'O pere e 'o musso

'O pere e 'o musso

'O pere e 'o musso on sale on a truck in the streets of Naples, Italy
Type	Meat, organ meat
Course	Secondo (Italian course)
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Naples, Campania
Serving temperature	Cool, room temperature or warm
Main ingredients	Pig feet, cow snout, lemon juice
Variations	Other organ meat
Media: 'O pere e 'o musso

'O pere e 'o musso (Neapolitan: [o ˈpɛːr(ə) e o ˈmussə]; lit. 'the foot and the muzzle') is a typical Neapolitan dish. Its name refers to its main ingredients: pig's feet and cow snouts. The dish derives from popular tradition and a need to make use of less noble cuts of meat, and is usually sold as street food from carts, in the cities of Campania. It is also consumed in the region of Molise and in the province of Foggia, where the dish is regarded as a "party" food.

Preparation

Traditional recipe

This Neapolitan culinary specialty is prepared by boiling pigs' feet with calves' snouts. The ingredients are depilated, boiled, cooled, cut into small pieces and served cold, seasoned with salt and lemon juice.

Additions

Besides those already mentioned, the following ingredients are often added:

• Calf foot
• Goat foot
• The four stomachs of the calf (including tripe)
• Cow udders
• Calf uterus
• Calf rectum

The condiment of 'o pere e 'o musso may also include, depending on personal preferences, fennel, lupins, olives or chilli.

Street food tradition

'O pere e 'o musso can be found in traditional shops and butcheries; however, it is most popularly sold by street vendors using stalls, carts or motorized vehicles such as apecars.

In the past, the salting of the meat by the street vendors was carried out by using a characteristic instrument, a dispenser consisting of an animal horn with a hole at the end. This tool is still in use by some vendors.

See also

Media related to 'O pere e 'o musso at Wikimedia Commons

• Neapolitan cuisine