$$ · braised beef, lamb neck, pot roasts, and stews
Turn a tough cut tender in one pot
Browning meat on the stovetop, then braising it slowly in the oven.
Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Cabeza de cerdo is known in English as Pig head.
Also called
🇺🇸🇬🇧Pig head🇫🇷Tête de porc🇵🇹🇧🇷Cabeça de porco🇮🇹Testa di maiale🇩🇪Schweinekopf
The whole pork head — a foundational ingredient in nose-to-tail butchery worldwide and the source of multiple regional specialties. In Mexico, the head goes into *carnitas* (long-simmered in lard), *queso de cabeza* (head cheese), and *suadero*-adjacent stews. In Italy it's the source of *coppa di testa* and the basis for *guanciale* (the cheek). In France, *fromage de tête*. In China, *tóupí* roast pork crackling. Sold whole, halved, or with the cheeks removed for separate preparations. The cheeks are the most prized part — covered in this cut by *guanciale* (id 72) and *pork cheek* (id 32) — the rest yields tongue, jowl meat, brain (where allowed), and skin for *chicharrón*. Distinct from *cabeza de res* (id 39, beef head, used for *barbacoa de cabeza* and *suadero*).
Names by country
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Pig head | Specialty butcher item; basis for nose-to-tail preparations and head cheese. |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Pig head | |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Cabeza de cerdoprimary | Source of carnitas, queso de cabeza, and several taquería specialties. Sold whole or halved at carnicerías and rastros. |
| 🇫🇷France | Tête de porc | Used for *fromage de tête* (head cheese / brawn) and traditional charcuterie. |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Cabeça de porco | |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Cabeça de porco | |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Testa di maiale | Source of *coppa di testa* (Italian head cheese). |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Schweinekopf |
Classic recipe
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