Pig Ears

[Homero]

I need to get my hands on some pig ears in a hurry. Gonna check Fiesta, but does anyone know of any places that regularly carry them? (Fresh, not pickled) Eventually I will try to source them from the farmer's market, but I can't wait till the weekend this time around. Thanks in advance!

[Homero]

Thanks everyone, I found some at the HEB on Lamar and Rundberg.

Edit: Ha, I just saw your post gilintx!

[gilintx]

HEB at Rundberg and Lamar has them.

[brentwood]

Yup, Fiesta should have you covered. If you have a carniceria that's more convenient/closer, that's usually an option as well.

[Rptrane]

Hardy's hardware in pflugerville sells them. They keep them in a basket by the register. They are a dog treat.

[rudeboy]

Yeah, but aren't those dried out for dog-chewing?

[Rptrane]

Yes they are I think. It's also Gaddy's Hardware. Go to the main Fiesta near downtown off I-35, the other ones don't have as roust a selection. that one has everything, even food fromnon-spanish speaking countries.

[agoodbite]

Husband swears that he saw them the last time he was at the HEB on E. 7th. You also might also try the one at Lamar and Rundberg, depending on your location.

[rudeboy]

You can get them at MT supermarket. You can even get pig anus there. Can't say that I've developed a hankering for the latter!

[paulj]

Pork bung is the label I've seen in large Asian markets.
http://www.poopreport.com/phpBB/viewt...
(actually that's the lower part of the large intestine, good for large diameter sausages, including moronga).

Ears are most likely found in markets aimed at Hispanic or (East) Asian customers.

[sqwertz]

It's labelled pork rectum at MT. Of course I happened to have purchased some, the food adventurer I am.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72758916...

And yes, they almost always have pork ears.

-sw

[paulj]

Yes, that looks the same as the bung that I've seen.

[sqwertz]

You seen one bung you've seen them all.

I saw pig ears at Hana World Market (Metric and Parmer) yesterday, FWIW.

[dinaofdoom]

sqwertz, how did you like hana compared to other asian markets?

[sqwertz]

They're still in Grand Opening mode and had some pretty decent deals on some things. Plus most of the frozen foods were fresh and not freezer burned. So I picked up a 2lb bag of greenshell mussel meats for $8 and some untreated ("dry") scallops. And the rest of the stuff pictured below - nothing extreme like rectum or uterus. This was just to restock my staples.

I didn't have time to spend looking at everything (was only 75% thorough) but I didn't see much you can't get anyplace else. Fresh duck, goose, and ostrich eggs being one exception, along with some baked goods. Kimchi selection was the same as New Oriental market.

It's kinda odd that they have two big ante rooms as you walk in that are pretty much empty. But the rest of the space is pretty big - about twice the size as New Oriental Market not including the old cafe. I didn't get to see what they were cooking/assembling at the kitchen area but I don't think that's the planned cafe part - too small. Maybe that'll go into one of the anterooms. I did see some chap chae trays there, along with sushi and rice cake stuff come to think of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sqwertz/...

I didn't realize until now that the kimchi label still says New Oriental Market.

-sw

[sqwertz]

I totally forgot to mention that they had the best looking short ribs I have ever seen in my life. They looked like Kobe beef with a *tremendous* amount of marbling - over 50% white fat perfectly interspaced between the meat fibers. If it were ribeye or strip I could easily see a price tag of $100/lb on it. I was stupid not to buy any - I forget my reasoning behind not doing that as they were normally priced - $4 or $5/lb for the "flanken cut" (cross cut short ribs @ 4 bones x 1/3" thick).

[paulj]

I think I've my next poor man's ribs - tail. Pig tail has about the same ratio of meat to bone, but with the added bonus of skin and fat.

[rudeboy]

sqwertz - I'm thinking of smoking some short ribs today. HEB is right around the corner at $4.19 per pound? What was the "bone-to meat" ratio for the ones that you saw?

[sqwertz]

I would say they were 65-70% meat, but these were the flanken cut 1/3" thick. Not good for smoking - only grilling. And like all "good" meat marketers they may have hid the less meaty ones underneath the most attractive ones. I don't know if they're regular items there or not, since I've only been there once.

[sqwertz]

Oh, and if you're speaking of my full slabs of HEB short ribs I've posted about, they're about the same meat ratio by volume - 70%. If you buy the full racks of short ribs you can get them for much less then $4.19 at HEB, but there is some minor trimming to do. They can have large fat deposits on the meat side that are the luck of the draw. Sometimes they're there' sometimes not.

[rudeboy]

Thanks for the update. I bailed on the whole damned thing (smoking idea) and just cooked up some shrimp today. I'll keep those in mind for next time...maybe a braise.

[rudeboy]

You know, and I'm serious, that pork rectum sounds just a tiny bit more appetizing thn pork anus! I'm pretty adventurous, but you got me beat on the adventure in this case, sqwertz!

[paulj]

I've seen cans like this at a butcher shop (they also have a mega collection of hot sauces)
http://www.snopes.com/photos/food/fis...

[sqwertz]

I knew what picture that was going to be before I even hovered over it :-)