Tiantian Bundled Trotter

Tiantian Bundled Trotter

　　Tiantian Bundled Trotter is a specialty dish from Tianmen City, Hubei Province. It is a marinated cold dish, meticulously prepared and visually appealing, with a tender, sweet texture and rich gelatinous elasticity. It tastes especially good when chewed slowly and pairs excellently with alcohol.

　　How to make Tiantian Bundled Trotter:

　　First, scrape and clean the pig’s trotter, remove the hoof cap and the fleshy part of the trotter, and carefully scrape the surface with a blade. Remove the upper knee meat, leaving only the knee connected to a piece of pig skin. Then, hold the peeled pig skin with one hand and pull it downward while using a pointed knife to gradually cut around the lower knee bone down to the hoof, removing the lower knee meat and scraping off the fat. Keep the four small bones at the tip of the hoof and the intact pig skin to form a tube for later use. Next, clean the pig’s belly tail skin. Cut the pig tendon meat, pig skin jelly, and lean pork into 4 cm long, 1 cm wide, and 0.3 cm thick slices. Dice the water-soaked mushrooms into coarse shreds, soak the dried shrimp in water until soft, then drain. Deep-fry the dried bream in oil until crispy, then take it out and grind it into powder. Combine all the above ingredients in a basin, add kaoliang wine, sugar, salt, and MSG, and stir into a filling mixture. Marinate for one hour. Then, stuff the marinated filling into the pig skin tube, packing it tightly toward the hoof end. Use a steel needle to prick small holes from the outside in to allow air to escape and ensure the filling is compact. Once the filling is fully stuffed into the pig skin, sew the opening tightly with needle and thread. Wrap the stuffed pig skin with clean gauze to maintain its shape, then secure it with four bamboo strips of equal length placed around the sides. Tie it firmly with hemp rope from top to bottom to form the raw bundled trotter.

　　Pour the marinade broth into an earthenware bowl, add 1500 grams of water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the bundled trotter, then reduce to low heat and simmer for one hour. Remove it, then prick small holes into the pig skin with a steel needle, place it back in the bowl, and simmer for another hour over low heat. After cooling, untie the ropes, remove the bamboo strips and gauze, and apply sesame oil to the surface of the pig skin. When serving, remove the stitches, place the trotter on a cutting board, cut it in half, then slice each half into half-moon-shaped thin pieces and stack them on a plate. Depending on guests’ preferences, garnish with tomato slices, pickled radish, mustard sauce, or chili sauce as desired, and serve in small dishes.