Aspic made from pig's trotters and chicken

To prevent the pig's trotters from giving the dish an unpleasant smell, they need to be singed over an open flame. This can even be done over a gas stove. Passing fire over the skin of the pig's trotters, we hold them under a stream of running water. Under the stream of water, we scrape off the places that have been smoked from the fire. The pig's tail also needs to be singed over the fire, and then thoroughly washed under running water. We cut off the hooves at the joints, and cut the trotters in half lengthwise. The prepared pig's trotters and tail are placed in a deep bowl and covered with cold water. Here we also add the chicken meat. We will keep the meat with the trotters and tail in the water for about three hours. This is necessary to draw out the blood. If this is not done, the blood, curdling in the broth during cooking, can affect the transparency of the aspic. We replace the water several times with fresh.

For the aspic, we will need a medium-sized carrot. It will give the broth a beautiful color.

We will also prepare a clove of garlic and 1 or 2 small onions.

After getting rid of the blood, we transfer the trotters, tail, and chicken into the pot we chose for cooking aspic. We place the trotters and tail at the bottom, as that will have the highest temperature. On top, we tightly pack the chicken parts, filling the spaces between the lower ingredients of the aspic. Now we pour cold water into the pot with the meat. The water should cover all the meat, forming a layer about 3-4 cm thick above it. After waiting for the water to boil, we immediately reduce the heat, preventing boiling in the pot. We remove the formed flakes of foam from the surface of the broth with a slotted spoon. We carefully remove all the foam. Once we are done with this, we cover the pot with a lid. Before covering the pot with the lid, we make sure that the aspic cooking inside does not have too much boiling. The broth with the meat should not even be boiling, but barely bubbling. This way we will produce a beautiful, transparent aspic. In this mode, we continue to cook the aspic for 4 hours.

After 4 hours of cooking, we add the vegetables to the aspic. We peel the onion from the husk, cut it into pieces, and gently lower it into the aspic. After cleaning and washing the root vegetable of the carrot, we cut it into rings. Sending the sliced carrot into the aspic, we cook the aspic for another 2-3 hours. We carefully monitor the boiling of the aspic. If the boiling increases, we reduce the heat further.

When the aspic made from pig's trotters and chicken is cooked, we turn off the heat, and open the pot lid to let the aspic begin to cool. At this time, fat accumulates on the surface of the aspic, which we carefully remove with a spoon.

Carefully, to avoid clouding the broth, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat along with the bones and all the vegetables. Discard the onion, and the boiled carrot (if desired) can be used for decorating the aspic. Carefully pick out all the bones from the meat. Cut the meat into pieces. Also, chop the meat from the legs and tail into small pieces. Place the meat in containers. Strain the broth through cheesecloth into a separate dish. Salt the broth a little stronger, considering that the meat will absorb some salt from the broth. Finely chop the peeled clove of garlic. Add the garlic in parts, tasting as you go. When the broth has enough garlic to your taste, you can pour it into the containers. Place the cooled containers with the aspic in the refrigerator, loosely covering them with lids to prevent condensation from forming under the lids. If you do not want to serve the aspic in containers for the holiday, you can turn it out onto a plate, decorate it nicely with greens, and surround it with slices of pickled cucumber. To do this, dip the container with the aspic made from pork legs and chicken (halfway) into warm water for a few seconds, and then turn it over onto a plate.

Cook aspic from pork legs and chicken without gelatin using our recipe. Enjoy your meal.