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Sheep's Trotters, Jelly From
Jelly made from sheep's trotters is wholesome, nourishing, and inexpensive; it is particularly suited for invalids and children. Put four sets of sheep's trotters into cold water, and let them soak for four hours. Cleanse perfectly, and put them into a stewpan with a pound of lean beef, a crust of bread toasted all over to a bright brown, a bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a small onion, a blade of mace, and half a tea-spoonful of peppercorns. Pour upon them two quarts of cold water, and let the liquor simmer gently by the side of the fire for six or eight hours, or until it is considerably reduced, and will stiffen when cold. Pour it off, strain it through a jelly-bag, and put it in a cool place to stiffen. Time, eight hours.
A gelatin stock rather than a dessert jelly: the whole point is the collagen in the feet, which sets the liquid firm without any added gelatine. Everything else in the pot is there for flavour.
- The hinge: gentle heat, never a boil"Simmer gently by the side of the fire" means a bare tremble, around 180F/82C, for the whole six to eight hours. A rolling boil emulsifies the fat into the liquid and clouds the jelly permanently, and no amount of straining afterwards will clear it. A 275-300F (135-150C) oven with the lid ajar holds this range with less attention than a hob.
- Four sets of trottersA "set" is normally taken to be the four feet of one animal, so this is probably sixteen feet, though usage varied. Either way it is a large quantity, and the reason two quarts of water will set. Ask a butcher to order and split them; halal and Caribbean butchers often carry them, sometimes frozen. Have them split lengthwise if possible, as the joint surfaces give up gelatin faster.
- Cleaning is not optionalThe four-hour cold soak draws out blood; "cleanse perfectly" means scrubbing the hooves and between the toes, and singeing or scraping off any remaining hair. Blanch them for five minutes in fresh water and drain before the long simmer if you want a cleaner-tasting jelly.
- The toasted crustBread toasted "to a bright brown" was the period's way of adding colour and a faint roasted note without browning the meat. Bright brown, not black: burnt crust turns the jelly bitter. It can be left out with no loss of setting power.
- A blade of maceOne piece of the lacy outer covering of nutmeg, warmer and milder than the nut itself. About a quarter teaspoon of ground mace substitutes, though it will slightly cloud the liquid; add it near the end of straining if that matters.
- No salt in the originalThe recipe says nothing about salt, and seasoning was often left until serving. Season the finished jelly, not the pot, since the liquid reduces by more than half and salt added early will concentrate past palatability.
- Straining and degreasingA jelly-bag is a cone of close-woven flannel or muslin; a sieve lined with damp muslin does the same work. Do not press or squeeze the solids through. Chill the strained liquid, then lift the set cap of fat off the top in one piece before use.
- Yield, keeping and servingExpect roughly a pint and a half to a quart of firm jelly. It keeps three or four days refrigerated and freezes well in portions. Serve it chopped and cold, or melted as a clear broth; it is savoury, so lemon and a little sherry or a spoonful of good stock suit it better than sugar.
Foot jellies were a staple of nineteenth-century invalid cookery, and this is the thrifty cousin of the calf's-foot jelly that appears in English household books from Hannah Glasse onward. Before packaged gelatine was cheap and reliable, a cook who wanted anything to set had to extract the collagen herself, and feet — beef, calf, sheep, pig — were the cheapest source in the shop. Sheep's trotters were the poor relation, which is exactly why Cassell's recommends them as "wholesome, nourishing, and inexpensive": the same nourishing jelly a doctor might prescribe, at a fraction of the cost of veal. The dietary reasoning behind it, that gelatin was a concentrated and easily digested food for the sick, was standard medical thinking of the day and has since been largely abandoned, gelatin being an incomplete protein. The jelly itself remains a good clear stock, and the technique is unchanged in restaurant kitchens that still simmer pig's trotters for body in a sauce.</p>