If you’ve ever seen “headcheese” on a deli menu or at a traditional butcher shop, your first reaction was likely, “That doesn’t look like cheese.” Despite the name, this historical delicacy contains no dairy at all; rather, it is a savory meat jelly or aspic that has been a staple of European kitchens since the Middle Ages. Known by a dozen different names across the globe, from English Brawn to Southern Souse, headcheese is a great example of culinary resourcefulness, and it illustrates our mastery of preserving and utilizing every part of the animal. Read on to learn more about its typical ingredients and historical origins.
Headcheese is not cheese, but the way it is served resembles cheese. Made in Europe since the Middle Ages, it’s a meat jelly or aspic made into a terrine or encased as a sausage. In fact, headcheese can be thought of as simply another type of sausage.
Headcheese is made with the flesh from the calf or pig’s head, including the tongue, but not the eyes, brain, or ears, although the brains were included in the past. Sometimes, a cow, ox, or sheep’s head may be used. In some parts of Britain, rabbit has also been used. Trimmings from other cuts of meat are often added. The American name of the food probably came from the French fromage de tête.
The primary purpose of headcheese is preservation. It also helps utilize the entire animal. There is a surprising amount of meat in a pig’s or cow’s head, but it is difficult to remove this meat without slowly boiling the head long periods.
The traditional way of making headcheese is to lightly brine the head and then slowly cook it in a seasoned broth until the meat can be removed from the bone. Since the head has a high collagen content, the liquid can be cooked down until it forms a jelly that can then be set into a “meat jelly” or aspic. This jelly, with the meat embedded in it, is usually formed into a cylindrical shape, similar to cheese, hence the name “headcheese.”
A typical headcheese has a variety of textures. Some of the meat, from the cheeks and jowls, is more chewy, while the meat from the snout is more tender. Some cartilage components will also end up in the mixture, such as from the ears. The only parts not commonly used are the brain and the eyes.
In modern commercial varieties, more desirable cuts of meat are used, and gelatin is usually added. Headcheese is often labeled “Souse” in American grocery stores.
English Brawn
A much older name for headcheese is brawn. During medieval times in England, wild boar was used to make these preparations. Brawn, before it became a name for the jelled dishes made from the head of the boar, was a name for boar’s meat itself, favored for its fatty richness.
In medieval England, headcheese, or brawn, was eaten at Christmas. In those days, it was not molded into a cylindrical shape, but kept in a pot, covered with a mixture of ale, verjuice, and salt, which served as a preservative pickling liquid, allowing the brawn to be kept for longer periods. It was often made into thick, rich stews, or sliced and served with a wine sauce.
Later, when wild boars became scarcer, domesticated pigs, fattened on whey, began to be used. This coincided with the rise of potted meats, and headcheese was then sold as a canned product, baked in its can. The can was then drained and the remaining space filled with butter. Modern jellied products came later. These modern headcheese products are less heavily spiced than their earlier counterparts, often using onlya small amount of sage or other herbs, and perhaps lemon juice or another acidifier.
Other Names for Headcheese or Similar Preparations
- Brawn: Common in Britain and Australia, sometimes referring to the wild boar meat it was originally made from.
- Souse: This is a pickled version, often made with vinegar. It’s popular in the American South and the West Indies. The name comes from the German Sülze.
- Hog’s Head Cheese/Hoghead Cheese: Alternative names sometimes used in the U.S.
- Meat Jelly/Potted heid: Alternative names for headcheese used in Appalachia and Scotland. Meat jelly refers to the gelatinous texture, while in the term potted heid, heid is another word for head.
- Sülze: German for headcheese, often includes larger meat chunks and a firmer texture, set in a gelatinous broth. Served with vinegar, pickles, onions, mustard and bread.
- Presskopf/Presssack: German names for a type of pressed headcheese made with pig’s head and spices.
- Salceson: The name for Polish headcheese, which is similar to German, but less firm, chunky, and vinegary. It is often with carrots, peas, and garlic.
- Pichti: The name of Greek headcheese.
