Game Aspic

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy rimmed roasting pan
• •10 to 12-quart stockpot
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Fine muslin or several layers of cheesecloth
• •Fat separator or shallow ladle
• •Large bowl for an ice bath
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Shallow storage containers or a 6-cup aspic mold

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the game

   Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Dry the game pieces, veal bones, and quartered partridges or pheasant thoroughly, then rub them with the softened butter and spread them across a heavy roasting pan without crowding. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, turning twice, until the meat and bones are deeply browned but nowhere black. Put the chopped clarification carcass in one corner of the pan for the final 20 minutes, then reserve it separately. Browning in the oven is explicit to the dish: pale game makes a pale, timid aspic, while burnt drippings make it bitter.

   If the roasting pan crowds, use two pans. Crowded game releases moisture and cooks grey before it browns.
2. 2

   Draw the stock

   Transfer the browned game, veal bones, and quartered feathered game to a 10 to 12-quart stockpot, leaving the reserved clarification carcass aside. Pour about 2 cups of the measured cold water into the roasting pan, scrape up every mahogany-colored trace, and add it to the pot with the remaining water. Bring up very slowly, skimming the grey foam as it gathers. Once the surface is clean, add the quartered onions, large carrot pieces, celery, bouquet garni, and peppercorns. Hold the stock at the barest tremble for 4 hours with the lid slightly ajar. Never allow a rolling boil: it beats fat and impurities into the liquid, and no clarification works as cleanly after that.

3. 3

   Strain and defat

   Ladle the stock through a fine sieve into a clean heatproof bowl, then pour the final liquid gently through without pressing the meat or vegetables. Pressing buys a few spoonfuls and costs you clarity. Let the stock stand for 20 minutes, remove the fat with a separator or shallow ladle, and draw a folded piece of paper towel lightly across any remaining sheen. Set the bowl in an ice bath and stir occasionally until the stock falls below 60°F (16°C). This rapid cooling replaces the brigade's overnight settling and gives the egg whites the cold start they need.

4. 4

   Build the clarification

   In the cleaned stockpot, combine the ground game, reserved roasted carcass, finely diced carrot, leek, and 6 egg whites. Work them together until evenly mixed, then stir in about 2 cups of the cold stock to loosen the mass. Add the remaining cold stock. Set the pot over medium-low heat and stir slowly across the bottom as the liquid warms, preventing the proteins from catching. Stop stirring the moment the egg whites coagulate and rise into a solid raft. Open a small chimney in its center with the handle of a spoon so the stock can circulate through it.

   For a distinctly venison, hare, or rabbit aspic, the clarification meat must match that principal game. The raft does more than clear the stock; it gives back the flavor that clarification would otherwise soften.
5. 5

   Tend the raft

   Lower the heat until the liquid barely quivers beneath the raft. For 45 to 60 minutes, ladle a little clear stock through the chimney and over the raft every 10 minutes, disturbing it as little as possible. A hard bubble can split the raft and scatter its trapped impurities. If that happens, take the pot off the heat and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. If the stock remains cloudy, strain it, cool it again below 60°F (16°C), whisk the 2 reserved whites with 1 cup of the liquid, return everything to the pot, and repeat the slow clarification. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Strain without pressing

   Wet a double layer of fine muslin or cheesecloth with cold water and lay it in a clean sieve over a bowl. Ladle the clear stock from the chimney first, then tip the pot only far enough to recover the liquid around the raft. Let it pass under its own weight. Do not squeeze, scrape, or chase the last cloudy cup at the bottom. The finished stock should be clear amber rather than colorless, with the aroma of roasted game and no greasy film.

7. 7

   Reduce and test

   Measure the clarified stock and return it to a clean saucepan. Simmer gently until reduced to about 2 quarts, skimming any surface trace. Spoon 1 tablespoon into a small metal dish set over ice and wait 5 minutes. It should form a tender jelly that parts cleanly under a fingertip. If it is only slightly weak, reduce a little further. If the flavor is already concentrated but the stock will not set, don't boil it into bitterness. Cool 1 cup of stock, bloom 2 tablespoons (about 14 g) gelatin in it for 5 minutes, then whisk it into the hot stock off the heat and retest. Add more only as needed, up to 42 g total if the bones supplied almost no gelatin.

8. 8

   Season and set

   Season the hot aspic with the salt and white pepper. Taste it over a chip of ice or from a chilled spoon, because cold dulls seasoning; it should taste a shade more assertive warm than you want it cold. Take it off the heat and add the brandy only if it is fine enough to drink with pleasure. Otherwise leave it out entirely. Pass the aspic once more through damp muslin into shallow containers or a rinsed mold, cool the containers in an ice bath, then cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours until fully set.

9. 9

   Serve or use

   For a molded aspic, dip the mold in warm water for 5 seconds, dry it, and invert it onto a cold platter. If it clings, wrap the outside briefly in a warm towel rather than soaking it until the edges melt. Cut the aspic into clear cubes for cold roast game and terrines, or melt it over the gentlest heat and brush it onto chilled preparations in several thin layers. Never boil it after setting, particularly if supplemental gelatin was used. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use neck, shank, bony hare, or wild rabbit rather than tender saddle or loin. Aspic needs connective tissue, bones, and worked meat; the expensive roasting cuts give less flavor to the pot and are wasted here.
• •An old partridge or mature pheasant is exactly right. Toughness is no defect in a long stock, and feathered game gives the aspic a roasted depth that venison alone cannot supply. If no feathered game can be found, omit it rather than quietly replacing it with domestic chicken.
• •Save roasted partridge and pheasant carcasses in the freezer until you have enough for stock. Wrap and label them well, since browned bones absorb stray freezer smells with depressing efficiency.
• •The cold-plate test decides the gelatin. A tender aspic should tremble and cut cleanly, not bounce under the knife. Add gelatin by stages because an over-set jelly cannot be softened without reheating and diluting the entire batch.
• •Fine brandy is optional, poor brandy is fatal. Reduction concentrates every rough note in the bottle, so if the aroma is sharp or solvent-like, put the cork back and leave the aspic unperfumed.

Advance Preparation

• •The game and feathered-game carcass can be browned a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Begin the stock cold the following afternoon.
• •Finish and set the aspic one or two days before a holiday meal or dinner party. The flavor settles, the jelly firms evenly, and unmolding becomes calmer work.
• •Keep the finished aspic covered and refrigerated at 40°F (4°C) or colder for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze the clarified liquid before adding supplemental gelatin, then thaw, reheat, test, and set it fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)