Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Crispy Fried Pig's Tails

Yes, I said pig's tails. And why not? There's skin, meat, fat, and other stuff, just like on every other part of the pig. And isn't it just awesome that the front-most piece in the picture kind of looks like a dolphin?

I followed the recipe from the Nasty Bits section of Serious Eats. Basically, you deep fry the tails for 4 minutes first, then braise them in water with onion, garlic, soy sauce, wine and salt for an hour. Then you very thoroughly dry off the tails. If you have leftover stock sticking to them...well...let's just say you don't want that.

Roll the tail pieces in flour, then carefully deep fry for about 3 minutes. Make sure you have a pot lid in your other hand to use as a shield.

The recipe said to dress them with a mix of soy sauce and vinegar, but I served them with a delicious mustard sauce that I whipped up, and unfortunately forgot to write down not only the proportions, but the ingredients.

So was it worth it? Hell, yes. Crispy outside, tender inside, the right proportion of meat:skin:fat. Absolutely delicious. I'm going to try it with trotters next.

9 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

I would gobble these up in a heartbeat - when I was a kid we would toss the ears and the tail straight into the coals for a nice crispy charred effect - this is so much more civilized!

Vicki said...

Hey DB - Civilized, yes, but I think there's still oil on my ceiling.

kat said...

I'd love to try these but not even sure where I'd buy them

Bob said...

Intriguing. I'd definitely try them, but I don't know if I'm gutsy enough to make them. Heh.

Vicki said...

Hi kat - I found them at a Mexican butcher. Asian markets may have them too.

Vicki said...

Hey Bob - No guts, no glorious crunchy meaty tails!

tigerfish said...

Woops! I wonder if I dare to take that. :O

Vicki said...

Hi tigerfish - They were delicious! Ever had anything with pork neck bones? This is just like that...only the other end :)

whenwewere25 said...

one can boil them in water with any spices, then wipe them dry, then when cooled down, bake them till crispy with last minutes on broil to get the charred effect