How to Make Pigs' Pettitoes — The Victorian Way

Today, Mrs Crocombe is preparing Pigs' Pettitoes — a rich stew for the upper servants' table. One of Mr Lincoln the Butler's favourite recipes, this is a meaty dish which uses the offal of the pig as well as the meat, and is thoroughly Victorian in its presentation.

INGREDIENTS
For this recipe, you will need...
• 1 rasher of bacon
• 1 small onion
• 1 blade of mace (or ground mace)
• 3-4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 UK pint / 20oz thick beef stock
• 4 pigs’ trotters
• 1 pigs’ liver
• 1 pigs’ heart
• 1tbsp of flour mixed with 1tbsp butter and chilled (beurre manié).
• Toasted bread triangles (sippets), to serve.

METHOD
1. Dice the onion and bacon and put them in a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients except the piggie parts. (For more flavour, although not Victorian, gently caramelise the onions in butter first).
2. Slice the liver and heart thickly and add them, along with the trotters. Bring them to a boil, and them simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the heart and liver when cooked. Cool enough to handle and then mince finely. Continue to simmer the trotters until they are tender, which will take around 1.5 to 3 hours depending on size. If you have a pressure cooker, you can reduce this to 30-45 minutes. Remove from the pan.
4. Add the minced heart and liver back to the pan along with your butter-flour mix. Bring the whole to a gentle simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens and is hot through.
5. Remove with a slotted spoon to a hot dish. Split the trotters lengthways.
6. Arrange the dish in concentric circles using a ring mould to mould the heart and liver, with the trotters around the outside, interspersed with toasted bread triangles.
7. Just before serving, pour the gravy into the centre of the dish.

[EnglishHeritage]

We hope you enjoy your visit to Mrs Crocombe's kitchen. Here are the answers to some questions you might have, from Dr Annie Gray...

• Did people actually eat this?
We assume so. You can never know for certain that any given recipe was cooked – just because it appears in a cookery book, printed or manuscript, is no guarantee it was made, or made as written. However, there are a lot of broadly similar recipes for pettitoes from the 18th century to the early 20th century, and so it seems likely it was not only eaten, but widely enjoyed. Earlier recipes are more of a savoury stew: this version is typically Victorian, in that it is slimmed down and rather less sophisticated than earlier iterations.

• Why was ham the most expensive part of the pig?
Many people kept pigs, both in urban and rural contexts. When pig-killing time came along, the offal, which didn’t keep well, would be the first to be consumed (or made into sausages), followed by other small cuts of meat. The haunches, which were the biggest single joints, would be cured by dry salting or brining, before being smoked to become hams. This took both time and expertise, inevitably pushing the price up. In many cases, the hams would be sold to provide money to buy the next pig. Mrs Crocombe would not have cured her own hams at Audley End, but she probably knew how to do it from her time training with her brother, who farmed in Devon. Ham was much used in the upper-class Victorian kitchen, both in stocks and sauces, and in forcemeats (stuffings).

• Did I hear right – servants at Audley End had 1lb (450g) of meat a day?
You did indeed hear correctly. Meat was very prestigious in Victorian Britain, largely because very few people could afford to eat it very often. If you were one of the minority of servants who succeeded in getting a position in a country house, you were well cared for. That said, country house owners had to offer decent perks, such as lots of meat, because their country houses were often inaccessible, and they struggled to find staff who were both experienced and willing to live for part of the year at some distance from any amenities. The meat eaten by servants would have been plainly prepared – usually poached or made into a stew – and was generally cheaper cuts or game such as rabbit which was plentiful and free.

• Mrs Crocombe says Mary Ann would normally make this – what exactly was her role?
As the first kitchenmaid, Mary Ann would have been in charge of servants’ food. The lower servants ate plainly, often boiled (poached) joints of meat plus lots of vegetables and a basic gravy for dinner, and a lot of bread and cheese and ham for supper and tea, plus some basic cakes. The upper servants also ate any remains from the family table which could not be reworked into other dishes, plus sometimes dishes of their own. It was good training for working in a lower status household than Audley End, as servants were notoriously fussy eaters. Mary Ann would also have assisted Mrs Crocombe as she trained to be a cook herself.

• Who are the other servants Mrs Crocombe references? Will we ever meet them?
You’ve met some of the other servants Mrs Crocombe mentions. Mr Lincoln and Mrs Warwick both feature in Victorian Way episodes. Both Lord and Lady Braybrooke had their own personal servants, but we do not know who was Lord Braybrooke’s valet in 1881 – either he was away on census night, or he had just left and was yet to be replaced.

• Why doesn’t Mrs Crocombe use a mincing machine?
Because she prefers to have minced meat (i.e. finely shredded) rather than textureless pink goo. Mincing machines were a real leap forward for quickly processing meat into patties and forcemeats, but they tended to obliterate whatever was put into them.

• What’s the hot plate Mrs Crocombe uses to keep things warm?
It’s a really simple Victorian copper hot plate – you pour boiling water into the copper bowl at the bottom, and on top is a ceramic plate. There’s then a lid to over it. Ours is original and very useful.

[willleyland]

Me soaking my feet after a long walk: "my trotters need to continue to simmer for just over an hour"

[jonathanriley]

I applaud Mrs. Crocombe's professionalism. Her voice is confident, but, by the way she looks at those ingredients, I know she's cursing Mary Ann for taking a half day.

[SmithyPL]

"They are rather practical, as you can feed them anything"
Just like lower servants lol.

[jonirnmomba]

1:20. That’s the Mrs Crocombe we know and love. “They are rather practical as you could feed them anything”. Wait, the pigs or the middle class?

[kelseyjaffer]

“Pigs’ Pettitoes” is such a dainty name for this dish. It sounds like an ingredient a whimsical witch would require for a potion!

[Electroceratops]

Opening with, "I trust you are well, " makes this sound almost as though this is a letter, as adapted for television - showing her speaking the lines and making the recipe, as the recipient would be mentally picturing while they read them.

[gerardacronin]

“Always make sure that your butcher scalds and debristles your trotters”. Thanks, Mrs Crocombe, will do!

[cristiaolson]

It's so cool to see the ways less expensive meats were prepared. I often find the videos of food for the servants table to be even more interesting than the ones for the family, because they say a lot more about what the middle class probably ate.

[RetroMario]

The name dispute is giving me life. "What geese have to do I don't know" 🤣

[SrZGuerrero]

I can't decide what's more impressive: Mrs. Crocombe's ability to turn pig's feet and liver into a delicious dish, or my ability to watch the video without losing my appetite. Victorian culinary skills at their finest!

[stephniewilliams]

This is the first time I've seen Mrs. Crocombe throw SHADE at the ingredients!

[auntielaura]

This is my favorite type of content from the Victorian Way: the dish is radically different from anything I might cook, and is made even richer by a ladle full of social history. Thank you for helping me to feel like I’ve touched the Victorian world in a way that no book could achieve. I also love the answered questions, and hope you will continue to include that in future episodes.

[idraote]

I must say this is one of the few dishes on this programme that I wouldn't touch with a stick...

[Kymmee]

Pigeon pie...feet are decoration. This dish...feet are the main ingredient. I ❤️ Mrs. C.

[vickirodger]

I should think Mrs C was fighting off every cat in the neighbourhood when she made that!! Broom at the ready! 🧹 🐈

[sarahsteamdoll]

In some places in Latinamerica we call them "manitas de cerdo" which literally means "pig's little hands" 😁🐷 While not many like them nowadays, it used to be a treat on my granny's table back in the day. So many beautiful memories 😊❤

[kirstenpaff]

The upper servants get fancy fresh dog food, while the lower servants only get dried kibble.

[Hunnebrown]

I'm sorry this is the lease appetizing dish I've ever seen being prepared on this channel.

[DebbieFaubion]

My grandfather would always tell me, "You eat every part of the pig except the squeal." I think Mrs Crocombe would agree with that sentiment!