 2-3 hours at 325'F. However, the pig head tacos still came out amazing.

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The biggest issue was removing all the hair. It took about an hour with a sharp knife and a bunch of disposable razor blades. Not fun.

I wonder if there's some sort of soaking method for making the hair easier to remove - people who do this type of thing in bulk should know. I'm willing to bet smokinjarhead would know this - I'll write him and see if he'll chime in.

(Great post, btw!)

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