Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation going back in time to sousemeat

is it the same as headcheese, or different? my Grandmom made sousemeat, but might have been headcheese. it was good, cold and with crackers. and made w/hog of course.

anybody know anything about it, and where to start, and how best to proceed? black pepper is an ingredient as i recall.

and later, i'll ask about bologna. but i'm thinking they're two separate things totally.

and head cheese, that too. need some knowledgeable and soulful input here.

I haven't dealt with either souse or headcheese in a long,long time, but as I remember from my youth, souse had some sort of vegetable (pickle, green and red pepper?) ingredient, while headcheese did not.

I love souse. It is basically pickled head cheese.

would you please be willing to share more, as memory serves?\

i remember souse meat. it happened, and i ate it, after a fresh hog kill in late november, into early january depending upon which hog.

sousemeat was der riguour, i'm thinking.

based upon refreshment on the 'net, and individual remembrance, surely we can re-construct a possible likely edible product?

now headcheese, and far out there, some bologna who knows? but to fill in the gaps would be helpful.

the old-timers w/ties to the past will probably have all the details down pat. does vinegar play a role, or is that just a diversion?

the more i think about it, the more i think red apple cider vinegar played a role, at least in my memory of the 'lost' days.

but, maybe not, maybe i'm confused?

That would be a BINGO !!!!

Souse is pickled head cheese.
Head and feet meet, cooked til it falls off bones, with onion garlic salt and pepper, chop meat, and, in the case of souse, red wine or cider vinegar, and reduce liquid.
Fill loaf pan with meat, cover with reduced cooking liquid, refrigerate till set.

Forgot to add, a lot pf people like to add sage. That is not my preference.

Sorry Gus, we never made it ourselves when we butchered hogs. After removing the jowls the remainder of the head was used to make mincemeat for pies.

Vinegar is used in the pickling process to make souse.

I suggest you look to German (sulze) or Czech (sulc) for recipe inspiration.

thanks for everyone's input. it all helped. yes, i knew there was vinegar or something sour in it. this sounds about right. i've seen it made, and eaten it, but too young to get the details.

it was good, not at all like the rest of the hog.

so, it's German or Czech ancestry huh? interesting right there too.

seems like some years it came out thicker, that is firmer/harder than other years. may have had to do with the liquid content or maybe the gelatin content from the feet. it's a good product, just don't see it around much, and i was reminiscing a bit when reading the other threads here.

if anybody ever makes any, i'd love to see a pic of it posted up.