Collared Head (Irish)

Collared head, also known as brawn, is a kind of terrine of pressed pork - not fancy cuts, but the sweet, flavourful bits picked from brined, long-cooked pig's head, often with the meat of pig's feet or slices of salted ox tongue added. (It may be called "collared" because it's traditionally pressed in a metal ring.) When butcher T. J. Crowe of Dundrum, County Tipperary, makes his collared heads, they're immense, with bits of pig's ear included and two whole tongues positioned tip to tip in the middle. This less daunting recipe is adapted from one used by Peter Ward of Country Choice in the Tipperary town of Nenagh.

1 pig's head, halved from top to bottom, brined
1 beef tongue, brined
1 onion, halved
2 carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
12 black peppercorns
3 cloves
2 whole allspice
1 whole star anise
1 Tbsp. sea salt
⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp. ground allspice
6-8 garlic chives (optional)

To Serve:
Crabapple Blackberry Jelly

Put the pig's head, beef tongue, onion, carrots, bay leaves, black peppercorns, cloves, whole allspice, star anise, and salt into a large pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 3-4 hours, or until the head and tongue are tender.

Allow the ingredients to cool in the cooking liquid, then remove from the pot and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid, reserving 2 cups (475 mL). Discard the vegetables and the remaining cooking liquid (or save the liquid for soup or stock).

Pull and cut as much skin and fat as possible from the pigs' heads, then remove and finely chop the remaining meat. (Discard the fat, bones, and cartilage.) Peel the tongue, discarding the skin, and dice the meat.

Combine the meat from the pig's head and beef tongue, the reserved stock, and the ground nutmeg and allspice in a large bowl and mix together well. If using garlic chives, lay them flat in a single layer in the bottom of a 2 qt (2 L) bowl or pudding basin, so that their ends curve up the sides of the bowl a little. Spoon the pig's head mixture into the bowl and tamp down lightly. Cut a piece of wax paper to exactly cover the top and lay it over the mixture. Weigh down with a plate or pie pan that fits the space exactly, and set 1 or 2 cans of canned food on top.

Refrigerate for at least 24 hours and for as long as 3 days. Remove the weights and plate and invert the collared head onto a large plate (wrap a very hot, damp kitchen towel around the bowl to help loosen the collared head if necessary).

Serve sliced, with crabapple jelly on the side, if you like.

Makes 10-12 servings.