Warning: this isn't for the feint of heart. It tastes great, but if you get squeamish you've been warned. For those of you who dig eating odd things, you will like it.

Step 1. Shoot it. Next time not in the base of the skull.



Step 2. Bring it home



Step 3. Skin it.



Step 4. Leave it out as a joke to your pregnant wife about having dinner ready.



Step 5. Season it up and put in big pot.



Step 6. Cover in liquid and simmer.



Step 7. After meat falls off bone, regret shooting it in the head.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/096_zpscff42c07.jpg[/img]
Step 8. Layer meat, veggies, and meat. Pour stock and gelatin over, refrigerate.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/104_zps45bc44aa.jpg[/img]

Step 9. Cut up and serve with crackers, beer, and football.

[img]http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc371/Scopolamine1/headcheese2_zpsb60995de.jpg[/img]

If you dig the wobbly bits and want to make this, click right here .

Andy, I used your method of transportation but just took him to the gut pile.

I've head cheese once and that was enough.

Looks fabulous. I prefer the German variation called souse; it has a bit of a vinegar tang to it. I just finished a pound of it, mostly as sandwiches on pumpernickel bread with German mustard, and a thin slice of sweet onion. Daaayyyyuum that's good.

Interesting but I'd have to pass if that was served to me.

Hope you enjoy.

Mom made some when I was a kid but she used half of hogs head. She and dad liked it but I couldn't handle it.
Was way too spicy for me (at the time) but most of all I really didn't care for the weird texture of semi-solidified jell mixed in with meat.
I do remember thinking the hogs head sawed in half was pretty cool, though.

Grew up eating things like head cheese. Miss that stuff.

Great Post.

I'd try it if you cooked it, but I doubt I could sneak that inside the house without dire consequences...

Great on saltines. Did your boys help with that one, Andy ?

I've never been THAT hungry, yet. Cool post though.

Did you include the Brains as well?

That's where I draw the line, not going to partake of the nervous system...

A couple notes:
1) "head cheese" has to be the worst named food ever.

2) At no time during the process did anything stink. Don't confuse boiling a deer skull with fur still on with the smell of cooking a skinned head. With the carrots, onions, and celery it smelled like a stew being made.

3) I promise it tastes good. If you can eat a hot dog weenie, you would like this which is 1000 times better. I'll admit, some stuff like menudo, has an off flavor that you have to grow up with. This recipe has nothing but the flavor of meat and spices

4) Brains- yes, but you don't have to. I didn't include eyeballs. Part of the reason for including the brains was because we couldn't taste the difference between brains and cheek meat. Texture difference, but they just tasted like meat.

This was my first time cooking a head. I couldn't believe how much meat came off this 130 pound pig's noggin.

Next project is scrapple...

My granny used to make it, brains and all. She'd ask for the head of any thing we slaughtered.

Tried it once, that was once too many.

Excellent, Mum used to make it when I was a kid, but it didn't do much for me at the time. Now, I buy it from delis

I'm going have to give that a go.

There's a CW song or a T shirt in there somewhere.

that is good stuff too!

Im having a scrapple party the Sunday after Christmas. We make deer scrapple several times a year up here, normally 150-200lbs per pot. It takes all day, sun up to sun down.

Step one is kill a bunch of deer.

Step two is save all of the hearts, rib cages, pelvises, spine sections, and any other bones that have meat that is hard to get off.

Gather needed flours, spices, etc.

Buy 6-10 cases of beer.

Invite friends.

Start fire and fun shall commence.

Best part is when that scrapple is done and still hot/molten, take some tortilla scoops and dig in!!!!!

We have a BIG pot, I could use it as a hot tub!

They were a bit noncommittal...until I gave them the teeth. Then they sampled brain on corn chips.

Dand wish you were a bit closer! First time I had scrapple was in eastern PA

We've made it before, some years ago, when I was a kid. Actually I guess thats a lot of years ago. Along with blood sausage too.

Never really cared for either. Both were ok, but for some reason the flavors, which are really mild, just never appealed to me. And I like weird things...

Nice job!

Jeff

how do you make deer scrapple.we make hog scrapple but i never heard of using deer. doesn't seem right with the lack of edible fat on a deer.

Based on the recipe/ingredient list for this stuff, may as well finish it off by letting a few drunk hunters with days-old monkey butt soak in there awhile...

Pass around a brick of that head cheese for them to chew - keep their strength up till the scrapple stew is done.

Fried scrapple on toast with maple syrup. Oh my !!!!

when you make scrapple are you separating meat from broth

We made puddin meat with the solids, left to set up in a pan. Then added cornmeal to the broth for the scrapple, which older folks call ponhaus. Some thicken the whole thing for scrapple. Only ever ate it from pork, deer would be interesting.

I don't gibachit what meat it is. I hear that moose head cheese is superb.

Great effort all around Andy, and I appreciate your sharing. Never tried the stuff, but only because I've never had the chance. I'd dive into that in a heartbeat.

On Scrapple: I've always loved it. My old man used to make it for my brother and me from the time when we were very young. I always wondered if it was something that one could make at home. I asked around a few places after I got home from a FL hog slaying outing, and after asking around a bit got a response from a kind fellow with his version. I don't recall if I met him here, or somewhere else, and while I never got around to making it, it sounds like it'd be most tasty. Next time I drop a hog I'm going to make a test pile of it, and if good, will run with it. Luke, if you're out there, thanks again.

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'Greetings my friend: I apologize for the delay. I only have a computer here at the gun store, and I am not here all the time. The recipe is as follows.1 1/2 pounds of boneless pork. Cut it into about 2" chunks, and simmer until very tender. Save your stock! ( I like to chunk up an onion and a carrot, and a celery stalk when simmering the meat. Discard them after the meat is cooked, but it makes the stock much tastier. You will need about six cups of stock to make the recipe. Either shred or grind the cooked meat. I prefer to hand shred it and add a little "knife chop" to give it a little better texture. Add the meat back to the stock, and bring to a low boil or simmer. Add to the stock: 1 cup your favorite corn meal or polenta--1 1/2 tsp salt--1 tsp fresh black pepper( both to taste)--1 tsp. ground sage-3/4 tsp marjoram-1/2 tsp thyme- simmer and stir about 45 minutes or so until nicely thickened. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray, pour the mixture in and cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Turn the scrapple out onto a board and slice into 1/2" slices. If you lightly coat the slices with flour , they will brown up better, and just fry them up in hot oil. Good stuff! You will find some recipes that add allspice and other aromatics, but I don't think they are as good as this one. I must confess that I pirated this from Guy Fieris book on Diners Drive ins and Dives, but I was in Santa Fe this past weekend at the place it came from-just as good!!! I remember scrapple from growing up in Indiana--too many "guts things for me" This is much better. Best to you and good luck !'

Moose head cheese is superb but moose muzzle requires some gettin used too.

Our scrapple

Wood fire under enormous pot. Fill pot with meaty bones and hearts. We do add a little pork for fat content but not much. Fill pot with water until just covers meaty bones. Boil until meat falls from bone.

We remove the meat/bones and allow to cool in butchering trays. Then most of the crew removes the meat from the bones wearing rubber gloves while two others strain all of the broth to remove any stray bone/hair/hard cartilage.

Then while the two place the broth back in the pot a third person will mix in the spices and continuously stir.

After the cooled meat is stripped from the bone and hard cartilage it is sent through our large grinder 2-3 times until it looks "right".

Ground meat is returned to pot of newly seasoned broth which is just under a boil.

Then flours are added and mixing shall commence. We used home made wood paddles for a long time but now we have moved on to a 1/2" D-Handle low speed drill, only used for scrapple since new. Custom made SS mixing whipper in the drill. Must constantly mix/whip to keep from burning or sticking to the pit and to ensure a homogenous mixture.

Mixing continues until our 10lb custom SS mixing/scraping paddle will stand up in the center on its own.

Then we remove the pot from the heat and quickly ladle the molten meat mixture into plastic loaf pans.

Leave loaf pans out on table until cooled and solid ( that's why we do this in the winter). Shake out of pans, cut into 1lb bricks, vacuum seal.

DONE!

It's a lot of work but we have fun. Normally 10-15 of us and some of our wives.

Head cheese ! I have eaten ton of it over the years. Being the oldest of the kids when the time came to making it, I was honoured with the position of head holder. I had to place my thumbs in the eye sockets and then grab hold of the side of the head and hold on for dear life as my Grandmother sawed it open to get better exposure for the "good parts". Both halves were placed in the cauldron and herbs, onions and spices of all descriptions were added, a long while later I was given the job of helping to clean the bones of every single good or gnarly bit of that hogs' head.

The result was more awesome every time it was made, though it never tasted exactly the same each time, but close. Grandma always adjusted the spices and herbs according to the age of the animal and the smell of the meat (apparently it has to do with what the animal had been eating).

I miss her, I miss the head cheese, and the pickled pigs feet, the Governor sauce that was spread across poor man's bread that made it into the most awesome of sandwiches.

Life was better, simpler, more honest back then, I miss that part of life.

Can I put an order in now?

thanks for you recipes. i have stirred many iron kettles full of scrapple in the last 30yrs . love the stuff as long as its made right. a good friend makes the best i've ever eatin.it need plenty of meat to get good flavor.i like it loaded with black pepper.its way better fresh,but i do freeze it sliced and stacked between wax paper then vacuum sealed.

Looking good!
Lots of folks will eat a T-bone or rib-eye without connecting the obvious dots in regard to meat and bone; the best meat is next to the bones. Obviously the head has lots of bone too. I grew up with souse and head cheese. I also enjoy moose head (and caribou.)

This sounds like a bunch of fun! Does it freeze well?

Agreed, I know a guy who scavenges fresh filleted redfish carcasses to eat the meat that's missed.