A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe,[1] is the culinary term for a pig's foot. It is used as a cut of pork in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s.[2]

A pig's trotter in front of carrots and onions

Description

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Pigs' trotters, sold as Irish-style crubeens in Illinois
 
Wonton noodles with pigs' trotters braised with nam yu (fermented bean curd)

Before sale, the trotters are cleaned and typically have the hairs pulled with a hot tank and beaters.[3] They are often used in cooking to make stocks, as they add thickness to gravy, although they are also served as a normal cut of meat.[3] In Puerto Rico, a tomato-based stew of pigs' trotters with chickpeas is called patitas de cerdo. Sometimes potatoes or butternut are added. Chef Marco Pierre White has long served trotters at his restaurants,[4] based on the original recipe of mentor Pierre Koffmann.[5] In the New York City restaurant Hakata Tonton, 33 of the 39 dishes served contain pigs' trotters.[6]

Following the Great Recession, there was a boom in popularity of pigs' trotters in the United Kingdom as a revival in cheap meat recipes occurred.[2] In 2008, British supermarket Waitrose reintroduced trotters to its stores,[4] and found that they quickly became popular.[2] In 2009, Pierre Koffmann set up a pop-up restaurant, and found that diners ate an entire month's stock of 500 pigs' trotters in less than a week.[2]

In Norwegian tradition, pigs' feet are salted and boiled and served as syltelabb. This is a pre-Christmas dish because the pig was slaughtered before Christmas, and everything was used. Today syltelabb is for enthusiasts.[7]

Recipes and combinations

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Pigs' trotters on rice

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pettitoes Definition". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Carmichael, Sri (21 October 2009). "Pig's trotters fly off the shelves as customers seek cheap meat cuts". The Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 24 October 2009.
  3. ^ a b Heath, Adrian (30 October 2009). "A modern bargain: Pig's Trotters". BBC News.
  4. ^ a b Wallop, Henry (21 September 2008). "Credit crunch sees Bath chaps, ox cheek and pigs trotters return". The Telegraph.
  5. ^ Cooke, Rachel (20 June 2010). "Pierre Koffmann: 'Not enough British chefs cook from the heart'". The Guardian.
  6. ^ MacDonald Smith, Fiona (3 March 2008). "Pigs' feet: the new superfood". The Telegraph.
  7. ^ https://thornews.com/2011/12/31/syltelabber-pickled-pigs-feet/ thornews
  8. ^ Carvalho, Mónica (20 October 2020). "Chispalhada: um prato para estômagos aventureiros" [Chispalhada; a dish for adventurous stomachs]. Ekonomista (in Portuguese).
  9. ^ Acurio, Gastón (2008). Larousse de la gastronomía peruana: diccionario gatronómico ilustrado (in Spanish). Lima: Q.W. Editores. p. 293. ISBN 9789972589379.
  10. ^ "Una delicia del Cusco, sarza de patas de cerdo". Cuzco Eats (in European Spanish). 9 January 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ^ "¿Cómo se prepara las patitas con maní? Aquí te enseñamos". wapa.pe. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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