Some food porn
Oct. 12th, 2007 08:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pecuniumTomorrow is the Autumnal Ball of the Friends of the English Regency. Last year I made lobscouse.
This year I decided to attempt a galantine.
Galantines, properly done, are divine. The easy description is tender pieces of food, in meat jello.
This one is very simply filled, oxtails, aspic (the aforementioned meat jello) and some carrots for visual appeal on the plate.
So, to the details.
For each oxtail (about 4 lbs) chop two large onions, 3-4 celery stalks, and one small turnip.
Brine the oxtails (which ought to be chopped by the butcher, but if not; use a cleaver to section into pieces about 1 1/2-2 inches thick). Let them stand in the brine for 2-5 hours. Drain (rinsing isn't all that needful, but you may rinse if you like). I added about half a bottle of stale beer (I wasn't all that fond of HRH the Prince of Wales Duchy Ale, it had all the unpleasant aspects of barley wine, without the bits I like).
Cover the meat with water, with about 2 inches extra water.
Bring to a low boil, just a bit above a simmer. After 30 minutes, reduce the fire to a low simmer. After another 30 minutes skim the pot. Add the vegetables, and any long spices (bay leaves, peppercorns, etc. Don't use ground pepper, nor yet any salt. Fresh herbs ought to wait as well, the essential oils will either fly out the pot, or go bitter). I used some celery and caraway seed.
Cover the pot.
Leave it on that low simmer. You can almost forget about it. Every so often, stir it.
Somewhere in the range of eight to ten hours (I have seen recipes for oxtail which say as little as three-four, I think them overly optomistic. Perhaps they have calves tails), the meat will be falling off the bone, and ragging out of the fat.
Remove the vegetables. Lift the meat into a large pot/bowl.
While the meat cools, line a strainer with cheesecloth and clear the broth. Take a few minutes and clear the fat (a separator is a good idea; not needful, but way handy. If you have the time [and space] you can put the broth in a tall jar{s} and those in the fridge; lifting the fat when cooled).
Clearing the broth will take at least one change of the cloth. Use a new piece and drain the liquid in the vegetable bowl.
Add 1/3rd to 1/2 bottle of dry red wine (I started at the low end, and added; along the way, until it was right).
Reduce, at a moderate boil. This is the time to add durable herbs (I used rosemary).
While the stock is reducing to sauce separate the meat from the fat/bones/gristle. The pieces should be small.
If you are going to add other things this is the time to chop them. They need to be soft. Carrots, etc., can be cooked until just soft, in the reducing stock. If you want contrast you can rather do it in an acidulated bath. A fifty/fifty ratio of really dry white wine and water wouldn't be out of line for that.
For decorations, line carrots, slivers of squash, cucumber peel, etc. on the bottom of a pan. Choose one with a decent shape (I used a couple of loaf pans). This will be sliced and smaller is better, so narrower pans are better than larger. A cake pan would be ok, if you can section it cleanly. That will cost you some of the galantine because the rounded edge of the pan will have to be removed.
Place the meat (and any amendments) on top of the decorations).
The sauce probably won't be reduced yet. Taste it. There will be some scum. Take your tasting from the bubbling areas. That will reduce the amount of scum, and fat, in the spoon.
When it's getting to rich enough, reduce the heat. It ought to feel slightly slimy. Take some and put it in the freezer for about three minutes. If it starts to set, you're in the ball-park.
Strain it again. Skim the fat.
Depending on the amount of collagen (and you can add a couple of marrow bones, or a calve's foot/pig's trotter to add to it) you may be done.
If it's not done, salt it, and take some gelatin, mix it with some of the wine (which means you can't drink it all as you go). Reduce it to a low boil, add some gelatin, and see how it feels.
When it sets in the freezer, but melts on the tongue, it's set. It's not supposed to like a dessert gelatin. Once you hit that point salt the sauce and ladle it over the meat until it's about 1/8th of an inch deeper than the solids.
Cover it, put it in the fridge and leave it. A day, or two, will help the flavor. Slice it thin and serve with cornichons, olives, or other such, and some red wine, or dark beer. Good bread, and veggies aren't out of line either.
This year I decided to attempt a galantine.
Galantines, properly done, are divine. The easy description is tender pieces of food, in meat jello.
This one is very simply filled, oxtails, aspic (the aforementioned meat jello) and some carrots for visual appeal on the plate.
So, to the details.
For each oxtail (about 4 lbs) chop two large onions, 3-4 celery stalks, and one small turnip.
Brine the oxtails (which ought to be chopped by the butcher, but if not; use a cleaver to section into pieces about 1 1/2-2 inches thick). Let them stand in the brine for 2-5 hours. Drain (rinsing isn't all that needful, but you may rinse if you like). I added about half a bottle of stale beer (I wasn't all that fond of HRH the Prince of Wales Duchy Ale, it had all the unpleasant aspects of barley wine, without the bits I like).
Cover the meat with water, with about 2 inches extra water.
Bring to a low boil, just a bit above a simmer. After 30 minutes, reduce the fire to a low simmer. After another 30 minutes skim the pot. Add the vegetables, and any long spices (bay leaves, peppercorns, etc. Don't use ground pepper, nor yet any salt. Fresh herbs ought to wait as well, the essential oils will either fly out the pot, or go bitter). I used some celery and caraway seed.
Cover the pot.
Leave it on that low simmer. You can almost forget about it. Every so often, stir it.
Somewhere in the range of eight to ten hours (I have seen recipes for oxtail which say as little as three-four, I think them overly optomistic. Perhaps they have calves tails), the meat will be falling off the bone, and ragging out of the fat.
Remove the vegetables. Lift the meat into a large pot/bowl.
While the meat cools, line a strainer with cheesecloth and clear the broth. Take a few minutes and clear the fat (a separator is a good idea; not needful, but way handy. If you have the time [and space] you can put the broth in a tall jar{s} and those in the fridge; lifting the fat when cooled).
Clearing the broth will take at least one change of the cloth. Use a new piece and drain the liquid in the vegetable bowl.
Add 1/3rd to 1/2 bottle of dry red wine (I started at the low end, and added; along the way, until it was right).
Reduce, at a moderate boil. This is the time to add durable herbs (I used rosemary).
While the stock is reducing to sauce separate the meat from the fat/bones/gristle. The pieces should be small.
If you are going to add other things this is the time to chop them. They need to be soft. Carrots, etc., can be cooked until just soft, in the reducing stock. If you want contrast you can rather do it in an acidulated bath. A fifty/fifty ratio of really dry white wine and water wouldn't be out of line for that.
For decorations, line carrots, slivers of squash, cucumber peel, etc. on the bottom of a pan. Choose one with a decent shape (I used a couple of loaf pans). This will be sliced and smaller is better, so narrower pans are better than larger. A cake pan would be ok, if you can section it cleanly. That will cost you some of the galantine because the rounded edge of the pan will have to be removed.
Place the meat (and any amendments) on top of the decorations).
The sauce probably won't be reduced yet. Taste it. There will be some scum. Take your tasting from the bubbling areas. That will reduce the amount of scum, and fat, in the spoon.
When it's getting to rich enough, reduce the heat. It ought to feel slightly slimy. Take some and put it in the freezer for about three minutes. If it starts to set, you're in the ball-park.
Strain it again. Skim the fat.
Depending on the amount of collagen (and you can add a couple of marrow bones, or a calve's foot/pig's trotter to add to it) you may be done.
If it's not done, salt it, and take some gelatin, mix it with some of the wine (which means you can't drink it all as you go). Reduce it to a low boil, add some gelatin, and see how it feels.
When it sets in the freezer, but melts on the tongue, it's set. It's not supposed to like a dessert gelatin. Once you hit that point salt the sauce and ladle it over the meat until it's about 1/8th of an inch deeper than the solids.
Cover it, put it in the fridge and leave it. A day, or two, will help the flavor. Slice it thin and serve with cornichons, olives, or other such, and some red wine, or dark beer. Good bread, and veggies aren't out of line either.
