Pork and Chicken Aspic with Carrot and Onion

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   The ingredients you'll need.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the pork trotters well under running water and clean them up if needed.

3. Step 3:

   

   Wash the chicken too and soak it overnight along with the trotters. This is a very important step — it's what guarantees a clear aspic.

4. Step 4:

   

   In the morning, drain off the cloudy water and rinse everything well again.

5. Step 5:

   

   Cut the chicken into 3–4 pieces (you can boil it whole, but pieces are easier to lift out of the broth).

6. Step 6:

   

   Pack the meat snugly into a pot.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add enough water to cover the meat — it took me about 3 liters.

8. Step 8:

   

   Set it over the heat and bring to a boil.

9. Step 9:

   

   It's very important not to miss the moment and skim off the foam in time.

10. Step 10:

    

    Once the water just begins to bubble, turn the heat down to the lowest setting.

11. Step 11:

    

    Cook the aspic with the lid slightly cracked or fully off for 5 hours from the boil. Make sure the water never actually boils — the aspic should barely simmer, which keeps it clear. From time to time, skim off the foam that collects and any excess fat — we don't want it.

12. Step 12:

    

    1.5 hours before it's done, add the peeled onion and carrot.

13. Step 13:

    

    Salt it — keep in mind that aspic is better slightly over-salted.

14. Step 14:

    

    30 minutes before it's done, add the allspice and black peppercorns.

15. Step 15:

    

    10–15 minutes before it's done, add the peeled head of garlic.

16. Step 16:

    

    1–2 minutes before it's done, add the bay leaves and turn off the heat.

17. Step 17:

    

    Lift the chicken and trotters out of the broth.

18. Step 18:

    

    Strain the broth through a sieve.

19. Step 19:

    

    This is my favorite part — pull the chicken off the bones and shred it into fibers or larger pieces, however you like, and finely chop the meat from the trotters. A lot of people don't care for the trotters (you can give them to the dogs, who'll thank you for it), but I'll say it again: the trotters are where all that natural collagen is, the kind that keeps you young. And chopped finely, no one will even notice them.

20. Step 20:

    

    Distribute the meat among your aspic molds.

21. Step 21:

    

    Pour the broth over it.

22. Step 22:

    

    By morning the aspic is set.

23. Step 23:

    

    Look how beautiful and clear it came out.

24. Step 24:

    

    To turn it out neatly onto a plate, dip the mold in warm water for 1–2 minutes.

25. Step 25:

    

    Then gently loosen the edges with a silicone spatula.

26. Step 26:

    

    And the aspic will turn out easily.

27. Step 27:

    

    Enjoy!