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Eggs in Aspic
Fill a mould to a third of its height with clear aspic jelly; when cold arrange some slices of hard-boiled eggs on the top, then fill it three parts with more liquid jelly and allow this to set; arrange a layer of eggs as before and fill to the top with more jelly. Let it set for twelve hours on ice if possible. Dip the mould in tepid water, wipe it, turn the jelly out onto a dish, and serve.
A cold-larder assembly rather than a cooked dish: the work is all in the jelly and the patience. Oscar assumes you have a stockpot of clarified aspic already standing in the kitchen, which is the one thing a modern cook has to supply first.
- "Clear aspic jelly" is the missing recipeIn a hotel kitchen this meant strong veal or chicken stock, clarified with egg white and lean minced meat, seasoned and often sharpened with a little sherry or tarragon vinegar. The recipe gives no quantities; if you are starting from packaged gelatin, a common guide is one envelope (about 2 1/4 tsp) per 2 cups of well-flavoured cold stock, and a jelly meant for unmoulding wants to be slightly firmer than one served in a dish.
- "Three parts" means three-quartersThe mould is filled in stages: a third, then up to three-quarters, then to the rim. Each layer must be fully set before the next liquid jelly goes on, or the eggs float and the layers bleed into each other.
- Cool the jelly before it touches the eggsPouring hot jelly onto set jelly melts the seam and dislodges the egg slices. Let each addition cool to barely tepid and syrupy, then pour it down the side of the mould rather than straight onto the arrangement.
- Slice the eggs with a wet bladeHard-boiled eggs cut cleanest with a thin wet knife or an egg slicer, and the yolks should be fully set or they smear into the jelly. Cool the eggs completely first.
- "Twelve hours on ice" is overnight in the refrigeratorThe icebox of 1896 ran warmer and less evenly than a modern fridge, so the long time was insurance. Twelve hours at 40F does no harm and gives a jelly that unmoulds in one piece, but a small mould will be firm in five or six hours.
- UnmouldingA few seconds in tepid — not hot — water is enough; hot water melts a skin of jelly and leaves the surface cloudy. Wipe the mould dry, invert onto a chilled dish, and give it one firm downward shake.
- Yield and servingThe recipe specifies neither mould size nor number served; a mould of about a quart would give roughly six first-course portions. Something sharp alongside -- watercress, a mustardy vinaigrette, or cold tongue and ham -- suits it, and it should go to the table cold.
Aspic belongs to the French cuisine froide that Oscar Tschirky's Waldorf inherited from the tradition of Carême and, in his own day, Escoffier, where a clear, quivering meat jelly was the standard medium for presenting cold food handsomely on a buffet. The word itself is often traced to the French aspic for the asp, on the strength of the jelly's cool sheen and the mottled, snakeskin look of a decorated mould — a folk etymology that gets repeated more confidently than the evidence warrants. What makes the dish characteristic of the 1890s hotel kitchen is that it costs almost nothing in materials and a great deal in labour: stock reduced, clarified with egg white, moulded in three separate settings and held overnight on ice. By the time this book appeared, commercial powdered gelatin was becoming available to households without a stockpot going all day.