Octopus

If you think animals with a good diet taste better...   Octopus is for you!


The octopus is a cephalopod with around 300 different species. Like many lizards that can loose and grow back their tales, the octopus can detach and regrow their arms. They can also change colors to match their environment like a chameleon. Another unique defense they use is the projection of ink to cloud the water for an escape from predators. The octopus is a very smart animal. They are able to distinguish between real and mirrored images as well knowing their shapes and colors. These magnificent animals also are able to show emotion. Enough about their defences and brains, we are here for food. I am jealous of the octopuses diet. They feed like kings. Although they dine on fish, snails, shellfish, crustaceans, turtles and other octopus they still live short lives. Many live only to be between six months and five years old. That is with out humans killing them for food. Here is a recipe for an octopus appetizer for you who have your very own octopus.

Tender Pressure-Cooked

Octopus

10-15   Baby or Small Octopus

1   Clementine

3tbl.   Sesame Oil

46oz.   Coconut Milk

1tbl.   Olive Oil

1tsp.   Red Pepper Flakes

to cover   H2O

Saffron flavored rice

Spinach

Chili Sauce (your favorite kind)

- Add the first seven ingredients to a pressure-cooker

- Cover and cook for 15-20min.

- Place Spinach on plate and top with Saffron Rice

- Top the rice with the Octopus and garnish with Chili Sauce

Pig Head

Head Cheese...     Nope. Sorry. Too obvious!

Here is a head duo. The head has some of the most tender, juicy and flavorful parts, of the body. It can be used and cooked in almost any way you can cook other parts of an animal. Every part must be used! The head needs the hair removed first. I was going to use a butane torch to burn it off until a glass-blower friend of mine handed me a nice sized propane blow torch that cut my burning time in half. I recommend the blow torch over a small, crappy, butane torch. Jowls are a great part on their own. Then there are the ears, snout, neck, tongue, face and skull. The meat on the head can be cooked as well as the head itself. The teeth should be removed and the skull and remaining fat and meat can be boiled down into a great stock for soups or sauces.

SLOW COOKED PIG'S HEAD

1     Pig's Head

1     Apple

1     Cinnamon Stick

2     Garlic Cloves

1tbl.     Red Pepper Flakes

1     Bay Leaf

2C.     H2O

1shot     Dark Beer

- Add all ingredients into a crock pot

- Cook on low for 12 hours

- Remove from heat and shred the meat

PIG'S HEAD SOUP

1     Pig's Head (trimmed)

1batch     Slow Cooked Pig's Head

1gal.     H2O

2-3tbl.     Cooking Oil

2     Carrots

4ribs     Celery

1     White Onion

1     Apple

 S&P

- Saute Carrots, Celery, Onion & Apple in Oil until tender

- Add Pig's Head, Water and Seasonings

- Simmer & Reduce by about half

- Remove the Head and add shredded Head Meat

- Simmer for 10min.

- Cool overnight

- Remove fat from the top of the soup

- Re-heat and enjoy

Pig Jowl

If you love tender, juicy pork...     Stuff your cheeks with these jowls!

The jowls are just as good as and can be cooked similar to pulled pork. Most people would never think of eating the head of a pig, but honestly I think it has some of the most flavorful and tender meat. Yes it has eyes and may seem to be staring at you but it's dead, it died for your pleasure, and should be honored by using every part. Pigs have huge heads and strong jaws, thus they have a large chunk of meat in the jowl area. The meat is tender, juicy and full of porky goodness. For spectacular, tender jowl meat use this recipe and I guarantee, if you love the pig and all it has to offer, you'll enjoy this. Oink!

SHREDDED PIG JOWL

1     Pig Jowl

1lg.     Carrot

1/2     White Onion

2sprigs     Rosemary

3tbl.     Oregano

2tbl.     Thyme

2tbl.     Sage

1bottle     Beer (lager or a lighter ale)

4C.     Water (or enough to cover the jowl)

           S&P

-Add all ingredients to a stock pot or crock pot

- Turn on low heat

- Cook for 9 hours

- Remove the jowl meat from the pot

- Remove most of the large fat chunks from the meat

PIG JOWL SANDWICHES

2 WAYS

2     Wheat Rolls

1/4C.     Shredded Pig Jowl

2slices     Pickled Cherry Peppers

     Chili Sauce

     Yellow Mustard

     Blue Cheese

- Smear Yellow Mustard on the bottom of one Roll and Chili Sauce on the other

- Top each Roll with half of the Jowl meat

- Top the Mustard Roll with a chunk of Blue Cheese and top the Chili Roll with Peppers

- Pig out!

    



Pig Slaughter & Butchering

The slaughtering starts with a pig and a bullet. This step is not for the squeemish. It takes a lot of "guts" to procede with the kill and cleaning. The pig must be skinned, gutted, cleaned and halved.

The next step is butchering. Butchering consists of cutting the carcass into steaks, roasts, loins, ribs and all types of delectable edibles. Every part must be used! Do not throw away anything! Yes, dog-food is a legetimate reason to throw some of the parts that you don't want on the floor.

Now that you have seen where your pork chop comes from, I give you some recipes so that you can enjoy your swine to the fullest.

Quail Eggs

What came first...     The Quail or the Egg?

Quail Eggs are a great food to eat for nutritional value and sustaining good health. These beautiful freckled shells are full of protein, iron, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and vitamins A, B1 and B2. They contain plenty of HDL cholesterol. "Yes, that's the good cholesterol!" Quail Eggs are non allergenic and are immune to salmonella as well as harmful bacteria because of its increased content of lysozyme, which kills the bacteria. These delicious eggs can be consumed raw or cooked any way you would cook a chicken egg.

BOILED QUAIL EGGS

- Set Egg in boiling water

- Soft Boiled = 1 minute

- Hard Boiled = 3 minutes

- Peel shell and eat

RAW QUAIL EGGS

- Make a line around the top of the shell with a very sharp knife

- Following that line, make a small incision and follow the original line until top comes off

- Set upright on Wasabi or a Soft Cheese, top with Sea Salt and a dash of fresh cracked Pepper