NCPaul wrote:I'll toss one more suggestion out for consideration - gelatin. This can come from reduced pork stock (to avoid beef origin) and it can be frozen to keep emulsion temperatures down.
It can have its place within certain aspects and one should not rule it out, however when making head cheese the easiest way to accommodate the binding/firmness principle is you use cooked pork rinds which in this state will stick a cat to a hot tin roof.
I liked the effect it had on some chicken sausages (from reduced chicken stock) for moisture retention. I don't believe it made the sausage "firmer" however.
If we use chicken skin in conjunction with chicken bones and reduce beyond what you would normally do it might work.