Thursday, February 3, 2011

Russian Style Aspic

Yes, I did it. AND it tastes pretty much like how my grandma made it, just a bit more jiggly. I suspect that's because I didn't reduce the broth enough. Now I have a 9x13 pan full of aspic, and Nick is weirded out by the concept of jellied broth... Once again, I'm left eating the large amount of my creation, even if it's a success. Oh well. I figure, since it's pretty much broth with meat pieces in it, I can make soup out of it or just freeze it.

Russian Style Aspic
I filled a 9x13 inch pan with this, so it's lots

1 600 g pork knuckle
600 g pork meat with bones (I think it was ribs of some kind)
5 bay leaves
8-10 whole black peppers
1 large white onions, quatered
5-6 garlic cloves, finely shopped
2 carrots
Salt

1. Rinse the beef and knuckles thoroughly. Hack the knuckles. Put it all into a large pot. Pour in cold water so that the meat is about one inch below water level.

2. Bring to boil and carefully remove any foam with a slotted spoon. Once the meat is cooking at a rolling boil and the foam doesn’t float up anymore, add peeled and onion and carrot. Add black pepper, bay leaves, salt to taste and cover with the lid ajar.

3.Cook meat for about 3-4 hours over very low heat. Check doneness with a fork. When the meat easily breaks off the bone, add 1/3 of the finely chopped garlic, cook for additional minute and turn the heat off. Let stand for 10 minutes. (At this point, it's probably a good idea to remove the meat and reduce the stock for another 30-60 minutes - it'll get jellier this way.)


4. Discard onion and carrots. Sieve the stock into a large bowl or another pot. Add the rest of the chopped garlic into the stock. Remove meat from the bone and arrange on serving plate(s). Use only meat, not the fatty parts. (I didn't chop the meat, just pulled it apart with my hands.)

5. Ladle the stock carefully over the meat in serving plate(s). Place the plate(s) into the fridge and wait for aspic to set - as the stock cools, the fat will solidify on top so it'll be easy to remove.

5. Remove hardened fat off the stock. Put back Wait until aspic is fully set and serve. Garnish as you like by chopping the meat finely or, like for holidays, with greens and large pieces of meat.

Notes: Make sure your pot is big enough. My pot wasn't, I had to fill it almost to the bring, and once the rolling boil came along, water was splashing everywhere.

And, TADA! Aspic. Yeah, I know, people are probably gonna look at this and think of meat flavored Jello. But Jello isn't a big thing back in mother Russia, so there's no such preconception. For what it's worth, I did make aspic.

Take care,
Ksenia

Original Recipe: Genius Cook - Russian Style Aspic Recipe
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2 comments:

CanadianMama said...

Oh man,
This looks so sick! So far I've loved all your creations but I'm with Nick on this one :)

Picky Eater said...

Ah I am so jealous you got to eat it all by itself!

I generally don't tackle it because I have a small apartment and I don't want it to smell like boiled pork for a month, but it is so delicious (and I know it doesn't look appetizing, but it is one of the best sights in the world!)