Meat Head - ingredients

From the Monster list of Halloween projects – there used to be a link (which has since faded) that explained how to make this. We have done it a few times now, mostly for G/L Halloween parties.
This is what you need to get together:

-You will need a skull (or equivalent) – I use an old plastic model skull I have from decades ago. I would have bought more but cannot find any anywhere. Be sure that this is well washed and okay to put food on – you can always cover in saran wrap to be sure.

-Sliced meat – thin slices work best. I’ve use both packaged as well as regular deli meats. Ham, chicken, turkey, and roast or corned beef all work fine – depending on the look you are going for. Depending on how thickly sliced the meat is and how thick you put it on, plus the size of your skull, you will discover how much you will need. Get extra just in case – you can always use what is left for lunches.

-Red fruit roll-ups (cherry or strawberry). The original instructions said to use red jello made with half the water to make it more rubbery. This has the added advantage of slowly liquefying and leaking red. We tried this the first year and found it very unwieldy to use. We had an epiphany the next year and used fruit roll-ups. They are much easier to handle and work with. It also gives a bit of tack to help hold the first layer of meat. (One thing – with jello or roll-ups, this will flavor the layer of meat directly touching it.)

-Something for the eyes. We have previously used the yolks from hard boiled eggs and cut a wafer-thin slice of a carrot for the iris. This year we tried olives pushed into tiny peppers to hold them in the eye sockets.

-A tray on which to create it. This makes it much easier to move to the fridge and bring out when needed.

-Leaf lettuce is a nice garnish for the bottom of the tray but it is optional.

-This year we also sprinkled the finished head with a small amount of rice (to simulate maggots). This again is optional, but a nice touch for those who have seen the meat-head a few times.

-This year we also added ice packs inside the skull, since it came apart.