(Mini) Brawn

Some friends recently slaughtered some Vietnamese potbellied pigs these are a miniature breed, and were only about 5 months old so small even for small pigs. Apparently they were 15kg dead weight which is about what our bigger lambs were (last year when we let them grow for a bit longer).
Anyway they very kindly gave us a head and a leg (and some teeny tiny pork chops to sample) so we have made brawn (also, less appetisingly, called head cheese). They have some more piglets so we are buying a carcass in a few weeks time - to make some more mini charcuterie!. so we have made brawn (also, less appetisingly, called head cheese)

1 mini head
1 onion
5 juniper berries
10 pepper corns
sprig of rosemary
sprig of thyme

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper to season

Chop head in half (recipes suggest quarters, but this is a small head)
Put everything in a pan and cover with water
Boil for 4 hours (I put on the wood burning stove, not always boiling, so left it rather longer)
The pigs were black, it is strange how pink the skin has come out once the hair was removed.

After this time the flesh should be very soft and easily pull away from the bones. Lift the heads out of the liquid and let cool a little, Remove the flesh and chop reasonably finely (i put aside some fat and skin as treats for the dog at this point to make finished product slightly less fatty)

Strain the remaining liquid and then continue to boil until about a pint remains.

Mix the chopped meat with the lemon juice and season.

Put in to containers (I used metal trays like you get curry in - 4 x 0.75 liter)

Share about 100ml of the reduced cooking liquid between your containers and refrigerate.

You can use the rest of the cooking liquid as stock - I made very tasty peas pudding by adding some onions and split peas and boiling for ages, we had with some left over pork tenderloin.

It came out considerably nicer than I expected, we tried fromage de tête from the supermarket and did not much like it - too gelatinous and too vinegary. This tastes like pork pâté, with a bit more jelly texture.

It is also nice on pasta, fried with some chopped onion and tomato and lettuce (yes fry the lettuce, is nice) or spinach.