Pig's Pettitoes is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of pig offal and trotters boiled until tender, where the offal is minced, and served in a dish, topped with the split pig's trotters. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Pig's Pettitoes.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
PIG'S PETTITOES.
832. INGREDIENTS.—A thin slice of bacon, 1 onion, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, 1 pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste, thickening of butter and flour.
Mode.—Put the liver, heart, and pettitoes into a stewpan with the bacon, mace, peppercorns, thyme, onion, and gravy, and simmer these gently for 1/4 hour; then take out the heart and liver, and mince them very fine. Keep stewing the feet until quite tender, which will be in from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour, reckoning from the time that they boiled up first; then put back the minced liver, thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour, season with pepper and salt, and simmer over a gentle fire for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring the contents. Dish the mince, split the feet, and arrange them round alternately with sippets of toasted bread, and pour the gravy in the middle.
Time.—Altogether 40 minutes.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable from September to March.
Modern Redaction
Pettitoes is an alternate name for pig's trotters, though originally it was used for offal in general, as it is here.
Ingredients:
1 pig's liver
1 pig's heart
4 pig's trotters
1 thin rasher of bacon
1 onion
1 blade of mace
6 black peppercorns
4 sprigs of thyme
600ml gravy
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp plain flour mixed into 2 tbsp butter, to act as a thickener
Method:
Combine the liver and heart in a pan with the pig's trotters, bacon, mace, black peppercorns, thyme, onion and gravy. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes then remove the liver and heart. Trim these free of sinews, vessels and valves then mince the meat very finely and set aside.
Continue cooking the contents of the pan for about 40 minutes, or until all the trotters are tender then return the minced meats to the pan. Beat in the flour and butter mix, a little at a time. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Dish the mince onto a serving dish. Split the feet and arrange these around the dish, alternating with sippets of toasted bread. Serve immediately.
