Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 3: Cooking Time!

Here are two recipes. The first is for the Home chef, and the second one below is for the home cook. THIS RECIPE IS FOR TWO TROTTERS.

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1. I know how to cook, thanks...

In the words of Auguste Escoffier, "Cook in the usual manner."

Braising the trotters:

Look inside the trotters and make sure you’ve got most of the white stuff off. Don’t go crazy, but do what you can.

Braise with the following, putting the trotters on top of the vegetables just before liquid:

1 onion, 1 carrot, 1/2 a red and green bell pepper, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/2–3/4 c. wine depending on how much you like to drink, 1 c. veal demi-glace, and almost cover the trotters with chicken stock. Bay leaf, fresh thyme, and pepper. Cover, cook 2 hrs. or until the skin cracks over the knuckles and they are soft, caramel gold, and delicious. Cool.

NOTE: That subtle, rich porky smell is the smell of Old World pork. We are used to eating "pork". I have allowed this flavor to inform my pork dishes, and it has made all the difference. This is true of every animal we eat.

THE STUFFING:

Chicken mousseline with tarragon and morels

If you want to eat a caramelized flap of pig skin be my guest, but don't plan on eating at my table. I'm not inviting that nonsense to dinner—it's gross and idiotic. We boned these out to be stuffed with tasty things, and here's the king in my opinion. Well, provided you don't want to spend a fortune on veal sweetbreads, that is. And learn how to cook them. Maybe I can cover that later.

1. Get out your food processor. Take two 8 oz. chicken breasts and fry one. Cut the raw one into small cubes and toss in the processor with a teaspoon of salt. Blitz to paste.

2. Keep processor running. Add 1 egg white and combine, then dump in 3/4 cup cream. Process until it is smooth and looks like fluffy mousse you could actually stuff into something. Run through a mesh strainer or variant to catch any weird chunks.

3. I add tarragon, about 1/4 c. diced ham, the cooked breast cut into 1 inch pieces, and if you're feeling saucy, a good handful of finely chopped morel mushrooms. Chill.

Stuff the trotter and make the sauce

Stuff until it looks like you never deboned it and wrap tightly in double layer of aluminum foil so when you boil it it doesn't come apart. Chill 1 hr. minimum to preserve shape. Use the braising liquid to make a sauce.

Cooking

Boil, foil on, for 8 minutes. I like mashed potatoes and some vegetables, and sauce all around the plate. However, I'm sure you know what you're doing.

Eat it while drinking way too much wine, slur goodnight to your guests as they get into a cab, and go sleep. You're done for the night.

TWO SERVING OPTIONS:

You can plonk the entire trotter on a plate and serve it up to Zeus. However, for those who want a smaller portion, carefully cut into 1-inch slices.

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2. I don't know how to cook. Thanks!

Braising the trotters:

Look inside the trotters and make sure you’ve got most of the white stuff off. Don’t go crazy, but do what you can.

1. In a Le Creuset stew pot or something else pretty big, heat a few tbsp of olive oil on medium/medium-low. Do not color the vegetables. Add 1 onion and 1 carrot, chopped. A few minutes later, add 1/2 a red bell pepper and 1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped. With one minute to go, add 3 cloves chopped garlic and 1 tbsp tomato paste.

2. Deglaze: 1/2–3/4 c. Chardonnay (I like wine in braises. I also like to drink wine while they cook. Make your choice.) Reduce by 3/4.

3. Add trotters on top of vegetables. 1c. veal demi-glace (or whatever demi-glace) and chicken stock to almost cover. Add a few sprigs of thyme a bay leaf, and pepper.

4. Bring to boil, cover, cook on simmer for 2-2.5 hrs. until gelatinous, caramel gold, and very soft. They will look inedible until the last 20 min, and don’t let the liquid get too low. Telltale signs of impending awesomeness include the skin cracking over the knuckles and looking delicious. Be gentle at this point—the skin can split.

That’s it. Standard braise. Set on a plate or wire cooling rack.

THE STUFFING:

See the recipes below. Make this while the trotters are in the pot.

Stuffing the trotters:

Cool trotter to room temperature, and put it on a big piece of aluminum foil. Stuff until it looks like it did before you boned it out—more than you think. Roll tightly in the foil to make a lovely, pig trotter-shaped tube, and add another piece of foil tightly for good measure. Fridge 1 hr. minimum to overnight.

Sauce:

You already made it. Take what’s in the pot, and reduce until somewhat thickened. Not pudding, not water. There is a lot of collagen in trotters, so it should have a lovely, velvety mouth feel. Pour into a chinois if you have one or a strainer, and don’t press very hard. Put in a new pot, season, and if you want to do anything else, do it. It's your mouth.

Cooking the trotters:

1. Leave in the foil and boil for 8 minutes.

2. Take out of the foil, put it on a plate with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and whatever. Cover in sauce.

Eat it while drinking way too much wine, slur goodnight to your guests as they get into a cab, and go sleep. You're done for the night.

Two serving options:

You can plonk the entire trotter on a plate and serve it up to Zeus. However, for those who want a smaller portion, carefully cut into 1-inch slices.

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The stuffing:

If you want to eat a caramelized flap of pig skin, be my guest, but don't plan on eating at my table. I'm not inviting that nonsense to dinner—it's gross and idiotic. We boned these out to be stuffed with tasty things, and here's the king in my opinion. Well, provided you don't want to spend a fortune on veal sweetbreads, that is. And learn how to cook them. Maybe I can cover that later.

Recipe 1

1. Get out your food processor. You don't have one? Skip to recipe 2. Does this recipe look like a pain in the ass? Skip to recipe 2.

2. Take two 8 oz. chicken breasts and fry one. Cut the raw one into small cubes and toss in the blender with a teaspoon of salt. Blitz to paste.

3. Keep processor running. Add 1 egg white to combine, then dump in 3/4 cup cream. Process until it is smooth and looks like fluffy mousse you could actually stuff into something.

4. Take out of processor and add 1 tsp tarragon, 1/4 c. diced ham, the cooked breast cut into 1 inch pieces, and if you're feeling saucy, a good handful of finely chopped morel mushrooms.

5. Put in fridge if you're not using it right away.

Recipe 2

1. Skip all that shit and use the internet...

Arts and Culture, Food: The Game Birds—The Quail

Arts and Culture, Food: The Game Birds—An Introduction

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Escargot

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—The Oxtail

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—My Fridge Full of Crap

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—The Compost Bin

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 3

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 2

Arts and Culture, Food: Odd Food—Pig Trotter pt. 1