Losing your head over sheepish delights
A well-roasted sheep‘s head is hardly a “delicacy” one would normally expect to find on menus in the plush suburbs of Plettenberg Bay. But clearly times are changing and all 60 sheep heads on offer at a Plettenberg Bay church fundraiser on Sunday - where the insides of the dubious delicacy will also be served on freshly-baked bread for dessert - were sold out well in advance.
Koos de Bruyn, a member of the Gerefomeerde Church Eden, explained that a neighbour at his holiday home in Gansbaai, Flippie Groenewald, is a member of the Swellendam Skaap Gulde which will be preparing the sheep heads for customers on Sunday.
Groenewald is obviously a man with a passion for cooking the seeing, thinking, bleating end of a sheep and this week he described to Weekend Post with some relish how the heads would be prepared.
“We have four ovens. We spice with normal spice and olive oil, we wrap them in tin foil, we make a fire underneath and on top, like the old people used to bake bread.
“You put newspaper over the table, and serve with freshly baked bread and jam, no salads. Make sure you have enough wine on the table, red or white.”
He said it was not like eating offal and “you get five dishes - neck, the chin, the tongue and the two eyes.
"Then you open the head at the back and take out the brains and spread it on bread for pudding.”
De Bruyn said all were welcome to attend the meat extravaganza at the grounds of the NG Church in Plett‘s Main Road.
He said that as there was not much good quality meat available on the Garden Route, they had brought in some cattle and would also be braaing wors, sosaties, steaks and other meat for those for whom sheep head is one culinary delight they could well do without.
The Swellendam Skaap Gulde was started in 1991.
“We are supposed to eat sheep head every two months - the cholesterol is kicking in, but we still eat,” said Groenewald.
He added that they had done several charity cooking events with different beneficiaries including churches, a children‘s home and an old age home.
De Bruyn said the heads were cleaned by a butchery or abattoir according to Swellendam Skaap Gulde standards and that although he had grown up on a farm he only began eating the crispy delicacy as an adult.
Not surprisingly the church fundraiser will also have mampoer available to help wash down the 60 unfortunate sheep‘s cranial contributions.
Source: Weekend Post
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