Cut a hog’s head into four pieces. Remove the brain, ears, skin, snout,
and eyes. Cut off the fat to try out for lard. Put the lean and bony
parts to soak in cold water over night to extract the blood. Clean the
head thoroughly, put it into a cooker-pail, cover it with cold water,
boil it for fifteen minutes and put it into the cooker for ten hours or
more. If the meat will not then slip readily from the bones, bring it
again to a boil and put it into the cooker until it will (perhaps six
hours more). Remove the bones and hard gristle, drain off the liquor,
reserving it for future use. Put the meat through a food-chopper, return
it to the cooker-pail with enough of the liquor to cover it, and salt,
pepper, and powdered sage to taste. Let it boil, put it into a cooker
for an hour or more, then pour it into a shallow pan or dish; cover it
with cheese-cloth and a board with a weight, to hold it in place. When
cold it will be solid, and is ready to serve, thinly sliced.