CookEat Recipe
Cured Tongue and Ham in Clear Aspic
Ten pairs of round cured-tongue and ham slices filled with truffle butter and enclosed in softly set clear amber meat jelly.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 10 thin slices ready-to-eat cooked cured beef tongue, 130 g in total; 100 g thinly sliced cooked ham, enough to cut 10 matching rounds; 70 g butter, softened briefly for mixing; 20 g white truffle, brushed clean and finely chopped; 500 g boneless veal shank; 150 g professionally cleaned veal foot; Professionally cleaned food-grade feet from 2 or 3 chickens; 2 professionally cleaned food-grade chicken heads with their necks; 2 litres cold water; Salt as needed; 70 g lean veal, very finely minced, for clarifying; 1 egg for clarifying; About 30 ml water for clarifying; 2 pinches sugar and a few drops water for caramel.
Step 2
For about 1 litre of clear meat jelly, use the listed shank, veal foot and professionally prepared chicken feet, heads and necks. Cut the feet into pieces, put all these parts in a pot with the 2 litres cold water and a little salt, and bring to a simmer. Skim and simmer very gently for 7–8 hours, until reduced to about half. Strain into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly, within 2 hours, at 4°C or colder until set. Remove the solid fat. If a thoroughly chilled sample does not set, boil the broth again to reduce it further and test another chilled sample. Do not add an unspecified number of gelatin sheets.
Step 3
In a saucepan, mix the extra 70 g finely minced veal with the egg and 30 ml water. Add the cold jelly and whisk over heat until it boils. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, heat the two pinches of sugar and a few drops of water to dark amber, without burning black. Carefully dissolve with a little hot broth, standing back from steam, then stir small amounts into the simmering jelly until pale amber. Pour while hot through a clean damp fine cloth in a sieve, without squeezing. Keep the strained jelly in a clean container, cool promptly and refrigerate; gently remelt only the amount needed for assembly. Discard sour jelly or jelly left out for more than 2 hours; boiling does not rescue spoiled food.
Step 4
Keep the ready-to-eat tongue and ham refrigerated until assembling. Trim the ten tongue slices neatly into rounds and cut ten matching ham rounds. Pound the tongue and ham trimmings with the 70 g butter and the white truffle to a fine smooth paste. Spread this filling over one side of each tongue slice and press a matching ham round onto it, making ten paired pieces. Refrigerate them while preparing the jelly layers.
Step 5
Gently remelt the prepared jelly and let it cool until still liquid but no longer warm enough to melt the filling. Pour a thin layer into a small shallow tray large enough to hold the ten pieces without overlapping. Refrigerate until the layer starts to set, about 20–30 minutes. Arrange the filled tongue-and-ham pieces on it with small gaps between them, and pour over enough remaining cool liquid jelly to cover. Refrigerate promptly until softly set throughout, usually 3–4 hours.
Step 6
Cut the aspic into ten individual portions around the filled pieces and lift carefully onto a cold serving plate. Serve as a small cold course for eight people. Keep at 4°C or colder and consume within 2–3 days of first making the jelly, allowing for all intermediate chilling; discard if left out more than 2 hours. For the single-mould alternative, first pour a thin layer of liquid jelly into the bottom of a small mould and let it begin to set in the refrigerator. Place the ten filled pieces vertically with spaces between them, fill the gaps and cover with cool liquid jelly, refrigerate until set and briefly warm the outside with a hot damp cloth before turning out.
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