PrintHow To Cook Pig Tails
I like parts. Especially pig parts. So when Jennifer of Flying Pigs Farm offered me some pig tails, I didn't hesitate. For cooking advice, I looked to Fergus Henderson's Nose to Tail Eating: he gives them a slow braise, breads them and browns them in butter. (For those who don't have the book, an adaptation of the recipe is available on Gourmet's web site—although if you have access to pig tails, and a desire to eat them, you're the kind of Serious Eater who needs this book.)
These are not cute little cartoon-curly tails; good, because Fergus is quite specific about asking one's butcher for long tails.
Plop the tails on a bed of coarsely chopped carrot, celery and onion with herbs (bay, parsley, thyme), a head of garlic (I used green garlic), peppercorns and lemon zest. Add red wine and chicken stock.
Cover the pan with foil and braise in a medium (325ºF) oven for about three hours, until the flesh gives easily when pinched.
Let the tails cool in the braising liquid, removing them before it sets to jelly. Refrigerate the tails until firm.
Preheat a baking pan in a 450ºF oven. Dredge the tails in seasoned flour, dip in eggs beaten with mustard, and coat with fine dry bread crumbs.
Add butter to the hot pan. When the foam subsides, pop in the tails, turning to coat them well with butter. Roast, turning once, until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Aren't they gorgeous?
Serve with a splash of malt vinegar, and a salad of pungent, peppery greens; Fergus suggests watercress or red mustard.
These are meant to be eaten with the fingers, of course, and they are a carnivorous delight. Lush, plush, melting flesh, under a crisp golden crust. Here's how Fergus introduces this recipe: "On other pages, I have sung the praises of how the pig's snout and belly both have that special lip-sticking quality of fat and flesh merging, but this occurs in no part of the animal as wonderfully as on the tail." Amen.
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26 Comments:
WHOAH.
Raphael at 4:05PM on 05/16/08
WHOAH is freakin RIGHT.......they look so good....i have fergus henderson's book....nose to tail eating an i salivate every time i read it....problem is i can only get short pig tails...like maybe 3 or 4 inches long....do you think they'll work for this recipe?
http://matthtebutcher.com/
onepercent99 at 4:10PM on 05/16/08
Sorry guys, this disturbs me.
LiveToEat at 4:17PM on 05/16/08
. . . have you guys ever seen Tremors?
unarata at 4:27PM on 05/16/08
Hmmm... I'd give it a try but I do agree that it looks sort of strange in the pan. Like a microscope view of an organism. But HEY! If it's pork I'm sure it's good?!
hungrychristel at 4:28PM on 05/16/08
I'll admit that it disturbed me at first, but it's just pork in a different shape.
I'D EAT IT.
roboppy at 4:41PM on 05/16/08
@matt - I'm not sure why Fergus insists on long tails. Worth a try with the short ones!
Cathy at 4:47PM on 05/16/08
This remindes me of Little House on the Praire.. I think one of the first books (the Big Woods one?) when Laura takes the pigs tail, sticks it on a stick and rotates it over an open fire.... I always wanted to do that when I was younger!
The book also mentioned taking a pig's bladder and blowing it up for toy. Not as delicious. :)
chlamers at 4:47PM on 05/16/08
Very traditional preparation - "a la St. Menehould". For me, better with pigs trotters (more meat) but good also with pigs ears. :)
Karen Resta at 4:51PM on 05/16/08
@chlamers - I had the same thought about Little House!
I've enjoyed delicious pig tails at Al di La in Brooklyn. I think Anna Klinger, the chef, braises and then deep-fries them.
Cathy at 4:52PM on 05/16/08
@chlamers Edna Lewis also talks about using pig bladders as toys--one of the thrills of hog butchering day!
homesicktexan at 5:38PM on 05/16/08
Hehe.. glad to know there are other Little House fans out there!
Did anyone ever want to pour maple syrup on snow to make maple candy too?
chlamers at 6:22PM on 05/16/08
are they anything like oxtails?
and how do they uncurl them?
dmarina at 8:14PM on 05/16/08
The Little House books are my strongest pig tail association, too!
@ chlamers - I have always wanted to make maple candy in the snow. I think I'll make it the next time it snows (if that ever happens again).
butterface at 9:28PM on 05/16/08
This is soooo... reminicient of my childhood. My dad cooked tails about twice a month. Cooked in a pressure cooker with water, rutabegas, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. We'd eat them in a state that is similar to your first "cooked" picture. If there were any leftovers the next day, we'd dip them in pancake batter and fry them up for dinner on day two. I'd almost forgotten the "jelly". You ought to try spreading that on toast in the morning. Yum! The braised version pictured here looks absolutely beautiful but I'd still opt for batter dipped over breaded... Yes, @Cathy, the long ones are incomparable; the shorties just won't do. I love to tell people that they taste just like chicken...
...necks ;~)
czken at 2:38AM on 05/17/08
BTW, I one a copy of Fergus' book the first time I entered a "Cook the Book" drawing. Yes, they really do award the prizes. Some of the recipes in the book I wouldn't eat with your lips, but some are really exciting. The downside is finding a butcher who will supply the necessary parts. To each his own...
czken at 2:48AM on 05/17/08
@czken, c'mon. Parts is parts! ;-} I'll try the tail-braising jelly on toast; what a great idea.
Do some breeds have long tails vs. short?
Cathy at 12:03PM on 05/17/08
They must have been spectacular. They looked so delicious when they came out of their braise -- they could only have been delicious-er after their breading and roasting. Great post!
dorie at 12:17PM on 05/17/08
Aw, thanks, Dorie dear.
Cathy at 2:31PM on 05/17/08
they don't look like anything i'd like to put into my mouth, but then again neither do steamed clams
tweetypez at 3:51PM on 05/17/08
This looks fantastic. I will have to try it-- kudos to your efforts, it looks like they turned out incredibly.
purpleceline at 4:46PM on 05/17/08
@purpleceline, thanks! Do try them; minimum effort, maximum deliciousness.
Cathy at 6:18PM on 05/17/08
When my Grandmother used to roast a pig for Serbian Orthodox Christmas the tail, along with the ears, used to get done ahead of the rest, so we kids always got a "free sample".
It was the best part.
srhcb at 9:00PM on 05/17/08
@tweetypez have you been looking in my dining room window? Aside from pig tails, steamed clams are one food I dream about and stalk at every opportunity! It's foods like this that keep me from going vegetarian ;~)
czken at 2:30AM on 05/18/08
Looks good to me... Roy thinks otherwise. :)
emilgh at 9:49PM on 05/18/08
My dad used to put pig's tails in the sauce on Sunday....he & I were the only ones who would eat them. Haven't had them in years, but I do remember they were good!
mepolo at 10:32AM on 05/19/08