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📝 Description
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🥘 Ingredients
A calf's head, 4 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, 4 blades of pounded mace, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, white pepper to taste, a few thick slices of ham, the yolks of 6 eggs boiled hard.
👨🍳 Method
Scald the head for a few minutes; take it out of the water, and with a blunt knife scrape off all the hair. Clean it nicely, divide the head and remove the brains. Boil it tender enough to take out the bones, which will be in about 2 hours. When the head is boned, flatten it on the table, sprinkle over it a thick layer of parsley, then a layer of ham, and then the yolks of the eggs cut into thin rings and put a seasoning of pounded mace, nutmeg, and white pepper between each layer; roll the head up in a cloth, and tie it up as tightly as possible. Boil it for 4 hours, and when it is taken out of the pot, place a heavy weight on the top, the same as for other collars. Let it remain till cold; then remove the cloth and binding, and it will be ready to serve.
📜 From Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). Public domain.
⭐ Reader Reviews
Honest opinions from readers who have explored this book.
I tried my hand at the Collared Calf's Head, a recipe that's as much about technique as it is about taste. The process was a revelation — the way the head transformed from a humble, somewhat intimidating piece of meat into a elegant, rolled collar was sheer magic. I found the layering process, with its parsley, ham, and egg yolk rings, to be surprisingly satisfying, like building a tiny, edible sculpture. One detail that delighted me was the texture of the final dish. After hours of boiling and pressing, the calf's head emerged as a firm, velvety mound, unlike anything I've cooked before. This recipe is a gem for the technique nerd in the kitchen — someone who enjoys the process as much as the result. It's not a dish for the faint-hearted or time-poor, but the reward is a unique, old-world delicacy that's sure to impress. Next time, I'll serve it with a tangy horseradish sauce to cut through the richness.
