Crubeens and Cabbage

Ingredients

• Crubeens:
• 2 pigs trotters with hocks attached, split lengthwise
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 5 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 12 black peppercorns
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound caul fat
• Cabbage:
• 4 strips thick cut bacon, chopped
• 1/2 small green cabbage, finely sliced

Directions

1. Fit the trotter halves back together and tie them up snugly in cheesecloth. Put the bundle in a roomy stockpot with the bay leaves, carrots, onions, garlic, and peppercorns. Add water until everything is covered, then bring the pot to a gentle simmer, spooning off the foam that rises. Cook until a knife slips into the trotters easily, 2-3 hours. Lift out the trotters, pour the cooking liquid through a strainer, and keep that liquid.
2. Put the potatoes in a pot and add water to cover them. Bring them to a simmer and cook until they are soft, then drain them and mash them. Stir in the cream, then add salt and pepper until the potatoes taste right to you. Let the mash come down to room temperature.
3. Once the trotters are warm but not too hot for your hands, take off the cheesecloth and carefully ease the halves apart. Pull out the bones, doing your best to leave each piece in one piece. If little scraps come loose, save them. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of every trotter half.
4. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Gently open up the caul fat so the delicate sheets are separated and manageable. Set each trotter half on a cutting board with the skin facing down, then share the potatoes evenly among them. Wrap the trotter around the potatoes, then loosely but securely cover each piece with caul fat. Do the same with the remaining trotters. Arrange the wrapped halves on a rack set in a baking pan, and roast for about an hour, until they are a deep golden brown.
5. Set a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the bacon until its fat has cooked out and the pieces are crisp, about 6 minutes. Add any saved trotter scraps from the boning step and cook until they start to brown. Stir in the cabbage and cook until it wilts, splashing in some of the reserved pork stock if the pan starts to catch. Taste, then season with salt and pepper.
6. When the trotters are done roasting, serve them with the cabbage and plenty of dark beer.