Rules for cooking jellied meat
Since it takes a lot of time to prepare this dish, it would be a shame to end up with inexpressive, tasteless food of an incomprehensible faded color after five or six hours spent. Therefore, the choice of spices for jellied meat and the cooking process itself must be approached with all seriousness.
Before dwelling on the specific spices added to the broth when cooking jellied meat, we need to remember the basic rule that guarantees the bright taste of the snack. We are talking about the time of cooking the meat and the moment when it is time to add spices.
Jellied meat is a universal dish. It can be cooked from any available type of meat or prepared assorted using several types of meat products. This can be chicken and other poultry, beef or pork, pork or beef legs, either individually or together.
Everything is determined by the individual preferences of the hostess. The type of meat used determines the cooking time required for it to be fully cooked.
For example, preparing jellied poultry will require 2-3 hours, and a meat dish will require 6-7 hours of cooking. To obtain a clear broth, a prerequisite is to cook over low heat so that the broth simmers slightly.
In a saucepan
Cooking jellied meat in a saucepan on the stove is a traditional method of cooking. The following ingredients will be required:
- beef or pork meat – 500 g;
- chicken legs – 4 pcs.;
- pork leg – 1.5 kg;
- carrots – 3 pcs.;
- onions – 2 pcs.;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- bay leaf – 5 pcs.;
- black peppercorns – 30 pcs.
Preparation:
- Chop the pork leg into pieces. Place them in an 8-10 liter saucepan and fill with water. Place the container on low heat and bring to a boil. Cook the meat for 5 hours.
- Add chicken meat and legs. Cook the broth for half an hour.
- Cut the onions and carrots into small cubes. Add the vegetables to the broth and cook for another 1.5 hours.
- Strain the broth through a colander. You can throw away the spices and vegetables.
- Separate the bones, cut the meat into medium-sized slices. Add pepper and chopped garlic. Gently mix the ingredients.
- Place the meat in molds and fill with broth. Let the jellied meat cool at room temperature. Then place in the refrigerator to set (4-6 hours).
When is jellied seasoning added?
Any spices are sensitive to heat treatment. Long cooking times will completely destroy their flavor. This happens if you add spices to the broth at the very beginning of cooking. Therefore, experts recommend adding seasonings no earlier than 30-40 minutes before the end of cooking. Only then will they transfer all the taste and aroma into the finished treat.
Chefs advise not to get carried away with the amount of seasonings and spices. Jellied meat is a meat dish with its own specific aroma. And a large number of spices can “clog” the flavor of the meat itself.
Salt, which is also a classic spice, is added shortly before the meat is cooked. The fact is that at the beginning of cooking the meat is poured with a large amount of water, which covers the surface of the meat.
During the cooking process, the broth boils away a lot. If you salt the meat at the very beginning, then by the end of cooking the volume of liquid will decrease significantly. The broth will be oversalted due to the high concentration of salt in a small amount of the finished dish.
After finishing cooking, be sure to strain the broth. This removes spices and seasonings that can ruin the color and clarity of the liquid.
What spices are added to jellied meat?
In the classic recipe, the list of seasonings is short:
- salt;
- pepper mixture;
- garlic and bay leaf.
They will add a bright aroma to the dish and add common vegetables:
- carrot;
- bulb onions;
- celery root.
They are placed in the broth when cooking jellied meat about half an hour or an hour before the end of cooking. Black pepper has a pungent taste and is considered one of the most effective digestive stimulants. It improves appetite, promotes digestion, and increases salivation. Due to this, it is actively used as a seasoning for meat dishes.
Jellied meat is not the most dietary treat. Therefore, using ground pepper or peppercorns as an ingredient in cooking will come in handy. In addition, this spice has the property of destroying bacteria and activating metabolism.
Allspice is an aromatic spice often used in the preparation of meat dishes. It has a spicy, pungent taste that resembles a mixture of black pepper, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.
This pepper does not have a strong pungency, so it is used mainly as a flavoring for meat dishes. It also promotes good digestion, has strong antibacterial properties and improves metabolism.
In a pressure cooker
Another simple way to cook jellied meat is in a pressure cooker. First prepare the following ingredients:
- pork – 300 g;
- pork legs – 2 pcs.;
- water – 2 l;
- onions and carrots - 1 pc.;
- garlic – 4–5 cloves;
- a bunch of greenery;
- bay leaf, salt to taste, 5-7 black peppercorns.
Preparation:
- Place the meat in the pressure cooker and add water. Bring it to a boil without closing the lid of the device.
- Add carrots, onion, bay leaf, pepper and salt. The onion does not need to be completely peeled. Leaving the last layer of husk will give the broth a beautiful golden hue.
- Close the steam release valve and the lid. Activate the extinguishing function.
- After 45 minutes, the timer beep will indicate the end of cooking. Turn off the pressure cooker and leave the product to steep for 6–8 hours. This will make the jelly more aromatic and rich.
- Strain the broth through a sieve. Vegetables can be thrown away.
- Separate the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Place it on plates, add chopped garlic and herbs. Fill everything with broth.
- Let the jellied meat cool, then put it in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.
In a pressure cooker, cook the jellied meat in the “stew” mode.
Garlic and bay leaf
Garlic is known to the vast majority of not only our country, but the entire planet. Not everyone likes the special aroma of this plant, but it is irreplaceable when preparing meat snacks. It’s unlikely that jellied meat lovers can imagine this appetizer without garlic.
Garlic gives the dish a completely unique taste. It contains approximately 400 components that have a beneficial effect on the human body. The garlic should be evenly distributed throughout the entire volume of the finished treat.
To do this, you need to grind the seasoning, and not use whole cloves. This spice should be added after cooking so that the high temperature does not destroy the aroma.
Bay leaf is a common spice that is used in preparing meat snacks. The leaves emit a strong odor due to the multicomponent essential oil contained in the composition. The list of beneficial properties of this plant is long. It has bactericidal properties and activates metabolism.
Secrets of housewives
To ensure that the finished dish has a beautiful appearance, some housewives add an unpeeled onion (previously washed well) to the broth during cooking, which is then thrown away. The husk will give the liquid a golden hue.
Carrots, celery root, and parsnips will add flavor to the jellied meat. Do not allow vegetables to become overcooked. Then they can be used when pouring broth into molds with meat for decoration. Cut out various simple shapes from vegetables, for example, stars, circles, squares and place them on the bottom of the mold.
What other spices and herbs are added?
If we consider flavor combinations, then in choosing seasonings we can better focus on the seasonings recommended for preparing classic aspic. These include:
- coriander;
- ground paprika;
- mustard seeds;
- turmeric, which, like onions, gives the broth a yellow tint.
This seasoning for jellied meat is added 5-7 minutes before the meat is ready. Those who like a specific taste can use a little nutmeg.
To decorate jellied meat, openwork leaves of parsley or dill are suitable. They are added to molds with meat before pouring. First divide them into small fragments and distribute them evenly over the entire surface. It's so good to use any greens you like. It could be:
- cilantro;
- leaf celery;
- green onion feathers;
- any medium-sized leafy greens.
The chosen seasoning for jellied meat is determined solely by the taste of the housewife. Ready jellied meat is served with horseradish, mustard or vinegar.
Beef jelly (Moscow region)
To prepare this type of jellied meat you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of various offal;
- 5-6 peas of allspice;
- a pinch of ground black pepper;
- parsley, onion pods, dill;
- 2-3 bay leaves;
- 2-3 cloves of garlic;
- carrots, onions – 1 pc. each;
- 2.5 liters of boiled water;
- salt to taste.
Method for preparing jellied meat
- The first step is to singe the beef legs, cut them into pieces, chop the bones and soak them in cold water for 3-4 hours.
- Dry the meat and place in a pan with cold water. One kilogram of offal requires 2.5 liters of water. The water level should be ten centimeters higher than the level of offal.
- Bring the water to a boil and continue cooking the broth over low heat for seven hours.
- It is important to remove excess fat from the surface of the broth with a slotted spoon from time to time. The meat should easily separate from the bone by the end of cooking.
- An hour before readiness, add chopped carrots, bay leaves, peas, parsley, and onions.
- After cooking, remove the bay leaf from the broth and separate the meat from the bones.
- Strain the broth and mix with the slices of meat.
- Then bring the mixture to a boil again, add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the broth into special forms. The dish can be decorated with herbs and eggs cut into halves.
Before serving the jelly, you need to lower the form with the jellied meat into hot water, then put the contents on plates and garnish with parsley leaves. It is customary to serve potatoes, cabbage salad, mustard, horseradish or vinegar along with jellied meat.
