Chicken Aspic

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large rimmed roasting tray
• •8-quart heavy stockpot
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Cheesecloth
• •Wide container and larger bowl for an ice bath
• •Shallow molds or lidded storage containers

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the poultry

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Rub the hen pieces lightly with the oil and arrange them on a rimmed roasting tray beside the carcass pieces, keeping enough space between everything for browning. Roast for 40 to 50 minutes, turning the carcasses once and removing them earlier if their thin edges threaten to burn. The hen should be a deep hazelnut gold, not merely beige. Cool the carcasses, remove every scrap of skin and visible fat, then refrigerate them for the clarification. Keep the roasted hen for the stock.

   Brown is flavor, black is bitterness. If the tray juices begin to scorch, add a small splash from the measured water and scrape them loose before they burn.
2. 2

   Build the stock

   Put the browned hen, raw wings, neck, heart, and gizzard into an 8-quart stockpot. Add the onion, the chunked portions of carrot, leek, and celery, the bouquet garni, the salt, and all the remaining measured water. Deglaze the roasting tray with some of that water, scraping up its bronze fond, and pour every drop into the pot. Bring the stock up slowly, skimming the grey foam as it gathers. Once it reaches a bare tremble, lower the heat and cook uncovered for 3 hours. Never let it roll: boiling emulsifies fat into the liquid, and no clarification enjoys cleaning up that particular mess.

3. 3

   Strain and defat

   Ladle the stock through a fine sieve into a wide clean container, then pour the last of it gently. Do not press the poultry or vegetables, because pressure drives cloudy particles through the sieve. Set the container in an ice bath and stir the stock until it is no longer hot, then refrigerate until the fat has hardened on top, about 1 to 2 hours. Lift off the fat completely and wipe away the small beads around the rim. Measure the stock. If you have more than 10 cups (2.4 liters), simmer it gently in a clean pot until 10 cups remain.

4. 4

   Form the clarification

   Put the cold, defatted stock into the clean stockpot. Add the ground chicken, 4 egg whites, and the finely chopped carrot, leek, and celery, then whisk thoroughly while everything is still cold. Add the roasted, fully defatted carcasses. Set the pot over medium-low heat and stir slowly across the bottom as the liquid warms, preventing the chicken from sticking. After 20 to 30 minutes, the proteins will gather into a pale brown raft and begin rising. Stop stirring at once. Open a small chimney in the center with the handle of a spoon so the liquid can circulate without breaking the raft.

5. 5

   Clarify at a tremble

   Hold the stock at the faintest tremble for 40 to 45 minutes, ladling liquid through the chimney once or twice without disturbing the raft. Line a fine sieve with damp cheesecloth and ladle the stock through it slowly into a clean pot. Never pour the whole pot at once and never squeeze the cloth. If the stock boiled hard or the raft tore and the liquid remains cloudy, cool it completely, whisk in the 2 optional egg whites, and repeat the slow heating without the carcasses. Ça se rattrape. The second raft will collect what the first one released.

6. 6

   Test the set

   Chill a saucer in the freezer, spoon a tablespoon of the hot clarified stock onto it, and return it to the cold for 8 to 10 minutes. Tip the saucer. If the stock forms a tender jelly that quivers and melts promptly in the mouth, add no gelatin. If it remains liquid, sprinkle 2¼ teaspoons (7 g) gelatin over ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the cold blooming water and wait 5 minutes, then dissolve it in the hot stock off the heat. Test again before adding the second measure in the same way. Stop as soon as the aspic holds. If the finished aspic later proves too firm, remelt it over the gentlest heat and dilute it with hot water, ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) at a time, testing and correcting the salt after each addition.

7. 7

   Season and chill

   Chill a teaspoonful of aspic and taste it cold, because cold softens the perception of salt. Correct the seasoning while the stock is still liquid, taking care not to make it aggressively salty. Measure about 8 cups (1.9 liters) into shallow molds or covered containers. Cool them promptly in an ice bath, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until the aspic is clear, softly set, and trembling.

8. 8

   Turn out or melt

   To unmold the aspic, dip the outside of the mold briefly in warm water, loosen the edge with a fingertip, and invert it onto a cold platter. For glazing poultry, terrines, or other cold preparations, melt only what you need over low heat and let it cool until slightly syrupy before brushing. The finished aspic should cut cleanly, quiver when the platter moves, and vanish on the tongue rather than bounce under the teeth. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a butcher for plain raw chicken carcasses and roast them yourself. Carcasses from a heavily seasoned roast or takeaway bird bring salt, garlic, and spices the aspic never asked for.
• •A mature stewing hen gives a deeper poultry flavor than a young fryer. If none is available, use a large roasting chicken and keep the full quantity of wings; the wings supply the collagen the younger bird lacks.
• •Complete defatting is not cosmetic. Fat scattered through the clarification muddies the jelly and coats the palate, so chill the stock until the fat is solid and scrape the roasted carcasses with equal seriousness.
• •Gelatin strength varies between brands, and the natural collagen in each hen varies too. The cold-saucer test decides the amount, not the packet directions. This particularly delicate aspic should melt almost as soon as it reaches the mouth.
• •Serve molded aspic with cold poached poultry or a terrine, or cut it into small cubes for a classical cold platter. A very dry Champagne or mineral Chablis suits its clean poultry flavor.

Advance Preparation

• •The carcasses can be roasted, cooled, thoroughly defatted, and refrigerated one day before making the stock.
• •Finish the aspic at least one day before serving. It needs a full cold rest to set, and the flavor settles beautifully overnight.
• •Keep finished aspic covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze the clarified stock before adding gelatin; a finished jelly loses its delicate texture after freezing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)