Ordinary Aspics

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10 to 12-quart stainless-steel stockpot
• •Fine-mesh skimmer and large ladle
• •Kitchen twine and sturdy tongs
• •Small food processor
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Clean linen cloth or several layers of muslin
• •Large heatproof basin and ice-bath container
• •Shallow covered containers for setting

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the gelatin meats

   Have the butcher break the veal bones, tie the two knuckles, and split and bone the calf's feet. Prepare the calf's feet through Blanchings (No. 273), then cool and drain them thoroughly. Remove every trace of fat from the pork rind, prepare it separately through Blanchings (No. 273), and drain it. These treatments clean the strongly gelatinous pieces without replacing their flavour or their setting power.

   Order the feet and rind from a butcher who handles veal and whole pork. Powdered gelatin can firm a liquid, but it cannot supply the body and savour these pieces give the stock.
2. 2

   Draw and skim stock

   Scrub a 10 to 12-quart stainless-steel stockpot until it is spotless. Arrange the veal knuckle, beef knuckle, broken bones, prepared feet, and rind inside, then add the cold water. Bring it up slowly over moderate heat, skimming according to Ordinary or White Consommé (No. 1) until no fresh grey foam rises and the liquid beneath looks clean. Don't let it race to the boil. Agitation disperses grease and scum through the stock, which makes the later clarification work harder.

3. 3

   Hold the first simmer

   Only after the stock is thoroughly skimmed, add the salt and move the pot to the gentlest burner. Hold it at a quiet simmer for four hours, with an occasional bubble breaking the surface but no rolling movement. Skim any stray foam or fat without stirring the contents. If the pot boils hard, lower the heat at once and add a small ladleful of cold water around the edge to calm it; don't scrape the bottom. Ça se rattrape, provided you stop the agitation early.

4. 4

   Remove meat, add aromatics

   Lift out the knuckles and other large pieces carefully with tongs, keeping the sediment on the pot floor undisturbed. Skim away the exposed fat, then add the carrots, onions, leek, celery, and bouquet garni. Return the pot to the same quiet simmer for two hours. The vegetables go in only now because six hours would drain them of freshness and muddy the clean meat stock.

5. 5

   Strain and cool safely

   Ladle the stock through a fine sieve into a scrupulously clean, heatproof basin, leaving the last sediment-heavy cupful behind. Set the basin in an ice-water bath and stir the bath around it until the stock cools rapidly, taking care that no water enters. Refrigerate uncovered until fully cold, then cover once cold and leave until the fat is solid and the stock has taken on whatever natural set it possesses.

6. 6

   Decant and test strength

   Lift off the solid fat and wipe the surface with a clean piece of damp kitchen paper. Warm the basin just enough to loosen the gelée around its edge, then pour it gently into a clean saucepan, stopping before the dark deposit at the bottom follows. Chill a spoonful on a cold saucer for 10 to 15 minutes. It should form a fairly firm jelly that trembles when nudged. If it remains loose, squeeze dry one soaked gelatin leaf, dissolve it in 1 cup of warm stock, return it to the pot, and test again before adding the second. Keep the addition light; rubbery aspic has missed the point.

7. 7

   Make the clarification

   Warm the decanted gelée only until liquid, then let it cool to room temperature. Pulse the chilled lean beef and egg white in a small food processor until thoroughly combined and sticky, replacing the original mortar work without changing its purpose. Mix in the chervil, tarragon, and lemon juice, then stir this clarification mixture into the liquid stock until evenly dispersed.

8. 8

   Raise the raft gently

   Set the saucepan over moderate heat and stir continuously with a flat wooden spatula, reaching across the floor and into the corners, until the liquid approaches its first boil and the beef-and-egg mixture gathers into a floating raft. Stop stirring immediately, lower the heat, and let the gelée simmer at the faintest tremble for 30 minutes. A hard boil tears the raft apart. If that happens, remove the pan from the heat, leave it untouched for 10 minutes, then filter gently in the next step; loose curds can be caught, so don't throw out the stock.

9. 9

   Filter to transparency

   Skim away any beads of grease. Rinse a clean linen cloth or several layers of muslin in cold water, wring it thoroughly, and nest it inside a fine sieve over a spotless bowl. Ladle the gelée through without pushing, pressing, or wringing the raft. Examine a spoonful against the light. If it is not transparent, rinse and re-dampen the cloth, clean the receiving bowl, and pass the liquid through again, repeating as necessary. This is the source's repeated serviette filtration translated to a home counter, and it remains the surest rescue for a mildly cloudy gelée.

10. 10

    Flavour while tepid

    Let the clear gelée become tepid before adding the wine, so its aroma remains distinct. Measure the clarified liquid and preserve the source ratio: for each quart, add about ½ cup (115 ml / 115 g) of clear Sherry, Marsala, or Madeira, or a generous ½ cup (140 ml / 140 g) of clear Champagne, hock, or another dry wine. Use wine with no sediment and a taste worth concentrating. Stir gently, then taste for salt without whisking air into the liquid.

11. 11

    Set the gelée

    Pour the finished gelée into clean shallow containers, cover, and refrigerate for at least four hours, preferably overnight. It is ready when clear, amber, and firm enough to cut while still trembling under the spoon. Use it cold for glazing meats, fish, eggs, terrines, and vegetables, or cut it into neat cubes for a cold platter. To use it as a liquid glaze, remelt only what you need over very gentle heat and never boil it.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for genuinely lean clarification beef and collagen-rich veal pieces, not trimmed roasting joints. Fat clouds the gelée, while connective tissue gives it the supple natural set the recipe is built upon.
• •A quiet simmer is the discipline here. If the surface rolls, fat and sediment break into tiny droplets that no amount of hopeful straining removes easily. Patience, not force.
• •Test before reaching for gelatin. Calf's feet, veal bones, knuckle, and pork rind should do most of the setting work; commercial gelatin is a correction, added one leaf at a time, not the foundation.
• •The wine choice follows the food the gelée will cover. Madeira or Sherry suits darker meats and terrines, while Champagne or a clear dry white keeps poultry, fish, and pale vegetables more delicate.
• •Keep the finished gelée refrigerated and use it within three days. Store it covered so it doesn't absorb the aromas of everything else in the refrigerator.

Advance Preparation

• •The unclarified stock can be made and chilled overnight after straining. Its fat will lift away cleanly the next day, and the sediment will remain firm while you decant the gelée.
• •The finished gelée can be clarified, flavoured, and set up to three days before it is needed. Keep it covered and cold, then remelt portions gently for glazing.
• •Have the butcher split and bone the calf's feet, break the veal bones, tie the knuckles, and trim the pork rind. That turns the difficult cutting into a shopping instruction while leaving the actual stock method intact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)