Pigs head terrine with brains,

yabbies, shallots and parsley

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The inspiration for this dish comes first with my absolute love
for anything pork and also the depth of flavour and textures the
head of the pig gives you. The first time I ever tasted pigs head
was Anthony Demetre's famed pigs head while cooking at the
Taste of London. Since then I have come up with many different
ways and forms of cooking the pigs head. This particular dish
is everything I love in the finer side of cooking. The look of the
finished dish is simple and sophisticated, there is no
overcrowding and there is nothing on the plate that doesn't
need to be there. The terrine itself is the star, a deep rich porky
flavour with a slight crunch from the gentle frying and a melt in
the mouth middle. It's nestled on a roasted shallot puree, with
poached West Australian yabby on top, and pigs brain,
poached then fried, to cleanse the palette. I have also added a
parsley puree, thinly sliced radish and a nasturtium leaf. "This
dish is pure decadent richness, an homage to the magical
animal, the pig. The flavours are bold and the fat content quite
high, so the accompanying wine needs to bring both a bit of
body and cleansing acidity to the party. The mind immediately
goes to Chardonnay. Did I already mention how good Aussie
Chardonnay is at the moment? The best ever, in fact. From
Mornington to Yarra to Hunter to Adelaide Hills to Margaret
River, youre completely spoiled for choice. This Nepenthe drop
has some creamy richness and savoury and stone fruit flavours,
as well as really crisp citrus acidity on the finish perfect to
refresh your palate after each luxurious bite." - Dan Coward
SERVES

10
 COOKING

6hr
SKILL LEVEL

ACE
By
Justin Scarvaci

AVERAGE: 2.3 (6 VOTES)

Ingredients

57 kgpigs head

Brine
800 gsugar
1.2 kgsalt
24juniper berries
24cloves
24black peppercorns
6bay leaves
8 litreswater
Blood pudding
100 gpork dripping, lard or butter
2onions, finely chopped
6garlic cloves, finely chopped
1tspblack pepper
1tspground mace
1tspground cloves
1tspall spice
1tbsporegano
1 litrepigs blood
140 gpolenta
10 g sea salt
240 gback fat, finely diced
Terrine
1leek, diced
2 stickscelery, diced
4onions, diced
2garlic bulbs
1 bunchthyme
50 gcassia bark
4bay leaves
10 gblack peppercorns
10 gmustard seeds
750 mlsherry
4pigs trotters
 6 litreschicken stock

Brains
500 gpigs' brains, washed thoroughly
1litrechicken stock
2bay leaves
10 sprigsthyme
3eggs
300 mlmilk
250 gflour
250 gpanko breadcrumbs

10yabbies (marron or lobster will also be fine)

Shallot puree
10shallots, thinly sliced
100 gbutter
5 gMurray River pink salt
Parsley puree
1 bunchparsley, picked, washed
500 mlice water
Garnish
baby radish, thinly sliced, reserved in ice water
nasturtium leaves

Cook's notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the
temperature by 20C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5
ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless
specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled,
unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Instructions
Drink Nepenthe Pinnacle Ithaca Chardonnay 2010, Adelaide Hills, SA

Start making the brine for the pigs head. Add all of the ingredients into a large pot, bring
to the boil then let it cool completely before adding any meat.
Ask your butcher to debone the pigs head for you. Put the meat from the pigs head into
the brine and leave overnight or for at least 2 hours.
To make the blood pudding, over a low heat, fry the onion and garlic in the dripping until
soft but without colour. Add the herbs and spices, and cook until fragrant. Pour in the
blood and polenta. Stir over a medium heat until the consistency of runny porridge.
Remove from the heat and stir in the back fat. Pour into a bread tin lined with cling wrap
and cover with foil.
Cook in a water bath in an oven at 130C for 11 hours. Test with a skewer and if it
comes out clean, it is ready.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
In a large pot slowly sweat the leek, celery and onion until soft. Add the garlic, thyme,
cassia bark, bay leaves, peppercorns and mustard seeds. Add the sherry and deglaze.
Reduce the liquid to a glaze then add the pigs head and trotters. Add the chicken stock
and bring to the boil.
Cover the head with parchment paper and cook in the oven for 46 hours or until the
meat falls apart.
Once cooked, allow to cool then pull all the meat apart and place in a separate bowl. Add
the onions and garlic from the braise and season. Fold through 150 g of the blood
pudding and press into a terrine mould or loaf tin, and refrigerate to set overnight.
To serve, gently take the terrine out of the mould. Cut into ten pieces, lightly dust with
flour and pan-fry with a little oil until golden.
To make the pigs' brains, preheat the deep-fryer to 180C.
Cut the brains into 10 even portions and roll in cling wrap to form an air tight cylinder. In a
large pot add the stock, bay leaves and thyme. Add the brains, and bring to the boil.
Allow to cool.
Once cool, whisk together the eggs and milk. Take the brains out of the cling wrap. Dust
in the flour, then into the egg mix, and finish in the panko breadcrumbs. Dip the crumbed
brains back into the egg and milk mix, then in the panko breadcrumbs again, making sure
it is evenly crumbed. Lower the brains into the deep-fryer and cook until golden.
Bring a large salted pot of water to the boil. Add the yabbies and cook for 3 minutes, then
plunge into ice water. Once cool, remove the head and shell to reveal the tail and set
aside. When serving, heat the yabby in some shellfish bisque (or a little butter).
To make the shallot puree, preheat oven to 150C.
Place the butter, salt and shallots in an ovenproof pot and roast for 1 hours until golden
and soft. Once cooked, blend in a food processor until smooth.
To make the parsley puree, bring a pot of water to the boil. Add the parsley and cook for
2 minutes. Plunge into the iced water. Blend the parsley and water for 2 minutes, and
then pour the liquid into a muslin cloth. Keep the green puree on the top, and discard the
liquid.
To assemble, smear the shallot puree on the plate. Place the terrine on top, followed by
the yabby, one slice of radish and nasturtium leaf. Place the brains alongside and drizzle
a few dots of parsley puree around the plate.