About Aspic

Aspic is elegant. Aspic is refreshing. Aspic is a pill to make. I strongly suggest making it two days before you intend to serve it. That way if something goes wrong you have time to re-do or substitute something else.

Before you attempt this you need to know three things:

Aspic only tastes as good as the stock it's made from. If you think you want to make it with store-bought stock, STOP. Use only your best home made stock from scratch.

The stock must be completely seasoned before you start. You cannot add salt & pepper as you go along, as it will cloud the aspic.

Skim, skim, skim. It is essential that your stock have no grease. If you discover there is a bit of grease you just couldn't get, don't panic. Add more egg whites.

1 Quart cold stock (meat, poultry or fish), well skimmed and free of grease
2 Envelopes plain powdered gelatin
Salt
Pepper
3 egg whites or more
2 egg shells (that's right, SHELLS) or more

Use a big stock pot so that the stock can't fill it more than a third of the way up. Scald the pan, 2 dish towels, and two large bowls with boiling water to remove any detergent or grease residue. Wring the towels damp carefully. Double them and spread each one over one of the bowls. Set aside 1/4 cup of cold stock in a small pan with the gelatin.

Pour the remaining cold stock into the big scalded stock pot. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper now if needed. In a bowl, whisk the whites to a light froth and add them and the egg shells to the large pan of stock. Set over gentle heat and whisk the whites into the liquid. Turn up the heat. When just hot, but not boiling add the spongy gelatin mixture and continue to whisk until the mixture reaches the boiling point. Allow the mixture to boil up to the top of the pan. Take the pan off the heat without sloshing it and let rest five minutes. Repeat. Be sure to bring to a boil again without whisking or otherwise disturbing. This is how you get it clear. Check for clarity after second 5 minute rest. Ladle a small amount into a small glass. If it's not clear, repeat the process 2 or 3 times as necessary.

When clear, pour the clarifying mixture into the cloth covering bowl no. 1. Lift the cloth full of shells, etc. carefully and cover bowl no.2. Pour contents of bowl no.1 through the egg whites, shell, etc. filter cloth again to clarify. You can do go back one more time if necessary. Your aspic should be crystal clear. If it's not, the stock was too cloudy to begin with or it wasn't whisked enough. So frustrating! But that won't happen to you. Besides, it will still taste good.

Anyway, here is how I like to present mine. Take a shallow muffin tin. Place dead center in each cup a little sliver of something. It can be a pimento, an almond or a lemon peel curl. When I really want to put on the dog, I take a half of a red bell pepper. Scrape the inside until it's paper thin. Grab some canape cutters and make fancy shapes to put in the muffin cups. Now!carefully pour the aspic into the muffin tin and chill in the refrigerator until set.

Aspic will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Once set, run a LITTLE cold water over the top to prevent drying and losing flavour. Cover with plastic wrap. Carefully pour off water before serving. I usually get 6-8 servings. If you must have more than six servings, make two batches. DO NOT DOUBLE THE RECIPE. Hope you try it. Your friends will be so impressed.