Aspic Jelly
To make savory jelly, take 12 pounds of meat and feet. 12 quarts of water. 12 hours to boil them gently. 12 cloves. 1 bay leaf. 1 small turnip. 1 small onion. 1 carrot. 1 rounded tablespoonful of pepper. 1 do do salt. 3 to 6 lemons, juice only. 6 eggs to clarify the jelly.
As has been already intimated it makes but little difference in ordinary life what kind of meat is used. For choice we will say 2 calves' feet, 2 pigs' feet with the shanks attached, 2 old fowls and some veal bones or shin of beef. Chop and break the pieces. Put them on in a boiler having a false bottom to prevent burning, or, otherwise, put a pie plate in before the meat. Fill with cold water. Bring to a boil and skim off what rises to the top. Then push the boiler to the back part of the range, and let simmer gently about 12 hours. It should by that time be reduced to about a third of the quantity of water first put in and will set in jelly when cold. But during the time of cooking the vegetables and salt and pepper should have been added. White pepper is best, whole black pepper, broken a little, is next, and if you have not these ground black pepper will do.
Strain off you 4 quarts of jelly and fat, from the meat and bones, and set it away to get quite cold. Then take off the grease from the top, and wipe off the last particles with a cloth dipped in warm water. Now melt the jelly in a good sized kettle or bright tin pan. Squeeze in some lemon juice-enough to give it a tart taste. Of the six eggs take 2 entire, 4 whites, and all the shells, and a cup of cold water, beat them up, add them to the melted jelly and beat up to mix. Then boil-about half an hour will be right. One reason of trouble in making jelly is the white of egg does not get cooked enough, but runs like milk through the jelly bag and makes the jelly cloudy when it should be clear. If it boils over too much set the kettle and all in the even till the white of egg has become a gray curd; then it will strain clear.
Another trouble is when you try to do without lemons the jelly very often is gummy and will not run through flannel, nor hardly through a seive. An acid cuts it and makes it limped. If you must use vinegar instead of lemon juice, you must. It will have the same effect-to make the jelly run through. The jelly bag is made of red flannel-about a yard-a wire ring to hold the top open-the bag running down to a point, funnel shaped. Suspend it by strings like the bail of a bucket.
The clarifying process above may of course be applied to any soup stock or gelatine liquor, and applies with more force to sweetened jellies, which are harder to make than aspic.
The aspic may be cooled on dishes, of right depth to stamp out fancy shapes when cold. The color will likely be light straw color. A few drops of burnt sugar caramel will make it amber and a few more brandy or ale color. A few drops of red coloring will make pink of the clear and port wine color of the brown.
The other way will come more familiarly home to hotel cooks where the stock boiler is the always ready resource.
Aspic Jelly.-Hotel Method.
Draw off 4 quarts of clear soup stock from the stock boiler. It has already been lightly seasoned with the common vegetables, and for this use should have a head of celery and a handful of parsley extra. Chop about 2 pounds of lean beef fine like sausage. Mix a pint of cold water with it, then put the beef in the 4 quarts of stock and boil it a short time. Strain this consomme from the beef through a fine gravy strainer, and set it in the refrigerator that the grease may be all taken off when cold.
Then add to it the whites and shells of 6 eggs, juice of 4 lemons, 1 bay leaf, a tablespoonful of bruised pepper corns, or some white pepper, the same of salt, a ladleful of cold water beaten in the eggs, and 4 ounces of the cheap, white gelatine, that floats while dissolving and can't burn. Bring the mixture to a boil, with frequent stirring When done pour it 3 or 4 times through the jelly bag.
Now we have a pail of savory jelly in the ice chest always ready, and can go along with the salad-making.