Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [40]
4. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the feet from the liquid and carefully unwrap them. Place them, skin side up in a shallow dish, removing the largest bone at the shank end—it will probably just fall out. Cover with a piece of parchment paper, then a cutting board or stiff cardboard. Place a weight on top (two cans or a jar of pickles, for example) and refrigerate overnight. This helps compact the flesh. Be sure to strain the cooking liquid through a sieve, discarding the solids, and keep it for sauces, soup, or aspic.
5. The next day, carefully remove the feet from the dish and put on a plate. Owing to their gelatinous nature, they will be stuck to the dish; discard any excess jelly.
6. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush it lightly with vegetable oil. Whisk the egg white with the salt in a small bowl, then whisk in the Dijon mustard.
7. Using a pastry brush, coat the the feet with the mustard mixture, then dip them in the bread crumbs.
8. Place the feet skin side up on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and heated through. You will need a spatula to remove the feet, which despite the oil and paper will probably still stick.
9. Toss the lettuces leaves with just enough dressing to coat. Serve with the pig’s feet, using the remaining dressing as a sauce for them.
Variation
ο Replace the feet with cooked pig’s tails (see page 86). The coated tails will take up to 35 minutes in the oven and must be turned halfway through cooking.
ο Orange Mustard Dressing
{MAKES 1 CUP (250 ML)} This dressing is good with the pig’s feet, as the mustard and orange juice cut through their richness. There is enough to dress the salad and use as a sauce for the pig’s feet. Of course you can also use it just as a salad dressing, on spicy greens.
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
Grated zest of 1 orange
⅓ cup (75 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the mustard in a small bowl and add the shallots and zest. Whisk in the orange juice, then the oil. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
οSpiced Salt
{MAKES ¼ CUP (35G)} I use this mixture to season pig’s feet and tails. You can brine them as well, but these cuts of pork have their own special unctuous quality and lots of fat so are never dry. Store the salt mixture in a glass jar and use it also as a rub on pork roasts or in place of kosher salt in pork recipes.
Quatre-épices is a French seasoning mix that varies according to the whim of the producer. Commonly it is a mix of white pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, but cinnamon and allspice may be included. While it does not have the same flavor, ground allspice can be substituted.
¼ cup (35 g) kosher salt
1 teaspoon quatre-épices or ground allspice
Mix the salt and spices well. Store in a tightly sealed jar.
BONES, BUTTONS AND BEADS
The word fibula means pin in Latin and it’s easy to see why. The pig’s fibula is an ideal shape for a pin, with its natural head and tapering form. Before buttons became commonplace in medieval times, pins were one of the principal ways of securing clothing. Most were just simple straight pins, but some had a hole cut into the head of the pin through which a tie could be looped. Archaeologists have unearthed numerous early Christian and Viking pins. A select few are intricately carved or covered in gold leaf. These pins were not mere clothing fasteners but were worn as jewelry for special occasions.
Different bones are easily fashioned into useful items without much work. Smaller animal scapulas, or shoulder blades, made good utensils for scooping flour or grain. Long thin scoops, rather like a very large marrow spoon, could be made from the metacarpals of sheep, and perhaps these scoops were used to core apples or to sample cheese to test its ripeness. Hollow bones