Pigs ears recipe

I almost bought some pigs ears the other day. Two for $NZ2.00.

Has anyone cooked/eaten pig ears?

Hi Neil have never cooked them (or indeed attempted silk purses() but had some deep fired bits as a garnish a while ago which left me underwhelmed.
But how much can we expect from cartilage and skin?
I am not sure what cooking method would best suit such a critter.
If you buy let us know!!

I've had them once in a while. They're too chewy to be good (for my tastes).

A distinguished former colleague who would cheerfully eat fried locusts or snake liver once told me that the most challenging meal of his life was an Okinawan special dish consisting of two large boar's ears served upright on a plate. He had no idea how they had been prepared, but noted that a liberal coating of oily butter was required to smooth the swallowing of each hairy rubbery bite... .

Can one make them out of silk purses?

-Paul W.

There is a Szechuan restaurant near me that had me convinced that everything they made was delicious. So I tried ordering pig's ear.

The texture of the cartilage ranges from rubbery to weirdly crunchy. They basically sliced it up into many very thin strips to minimize the chewing effort. But I don't really think there is anything you can do that will make it appetizing.

On the other hand I have a recipe in a Piemontese cookbook for pig's ear that always looked intriguing to me. Seems like if you could braise the darn thing long enough you might get it tender. But maybe not.

I have a friend who is an educator for two cosmetic companies and she travels the world. When I see her I want to know all the details of her travels, especially the food. When asked by her host if she has any food allergies or requirements, she always says she is vegan. Although she is not, she cannot tolerate the protein choices in many countries. She has told me of pigs ears, duck bills, bugs, eyes and other things I consider to be inedible. Just the site of some foods make her nauseous. She travels with an extra suitcase full of fiber bars, water, and other food items to fill her up.

Thanks for all the insights. If I see them on a menu somewhere I might be tempted to try them. But I think that cooking them might be a no-go area!

We are headed to Greece/Austria/Germany/France(Alscace) soon so what delicacies might be an option?

Thanks for all the insights. If I see them on a menu somewhere I might be tempted to try them. But I think that cooking them might be a no-go area!

We are headed to Greece/Austria/Germany/France(Alscace) soon so what delicacies might be an option?

Neil, I say deep fry them until crunchy, then feed the dog!

I have a friend who is an educator for two cosmetic companies and she travels the world. When I see her I want to know all the details of her travels, especially the food. When asked by her host if she has any food allergies or requirements, she always says she is vegan. Although she is not, she cannot tolerate the protein choices in many countries. She has told me of pigs ears, duck bills, bugs, eyes and other things I consider to be inedible. Just the site of some foods make her nauseous. She travels with an extra suitcase full of fiber bars, water, and other food items to fill her up.

Thanks for the reminder. I'll never forget chasing lamb eyeballs around a plate with chopsticks at an upscale Thai dinner in Thailand. I felt in deference to the host I should try at least one. When nobody was looking I gripped one and stabbed it with a chopstick and popped it into my mouth. I have no idea what it tasted like as I swallowed it whole.

Not a fan. Similarly, I don't like eating chicken feet.

Pigs ears are great as a doggie chew toy, though.

Samuel Johnson…"Oats. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people”

Different places, different tolerances for food.

FWIW, you can keep your beche de mere and baalut (if you don't know what that is, google it - yech!) too!

Thanks for all the insights. If I see them on a menu somewhere I might be tempted to try them. But I think that cooking them might be a no-go area!

We are headed to Greece/Austria/Germany/France(Alsace) soon so what delicacies might be an option?

You might need a (LONG) thread for each of those countries. But because Alsace is easiest, I'll say a little about Alsatian food.

Alsace makes me think of goose, pork, and sausage. One of the characteristic dishes is "choucroute garni" in French, basically sauerkraut "decorated" with several kinds of meat, including pork chops and various sausages. You wash this down either with beer or one of the really nice local wines -- which tend to be made of grapes similar to those used in Germany (Riesling, Gewürztraminer, etc.) but finished quite dry instead of sweet (generally). Alsace is a center for production of foie gras as well. You won't have a problem finding good savory honest food in Alsace.

French cooking? Volumes have been written. I find it interesting that in a country town, the basic "people's food" could be described as a bit closer to the Alsatian model, many Frenchmen have a sausage for supper (probably with red wine). French "haute cuisine" arguably came in from Tuscany with Catherine de Medici in the 16th Century, and there has been a divide between what the upper and lower classes eat ever since.

German -- there are dishes everyone knows like Sauerbraten, there are Wurst Wurst Wurst wherever you go. If you hunt around and get creative, you can find dishes involving local mushrooms in cream sauce etc. It can be a little hard to find vegetables or green salad. Like England, in an "emergency" you can find Chinese or Turkish restaurants, to escape a constantly high cholesterol diet. Actually I ate a lot of smoked trout in Germany. For lunch, I often looked for "Goulaschsuppe" which was normally pretty good, and closer to a vegetable soup than the very beefy Hungarian Gulyasz.

Frank,

I don't eat fish and seafood. Not because I'm allergic or anything. It's just that I don't like the smell, texture, or flavor of fish or seafood.

So just guess what happened when the French wine country tour I was on landed in our first port of call--Marseille? We went to a famous restaurant on the old quay, and everyone else ordered bouillabaisse. I ordered choucroute garni. A dish that resonates with my Polish ancestry--a celebration of pork and cabbage. What arrived was a massive pile of seasoned sauerkraut braised in white wine, garnished with a vast variety of bits of bacon, chops, sausages, and other pork products.

I was in heaven.

But the vast bounty of the offering made me think of the B. Kliban cartoon titled "Never eat anything bigger than your head".

This dish (represented on the menu as one serving) was WAY bigger than my head. I made a good dent in it, but I would have died if I'd tried to eat it all in one sitting.

It remains a fond memory of my visits to France, and someday I'm going to try my hand at creating a choucroute garni.

-Paul W.

Paul, as I understand it, economic dislocations in Alsace around 1870 resulted in a migration to Paris and other parts of France. This resulted in the addition of the Brasserie to the already existing Bistro culture. Most Americans probably think of those as more or less the same thing, but a Brasserie will serve beer (Bistros don't always) and will probably serve Alsatian dishes notably Choucroute Garni. The first time I had it in France was in le Mans, a long way from Alsace. Evidently there is a chain of restaurants (don't remember the name) all over France that specialize in the dish.

It is not that hard to reproduce at home, but it sure is nice to just walk into a restaurant and order it. Much deliciousness!!

Not a fan. Similarly, I don't like eating chicken feet.

Pigs ears are great as a doggie chew toy, though.

Samuel Johnson…"Oats. A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people”

Different places, different tolerances for food.

FWIW, you can keep your beche de mere and baalut (if you don't know what that is, google it - yech!) too!

Bill, IMO the only thing chicken feet are good for (except the chicken) is to give some body to home made chicken broth. That reminds me it's about time to make a couple gallons of that too.

We went to a famous restaurant on the old quay, and everyone else ordered bouillabaisse.

-Paul W.

One of my most memorable meals in France was lunch in a waterfront cafe in Sete where the bouillabaisse was simply divine. Another was a plate of garlic snails I had in Cherbourg. Just swimming in garlic butter!