How to cook jelly: useful tips

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

One of the most favorite dishes in Russia is jelly. A frozen broth with pieces of meat and vegetables is to the liking of both adults and children. Not a single feast is complete without this dish. But alas, not every housewife knows how to cook jelly. Very often the broth does not harden, the jelly turns into an ordinary fatty soup. That is why today we decided to tell you how to cook aspic. Sit back and write down the secrets that every housewife should know when making jelly.

Choosing meat

How to cook aspic? If you are still asking this question, it means that you do not know all the intricacies of cooking.

The key to the success of delicious jelly is the right choice of meat. The main ingredient is best bought fresh on the market. Be sure to pay attention to the color of the meat. It should be even, with no signs of greenery or black spots.

Smell is also important. Ideally, there should be a sweetish aroma. If you can feel the notes of ammonia, then the meat is stale, it was soaked to give it a normal look.

What types of meat are best for jelly

Jellied can becook from any kind of meat. Previously, the dish was popularly called “horns and hooves”, as offal was used for its preparation.

Now experienced hostesses are doing everything so that the jelly has an unusual rich taste.

What kind of meat is better to use:

1. Beef. Added in order for the jelly to freeze. If you use one beef in a dish, the jelly will turn out to be lean, without fat, it will lose its usual taste;
2. Pork. With this type of meat, jelly becomes sweeter, more satisfying, and freezes well. Often hostesses use pork knuckle (lower part of the leg). It must be soaked before cooking the dish so that excess blood and ichor come out. How to cook jellied meat from a shank is a rather popular question. Chefs recommend cooking meat with the skin. This will give the broth a rich taste, and the dish will harden much better.
3. Chicken or rooster. The meat of this bird is lean, tender, sweetish. It pairs perfectly with pork and beef. Many people use chicken fillet or breast when cooking jelly. There is really a lot of meat in these parts, but there is more benefit in the paws and thighs. They are rich in collagen, which strengthens our bones and hair.
4. Goose or duck. This bird is rarely put in jelly. The broth comes out hateful, there is a specific smell and taste of grass.

Also, many use dietary meat (rabbit, quail). Such jelly is preferable if a person has stomach problems or is on a diet. Tothese types of meat have nothing to do with traditional jelly.

Pig head jelly

In the market you can often hear information that jelly is better to cook from a pig's head. Many housewives literally faint at the sight of one heel, not to mention cutting this part of the carcass on their own. They do it absolutely in vain.

How to cook pork head jelly:

1. First you need to cut it properly. It is better to ask a butcher in the market to do this, as the process is rather problematic at home.
2. Cut off your ears. They contain a lot of gelling substances, so they are indispensable for jelly.
3. Place all parts of the pig's head in cold water, leave for a couple of hours.
4. Change the liquid several times until it is completely clear.

The main stage of preparation has been completed, then you can safely start cooking aspic.

Add gelatin

Many housewives are worried that the jelly may not freeze. And indeed, such situations happen if the meat was chosen incorrectly or the proportions of water were summed up. To prevent the dish from turning into soup, you can add gelatin to the broth.

But you need to know how to do it right. The secrets are as follows:

1. Gelatin should be added to warm broth, in this case it will dissolve well.
2. If the liquid is already cold, dilute the required amount of gelatin in hot water and pour it into the jelly, stirring well.
3. Requiredkeep proportions. As a rule, 30-40 grams of gelatin is needed per liter of broth.

Now you know how to cook aspic with gelatin. Remember that if the jelly does not immediately freeze, it needs to be digested (at least an hour). Only after that you can add gelatin.

If this is not done, the jelly will taste bad.

Will it freeze no?

How to cook aspic so that it freezes, experienced chefs can tell:

1. Choose cold cuts. To prepare the broth, be sure to use pork knuckle, hooves, tails or ears. There are many gelling agents in these parts of the carcass.
2. Immediately calculate the proportions of water. The meat should be covered with a maximum of a few centimeters of liquid. Never add water while boiling.
3. Jelly must be cooked for at least 6-8 hours.
4. It is better to s alt the jelly at the very end.
5. To make the broth "stronger", add vegetables (onions, carrots).

If all the recommendations are followed, the jelly will definitely freeze.

Spotting the right time

How much to cook aspic? Long enough. Hurry to turn off the fire, and the dish simply does not freeze. Your goal is not just to cook meat, but also to extract gelling substances from it.

Tune in to the fact that the cooking process will last an average of 8 hours. Please observe the following rules:

1. Use only cold water, not tap water. Otherwise, you risk getting a taste of bleach in the dish.
2. Be sure to coverjellied lid, wait until the liquid boils;
3. Reduce heat (minimum 90 degrees). Your jelly should languish, only in this case the dish will harden.
4. 2 hours before the end of the process, add onions and carrots, spices (optional).

Now you know how much to cook aspic to make the dish tasty and fragrant and well frozen. If you want to shorten the process, use a slow cooker or pressure cooker.

Thanks to these kitchen appliances, you can save time several times over. Select the desired program, for example, "Stew" and send the meat for 3-4 hours.

Believe me, even after this time your jelly will harden.

Secrets of a successful aspic

When faced with jelly for the first time, inexperienced housewives make a lot of mistakes. As a result, the dish turns out to be tasteless, hardens badly.

If you want to know how to cook jelly, check out the secrets of experienced chefs:

1. Use a cast-iron cauldron or a steel pot for cooking. But it is better not to use enameled utensils.
2. Besides meat, be sure to use cartilage and bones for the broth.
3. Cook the jelly for at least 6-8 hours.
4. S alting is allowed only at the end, otherwise the jelly will not harden.
5. Remove the foam from the broth with a slotted spoon, in this case it will turn out transparent.
6. Don't forget to add vegetables, spices, herbs for taste.

Howto cook jellied meat correctly, it was described in the article. Remember: a lot depends on the right choice of meat. The jelly is a difficult dish. Every housewife knows that it will take a lot of time to prepare it.

But if you want to get a delicious jelly, you have to work a little.