Was at the grocery store this evening on the way home . Checked the meat 'bargain bin' and found 2 packs of split pig feet . Was going to start mowing the yard but it was raining so figured I needed a project . List price on feet was total $11.36 , paid $5.18= GOOD DEAL ! LOL
Wash and scrub the feet , rinse . Put in pot and bring to a boil , be careful they stay covered with water . Bring to a boil and then turn it down till they just simmer (low and slow !) . Takes 2 to three hours (full 3 hours if you use whole feet) . As they simmer brown foam will collect on top (blood) , skim it off with a spoon or ladle .
Test them with a fork for tenderness , don't cook them till they fall apart .
In the mean time .
Boil your jars and lids to sterilize , let them dry naturally . I'm using pickle jars here but I'm figuring the ingredients for a quart jar . (Pickle jars are great for this)
Ingredients ;
1 clove of garlic
1/2 heaping teaspoon of pickling spice
10-12 peppercorns
1 large bay leaf
!/2 heaping teaspoon of red pepper flakes (if you want them to have some heat)
Put ingredients in the jar before adding feet .
Making the brine ;
Figure enough white vinegar to fill jar/jars . for each quart add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to the vinegar . on these I added 7 drops of red food coloring to make them pink . You need not add coloring if you like em ..natural . Bring to a boil , make sure salt is dissolved .
Packing/brining ;
Rinse the cooked feet in a colander with cold water (makes em prettier) and pack the jars . Fill with brine and be sure to fully cover the feet . Let cool to lukewarm and seal . Put em in the refrigerator and give em 2 weeks . Then enjoy !