Southern Louisiana Hog's Head Cheese

Hog's Head Cheese is a misnomer as it is a preserved meat product and not really a cheese. Also known as ‘souse,' Hog's Head Cheese was originally made by virtually every butcher in Southern Louisiana. This meat product is made from a mixture of boiled pork scraps and pigs' feet—providing a gelatinous texture to the concoction—as well as vinegar, which grants the meat a sour taste. Once boiled, this mixture is poured into bread pans and set in a cool area to jell.

Hog's Head Cheese is either fiery hot or calmly mild, and is eaten with crackers, on a Po' boy sandwich, or cubed like cheese as an appetizer. This meat product is made by a small number of producers and is available in Southern Louisiana markets. Sadly, a taste for the product has not been cultivated in younger generations and consequently Hog's Head Cheese could very easily disappear from the realm of gastronomic knowledge.