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Fillets of Halibut in Aspic with Cole-Slaw
Use a generous half-pint of oysters in the place of the lobster, parboiling and draining before chopping, and fill in the centre of the aspic with coleslaw.
This is a variation note rather than a standalone recipe — it assumes you have the preceding halibut-in-aspic formula in front of you, with its lobster filling. Read the two together, and treat the oysters as the only thing that changes.
- A generous half-pint of oystersHalf a pint is one cup of shucked oysters with their liquor, roughly 8 fl oz, which is somewhere around 6 to 12 medium oysters depending on size. "Generous" here means a little over the half-pint rather than a level measure; buy a full pint container and you will have enough.
- Parboiling means two minutes at mostBring the oysters up in their own liquor only until the edges ruffle and the bodies firm, then drain at once. Longer cooking turns oysters to rubber and ruins the texture you want against the soft aspic.
- Save the oyster liquorThe drained liquor is the best seasoning available for the aspic itself. Strain it through a fine sieve to catch grit and shell, then use it as part of the liquid in the jelly.
- The aspic strengthThe original book's aspic relies on a stock stiff with natural gelatin, sometimes reinforced with granulated gelatin. With modern low-gelatin stocks, a firm unmoulding jelly needs roughly one envelope of powdered gelatin (about 2 1/4 tsp) per cup to cup and a half of liquid for a lining, and slightly less for a soft centre. The base recipe's exact proportion is not given here, so judge by setting a spoonful on a cold saucer before you fill the mould.
- Chop coarsely, not fineOysters chopped small disappear into the jelly. Cut each into two or three pieces so they read as oyster when the mould is sliced.
- The cole-slaw goes in cold and lastFill the centre only when the aspic is fully set and the slaw well drained, or the dressing will weep into the jelly and cloud it. Dress the cabbage just before serving for the same reason.
- Keep it coldAn aspic built on fish stock and cooked shellfish is a perishable dish that holds its shape only near refrigerator temperature. Chill at least four hours, unmould onto a cold platter, and do not let it stand out on a buffet through a long meal.
Janet McKenzie Hill compiled Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing-Dish Dainties out of the Boston Cooking-School tradition at the turn of the twentieth century, when moulded aspics were the showpiece of the cold table. Two things made them practical for ordinary households: commercially packaged granulated gelatin, which removed the day-long business of boiling calves' feet, and dependable ice delivery, which meant a jelly could be relied on to set and hold. Oysters as a stand-in for lobster reflects the economics of the period rather than thrift alone "still abundant and cheap enough to be a working-class food, while lobster was moving up in price and prestige. The cole-slaw in the centre is often said to reflect a New England habit of pairing a rich cold dish with sharp shredded cabbage; the word itself is generally traced to the Dutch koolsla, from koolsalade, cabbage salad, and appears in American cookbooks well before this one.