Home › Meat Dishes › Cold Sliced Meat in Aspic
Cold Sliced Meat in Aspic
Heat a cup and a half of canned bouillon. Soften one tablespoonful of granulated gelatin in a quarter of a cup of cold water, dissolve in the hot bouillon; when cool pour a thin layer into a wet mold; when it stiffens cover with a layer of cooked green peas and slices of hard-boiled eggs, another layer of the aspic jelly, and when that stiffens a layer of thinly sliced cold meat alternated with the jelly until the mold is filled. Chill, and when served garnish with shredded cabbage and green mint jelly.
A layered aspic that depends entirely on patience: each stratum must set before the next goes in, or the whole thing marbles into one cloudy mass.
- The hinge — set each layer, and cool the jelly firstPour the aspic only when it is at room temperature or slightly cooler, and let each layer firm in the refrigerator (10–20 minutes) before adding the next. Warm jelly poured onto set jelly melts the seam and floats the peas and eggs out of place.
- Canned bouillonHere this means a ready-to-use canned beef broth. If you use condensed broth or a cube, dilute to drinking strength; over-concentrated stock tastes harsh once chilled.
- Gelatin proportionOne tablespoon of granulated gelatin (roughly one envelope, about 7 g) to 1¾ cups total liquid gives a firm, sliceable set that should unmold cleanly. That is stiffer than a dessert jelly — do not reduce it.
- DissolvingSoften in the cold water for about 5 minutes until spongy, then stir into the hot bouillon off the heat until no granules remain. Boiling gelatin weakens its setting power.
- A wet moldRinsing the mold with cold water and pouring off the excess leaves a film that helps release the aspic. A 3–4 cup loaf pan or ring mold suits this quantity.
- Cold meatAny cooked roast, ham, tongue or poultry sliced thin. Slices should be trimmed to lie flat and not touch the mold walls, or they show through as brown patches.
- Chilling and unmoldingGive it at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. To turn out, dip the mold briefly in hot water, run a thin knife around the rim, and invert onto a chilled platter.
- YieldThe recipe gives no yield; this quantity would serve about four as a lunch dish. The shredded cabbage and mint jelly garnish is of its period; a sharp mustard or cornichons may suit modern palates better.
Aspic — savory jelly built on the natural gelatin of bones, or later on packaged granulated gelatin — was a professional kitchen technique that home cooks also took up. Books of this sort, aimed at hot-weather cookery and the "cool" summer meal, appear to have leaned on molded dishes because they could be made the day before, used up cold roast meat, and arrived at the table without heating the kitchen. Canned bouillon and boxed gelatin were industrial conveniences that let an ordinary cook imitate a chef's chaud-froid platter. The mint jelly garnish, jarringly sweet to modern taste, reflects a period fondness for pairing bright jellies with cold meat that also gave us cranberry with turkey and currant with lamb.