Kitchen appliances and utensils:a stove (hob), a saucepan with a capacity of 8-9 liters, a cutting board, a knife, a peeler, a strainer for filtering, a slotted spoon, a ladle, a bowl with a lid, a tablespoon and a teaspoon, trays or plates for jellied meat.
Ingredients
Water | 6-7 l |
Pork legs | 2 pcs. (approximately 1-1.5 kg) |
Pork head | ¼ part (about 2 kg) |
Onion | 3 pcs. |
Small carrot | 1 PC. |
Garlic | 5-6 cloves |
Salt | 1.5 tbsp. l |
Black pepper (peas) | 1.5 tsp |
Bay leaf | 3-4 pcs. |
Step cooking
- Rinse, clean from stubble, keratinization, tanning and dirt 2 pork legs. They can be scorched over a gas burner, scraped with a knife and washed well again. Pay special attention to the places between the hooves - they also need to be properly cleaned from all sides. Also thoroughly strip and rinse a quarter of the pig's head.
- To make the broth transparent, it is recommended to soak the meat in cold water for at least 3-4 hours (you can soak the meat all night), then drain the water and rinse the meat again.
- For jellied meat it is better to divide all meat products into small parts - so gelling substances will be easier to pass into the broth. But it is not recommended to chop the bones with an hatchet - there will be many small fragments that are difficult to choose from meat. Put all the meat in a deep pan and pour cold water a centimeter above the level of meat. Bring almost to a boil. When the greatest amount of foam rises, drain, rinse the meat in running water.
- Pour water again so that the meat is covered with about 2 fingers (the ratio of water to meat is approximately 2: 1, i.e. 6-7 liters of water is needed for 3-3.5 kg of pork), put peeled root vegetables: 3 onions and 1 carrot. By the way, 1-2 bulbs can be cleaned only of the top contaminated husks, leaving the bottom layer. This will give the broth a golden color and a peculiar taste.
- Put on a large fire, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a minimum so that the broth does not boil, but only languishes under the lid. To slow the boil, you can use a flame divider. After 1-1.5 hours, add 1 tbsp. l salt, 3-4 bay leaves and 0.5 tsp. black pepper peas. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat for another 2-2.5 hours. Remove from heat, remove the meat with a slotted spoon in a separate bowl, allow to cool.
- Boiled onions can be discarded, and carrots left to decorate the dish. Strain the broth through a colander or a fine sieve, try on salt (the broth for jellied meat should seem slightly salted hot), if necessary, add salt and boil again. Remove foam.
- Cooled meat must first be separated by hand from bones, skin and excess fat, and then disassemble into fibers or cut with a knife across the fibers. Put pieces of meat in a bowl, cover with a lid or foil on top, so as not to wind.
- Peel and chop several (5-6) cloves of garlic - on a fine grater, knife or garlic press. Cut the boiled carrots figuratively to your taste.
- At the bottom of dishes intended for aspic, lay out patterns of chopped carrots, sprigs of greens or feathers of green onions. Spread chopped meat and chopped garlic evenly on top.
- Gently, using a ladle, pour meat into the broth. Leave to cool at room temperature. Put the cooled jelly in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours to freeze and strengthen.
- A layer of fat can be carefully removed from the surface of the finished jelly. Jellied container for 2-3 sec. immerse in hot water, then carefully tip over onto a dish.
- Serve jellied meat with mustard or grated horseradish. Enjoy your meal!
Important! If the jelly is not frozen, heat it and add the gelatin according to the instructions on the package.
Video recipe
It is believed that cooking delicious jellied meat is an art. This video will help you understand it. What kind of meat to choose and how to prepare it, how much water to pour, so that the jelly is well frozen, which ingredients to add for color, taste and a delicious smell - the answers to all these questions can be found in this video recipe.