In Newtown, Johannesburg, ten young men discovered there was a huge demand for the cow head meat used for making Skop. The problem was that many meat street vendors couldn't meet the demand, because they didn't know how to prepare cow heads for cooking the dish.

The ten young men decided to fill the gap in the market by starting up their own cow head processing business.

To make Skop the meat from a cow's head is simmered and boiled

Hundreds of vendors from far and wide now bring them their cow heads to make them ready for the cooking pot.

Armed with knives and axes, the ten extract all the meat from the head leaving a heap of skull bones as white as snow.

Hundreds of cow heads

It may be 6 a.m. but they are already at work. One of the ten, William Mahlangu, says the job requires a lot of skill.

"First of all, we remove the skin, after that we use the axe to remove the bones. Then we give it to the customer to go and cook for himself," Mahlangu said.

He added that on a busy day they will process hundreds of cow heads.

Skop us traditionally enjoyed by South African men

The meat is simmered and boiled in large pots over burning charcoal and firewood. Skop is not served on plates but simply placed on top of a large makeshift table and eaten with chili sauce.

Mahlangun says the popularity of the dish is due not only to its taste, but also because of the myths that surround it.

"People believe it's good for the libido," he said.