LA TÊTE

HEAD

WHOLE CALF’S HEAD: boned, skin removed and rolled around the skinned tongue by the butcher
order from specialty butchers ahead of time

WHOLE PIG’S HEAD: ready to cook
order from specialty butchers ahead of time

PIG’S EAR: ready to cook
order from specialty butchers ahead of time

PIG’S SNOUT: ready to cook
order from specialty butchers ahead of time

THE ANTERIOR END OF MANY ANIMALS, CONTAINING THE TONGUE, BRAIN AND MAIN SENSORY ORGANS

Eat a head. Now there’s a preposterous idea for a lover of fine flesh. The famous butcher Guillotin, who had a good head on his shoulders, propelled this repellent dish headfirst into the firmament of cuisine. Calf or pig, the choice is yours… Calf’s head, tête de veau, generally comes boned and rolled with the tongue in the middle. It is shaped like a large sausage wrapped in fishnet mesh. This ageing-stripper get-up will hold the meats together during cooking. Calf’s head must be served meltingly tender, it is eaten with a spoon, accompanied by a sauce ravigote or gribiche. For two five-year terms, calf’s head reigned over presidential dinners in France, much to the despair of visiting heads of state.

Whole pig’s head is mainly used for making fromage de tête (head cheese), a strange name for a fresh dish eaten at the beginning of the meal. The etymology of this name is derived, according to knowledgeable male sources, from a quarrel between the butcher Guillotin and his assistant Neuneuil. After Neuneuil had overcooked a pig’s head in stock, he decided to chop up the meat with parsley and form it into a terrine, pouring over the cooking liquid. Guillotin had a rush of blood to the head, but Neuneuil held on to his: ‘What are you making such a fuss about, big cheese? ’Guillotin turned the dish to his advantage and put up a sign in his shop, head held high: ‘Head cheese, 3 germinal francs per pound’. It was an instant success.