souse meat
Pickled hog's-head meat chilled into a loaf you slice cold.
Also called souse, head cheese, head souse.
Updated September 24, 2026
souse meat pronunciation
/SOWSS meet/
Meaning
Old-school Southern and Appalachian hog-killin food. You cook a cleaned hog's head (and often feet or other scraps) till the meat falls off, grind or mash it, season it with salt, pepper, sage, onion, and vinegar, then chill it so it sets into a loaf. Folks slice it cold for sandwiches or eat it with crackers. Closely related to head cheese; the vinegar pickle is what makes people call it souse.
How folks use it
- “Grandma always put up a pan of souse meat after hog killin.”
- “He ate souse meat on white bread with hot sauce.”
Origin and etymology
Souse comes from older words for pickled or steeped meat (related to German Sülze). In the rural South and Appalachia it stuck as the name for vinegar-seasoned head meat from hog-butchering day. Foxfire and mountain cooks describe boiling the head, seasoning the meat, and packing it to chill. Head cheese is the milder cousin without as much pickle bite.
Frequently asked questions
Is souse meat the same as head cheese?
Pretty close. Head cheese is the jellied head meat. Souse usually means the vinegar-pickled version Southern folks put up.