Pressure Cooker Pig Head Soup with Root Vegetables

Oh no! I forgot the pig's head!

My brother loves pig roasts. He bought a La Caja China Cuban pig roaster a few years ago, and now all he needs is an excuse to roast a pig. Family together at the cottage in the summer? Pig roast. Ohio State-Michigan game? Pig roast. Co-worker having a party? Matt shows up, roaster in tow.

I always grab some leftovers from Matt on my way out, so I can make shredded pork sandwiches. This time, when I was leaving, I remembered Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe's pig stock.
And her story about the burglar who snuck into the kitchen early one morning and stole the boiling hot head out of the stock pot. Talk about desperate…

Matt packed up the head for me…and I forgot it while wrangling the kids out the door. Matt threw the head in the freezer for me, and gave it to me as part of my Christmas presents.
A frozen pig's head! Exactly what I wanted…

So it's the week after Christmas, and I have a pig's head and a pile of root vegetables left from my winter CSA share. Soup time!

If you can't get a pig head, don't worry - 5 pounds of meaty pork bones will work, and, frankly, won't gross out your family. One glimpse of the pork jaw and my daughter shrieked and ran from the room.

Now, you don't have to use pork stock - homemade chicken stock is an acceptable substitute. If you're desperate, you can use store bought chicken broth, preferably low sodium broth in the aseptic packages - but please, at least once, try to make your own stock. With homemade stock, the broth is the highlight of the soup; with store bought broth, the soup is more about what you add into it.
…and that's why this soup is OK with store bought - we're adding in shredded pork, leftover from a roast. Leeks, kale, cabbage, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. You can hide a bland stock behind all that.

No pressure cooker? No worries. See the notes section for stove top pork stock instructions.

6 quart or smaller pressure cooker? Skip the pig head, and use a smaller amount of meaty pork bones. See the notes section for electric pressure cooker instructions.

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Pressure Cooker Pig Head and Root Vegetable Soup

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• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

A rich pork stock pressure cooked from a pig's head, then simmered into a hearty soup with shredded pork, leeks, kale, cabbage, carrots, parsnips and potatoes.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x

Pork stock

• 1 (5 pound) pig head, or 5 pounds meaty pork bones
• 2 quarts chicken stock (or water)
• 3 quarts water, plus more to cover
• 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
• 2 stalks celery
• Green leaves from a leek (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

Soup

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 leek, trimmed, rinsed and thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 quarts pork stock (from above, or chicken stock)
• 2 cups shredded cooked pork
• 2 large carrots, peeled, quartered and diced
• 1 large parsnip, peeled, quartered, cored and diced
• 8 ounces kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 pound new potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Pressure cook the stock: Put all the stock ingredients in the pressure cooker, adding water to just cover the pork (don't go over the max fill line). Cook at high pressure for 1 hour, then let the pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes and quick release the rest.
2. Strain and degrease: Lift out the solids with a slotted spoon, and strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer. Skim off the fat (or chill overnight and lift off the fat cap). Use 2 quarts, and freeze the rest.
3. Sauté the leek: Heat the oil in a 6 quart or larger pot over medium heat. Add the leek and ½ teaspoon salt, and sauté until soft and browning at the edges, about 5 minutes.
4. Simmer the soup: Add the stock, and scrape up any browned bits. Add the pork, carrots, parsnip, kale, cabbage, potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
5. Season: Stir in the vinegar, then add salt, pepper and more vinegar to taste.

Equipment

8-Quart Instant Pot

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Notes

Equipment: An 8 quart or larger pressure cooker (10 or 12 quarts is better for a pig head) and a large pot for the soup (or the wiped-out pressure cooker pot).

The stock can be made weeks ahead. Freeze it in quart containers.

Use whatever vegetables you have: about 1 pound of leafy greens (kale, collards, cabbage) and 1 ½ pounds of root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery root, turnips).

No pressure cooker? Bring the stock ingredients to a simmer in an 8 quart or larger pot, then put it in a 200°F oven for 6 to 8 hours.

With a 6 quart pressure cooker, use 2 pounds of meaty pork bones, 1 quart chicken stock and 1 quart water (plus more to cover). Cook 1 hour at high pressure (1 hour 20 minutes in an electric cooker), with a natural release.

The extra stock is great in pho, tortellini en brodo or tortilla soup.

Adapted from Judy Rodgers's The Zuni Cafe Cookbook.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

I'm hiding the picture of the pig head in the pot down here...be warned...

Related Posts:

Here are some more ideas to use up the extra stock. Substitute the word "pork" for "turkey":
Pressure Cooker Turkey Noodle Soup with Vegetables
Turkey Soup with Chickpeas and Vegetables
Turkey Ramen Soup
Click here for my other pressure cooker recipes.

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