The humble pig’s trotter does not possess much meat, but what it has is flavor, and the cylindrical shape ideal to be stuffed like a sausage. It’s the intelligent way to approach this part of the nose to tail philosophy, I think. Its flavor is simple but elegant, earthy but seriously delicious. How to get there is a totally different story. It is a commitment and a secure few hours of dedication to make the best of it. My very first time.
After careful research and You Tube education, and armed with a very sharp knife and chopping board, I started with my most amazing journey — deboning and stuffing pig’s trotters. First the singing with the blow torch to remove any hair that might still be around. Then scrubbing between the toes and singe once more if necessary, and voilá — ready for the deboning action. Not for the squeamish though…
- Start with the deboning of the trotters. You will need 4 trotters.
- Make an incision down the middle of the underside and carefully ease the skin away from the bone, starting from the open end (the end opposite the toes).
- At all times try not to cut through the skin because the stuffing will leak out during the cooking process.
- Peel the skin back as you cut it away from the bone.
- You will reach the toes and quite a few tough tendons.
- Cut the tendons and maneuver the knife into the first joint to disconnect the largest bone in the trotter. (You will need to use some extra force.)
- Then tackle the next joints which are smaller and easier to remove.
- The good news is that the bones right inside the toes stay intact to keep them firm.
- There will still be fat and unidentifiable bits and pieces on the inside of the skin which should be scraped off carefully without tearing the skin.
Lightly sprinkle the skins with some salt, and spices (I used ground clove and cinnamon) of your choice, and set aside.
The recipe for the whole process:
4 pigs trotters
flour for coating
3 eggs with a dash of water
4 cups/1 liter panko breadcrumbs
oil for deep-frying
2 tablespoons/30 ml oil
2 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
¼ cup/60 ml white wine
1 tablespoon/15 ml Madeira
½ cup/125 ml veal or pork stock
2 teaspoons/10 ml champagne vinegar
herbs such as thyme, sage, tarragon, etc.
For the stuffing:
25 g calf’s sweetbreads
50 g/1.7 oz butter
1 small onion
20 mushrooms of your choice
1 chicken breast (very cold), skinned and diced
1 egg white
200 ml / 7 fl oz double cream, very cold
salt and freshly ground pepper
The chicken meat, egg white and cream must be very cold, otherwise it might split when processed.
- Heat the oil in an oven-proof pan and lightly brown the chopped vegetables and the bones.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine and as soon as the wine has evaporated, add the Madeira and the stock and bring back to a boil.
- Place the trotter skins on top of the bones. Cover the pan tightly and place in the oven at 160°C/325°F for 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing:
Calf’s sweetbreads
- Blanch the sweetbreads for 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and plunge in iced water.
- Drain and carefully remove the skin and membranes around the sweetbreads, then roughly chop them.
- In a pan heat some butter over medium heat and fry the sweetbreads and chopped onion for 5 minutes then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season lightly. Set aside to cool.
- To finish the stuffing: In a processor, puree the chicken breast with the egg white and cream and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the sweetbread mixture and mix well. Take a small amount of the stuffing and fry it for tasting to adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- To stuff the trotters: Place each lukewarm trotter skin (if it gets too cold it loses its elasticity and makes it difficult to roll) on a square of plastic wrap and start filling it, starting at the end of the foot.
- Pack the stuffing in well but not so much that the trotter loses its shape. The exact amount of mixture will depend on the size of your trotters.
- Once stuffed, it will take its original shape of the bone-in pig’s foot.
- Tightly roll up the stuffed trotters in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. (Leftover mousse can be frozen to fill tortellini, etc.)
- Meanwhile strain the cooking stock and discard the solids.
- Reduce the stock to a thick consistency, skimming the fat from the surface of the braising liquid all the time, then whisk in a of champagne vinegar.
- Add the herbs, adjust the seasoning and keep warm.
- For the frying of the crumbed trotters, get ready three shallow bowls, one with flour, the other with an egg and water mixture and a third with panko breadcrumbs.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the trotters. Cover them with flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg and finally roll in the breadcrumbs, making sure that the crumbs adhere all over.
- Put back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat filled with enough vegetable oil to cover the trotters when deep-frying.
- Once the oil is hot (about 160ºC/325ºF), add the breaded pig’s trotter to the pan and slowly fry it until all sides are golden brown all round.
- Transfer to a heated pan and place in the oven (160°C/325°F) for 15 minutes.
- When ready to serve, slice the trotter like a sausage and and arrange on the plate with the sauce and Crushed potatoes, green beans and shiittaki .
Fine Dining for You 