Holodets Meat Aspic
Holodets sets because you spend six hours slowly drawing collagen out of trotters and hock, not because of gelatine. There is one rule that matters: the stock must never come to a rolling boil, or it turns cloudy and nothing will clear it afterwards.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 6 h
- Rest
- 8 h
- Total
- 14 h 40 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 260 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 2 moulds, 1.5 l each
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Soak the meat
Cover the trotters and hock with cold water and leave for 3–4 hours, changing the water twice. This draws the blood out of the bones and keeps the stock pale.
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Step 2: Discard the first boil
Cover with fresh water by 5 cm, bring to the boil and pour all of it away. Rinse the pot too — scum clings to the sides.
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Step 3: Simmer slowly
Cover again with cold water 5 cm above the meat. Once it boils, turn the heat to its lowest: the surface should barely move. Simmer for 6 hours, uncovered or with the lid ajar.
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Step 4: Add the vegetables
Add the whole carrots, the onions in their skins, the peppercorns and bay 90 minutes before the end. Salt at this point, not earlier — the water reduces and early salt overshoots.
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Step 5: Pull the meat apart
Lift the meat out, let it cool, strip it off the bones and shred it by hand. Chop the skin and cartilage finely as well; they give the jelly body.
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Step 6: Strain the stock
Strain through a double layer of muslin. Test it: a drop rubbed between finger and thumb should feel slightly tacky.
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Step 7: Fill the moulds
Divide the meat between the moulds, add the crushed garlic and lay slices of the cooked carrot on top. Pour over the stock and stir gently with a fork.
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Step 8: Set overnight
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 8 hours. Lift off the set fat before serving and bring horseradish to the table.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Unsure it will set? Put a spoonful of stock on a saucer in the freezer for 10 minutes — it should turn into a soft jelly.
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Variation
Chicken gives a paler, lighter aspic, but you still need pork trotters: chicken alone will not set.
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Storage
Keeps 4 days in the fridge under film. Do not freeze — the jelly separates once thawed.
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Tip
Onion skins give the stock a warm golden colour; leave them on, they are strained out anyway.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 260 kcal | 2,600 kcal |
| Protein | 24 g | 240 g |
| Fat | 17 g | 170 g |
| Carbohydrates | 2 g | 20 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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