Fish Aspic with Red Wine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8 L) nonreactive saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Damp muslin, lint-free flour-sack towel, or layered cheesecloth
• •Heatproof spatula
• •Large bowl for an ice bath
• •Small metal saucer for gelatin testing
• •One 2-quart mold or shallow covered containers

Instructions

1. 1

   Degrease the stock

   Keep the Court-bouillon with Red Wine (No. 165) thoroughly cold while you lift away every cap and bead of fat with a shallow spoon. Draw a strip of clean absorbent paper lightly across the surface to catch the final iridescent film, then decant the stock into a clean saucepan without disturbing sediment at the bottom. Reserve 1 cup for adjusting the set. Fat left behind makes the aspic cloudy and greasy; if it breaks into tiny droplets, chill the stock again until the fat hardens, then repeat. Patience, not warm skimming.

   Use only court-bouillon that was chilled promptly after poaching the fish. A night in the refrigerator makes the fat easy to remove and reveals how much natural gelatin the fish contributed.
2. 2

   Judge the reduction

   Taste a spoonful of the cold stock, then warm the remaining 9 cups gently. If its fish and wine character already tastes concentrated and complete, do not reduce it merely to obey a clock. If it tastes thin, simmer uncovered until about 8 1/2 cups remain, skimming any froth. Reduction concentrates salt as quickly as flavour, which is why the Court-bouillon with Red Wine (No. 165) should have been lightly salted when aspic was its destination.

3. 3

   Test the gelatin

   Pour 1/2 cup of the reserved cold stock into a bowl and sprinkle 2 packets, 14 g, of gelatin evenly across the surface. Leave it for 10 minutes until swollen, then stir it into the hot stock off the boil until completely dissolved. Chill a tablespoon on a metal saucer set over ice for 5 to 8 minutes. The sample should hold together, quiver when nudged, and yield immediately beneath a spoon. If it remains syrupy, bloom another packet in 2 tablespoons of the reserved stock, dissolve it into the pot, and test again; add the fourth only if needed. If it sets too firmly, loosen the pot with reserved stock a little at a time. Ça se rattrape. Adjust and retest rather than trusting the packet.

   Different gelatins, and different fish stocks, carry different strength. Four packets are available, not compulsory; a tender aspic is the aim.
4. 4

   Clarify with egg white

   Set a damp muslin-lined fine sieve over a clean saucepan before you begin. Cool the gelatin-enriched stock over an ice bath until cold but still liquid, then stir in the half-whisked egg whites. Place it over medium heat and stir continuously with a heatproof spatula, reaching across the bottom so nothing catches. The whites will gather the suspended particles into soft curds as the stock heats. At the first full boil, stop stirring and remove the pan immediately; prolonged boiling weakens the gelatin and breaks the clarifying raft.

5. 5

   Filter without pressing

   Pour the hot aspic immediately through the damp muslin. Let gravity do the work and never squeeze the cloth, because pressure drives egg-white curd and grease back into the liquid. Return the first cloudy drippings to the sieve and pass them through again. If the aspic remains hazy after the second pass, let it settle for 5 minutes and filter it through fresh damp muslin. Clarity comes from patient filtration, not force.

   A lint-free flour-sack towel or several layers of damp cheesecloth replace the old serviette rig. The equipment changed because a home kitchen has a sieve instead of an overturned stool; the clarification itself did not change.
6. 6

   Restore somber pink

   Hold a spoonful of the clarified aspic over a white plate and judge its colour in natural light. Wine tannins often carry much of the red pigment into the egg-white curd, leaving the liquid pale or brownish pink. If needed, stir in one drop of liquid carmine or vegetable red, inspect it, then add another only if the colour still looks lifeless. Stop at somber pink. A garnet jelly is not the intention.

7. 7

   Mold and chill

   Pour the aspic into clean shallow containers, or cool it until slightly syrupy and spoon it in thin successive coats over the thoroughly chilled salmon or trout it was made to accompany. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, until tenderly set, then cover. For unmolding, dip the outside of the mold into warm water for 3 to 5 seconds and invert onto a cold platter. If serving the aspic separately, cut it into generous cubes rather than fussy fragments. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This is spent court-bouillon made useful again, not red wine mixed with gelatin. The fish-poaching liquor supplies the flavour, seasoning, and natural body; using untouched wine would produce an entirely different and rather severe jelly.
• •Gelatin strength varies, and fish bones and skin may already have given the stock considerable body. Begin with 14 g, make the cold test, and add only what the test demands. The aspic should surrender beneath the tongue.
• •Clarify in a nonreactive stainless-steel or enameled pan. Bare aluminium or iron can trouble both the wine's flavour and its already delicate colour.
• •Keep the finished aspic covered and refrigerated, and use it within 2 days. Freezing damages its clear, tender structure, so make less rather than freezing the remainder.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Court-bouillon with Red Wine (No. 165), use it to poach the intended salmon or trout, then transfer the cooking liquor to a shallow container and cool it over ice. Refrigerate it within 2 hours and leave it covered until completely cold, preferably overnight.
• •The aspic may be clarified, coloured, and molded the day before service. Keep it covered once set so its surface does not dry or absorb refrigerator aromas.
• •The listed total time begins with chilled court-bouillon ready for degreasing; it does not include preparing the referenced court-bouillon or poaching the fish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)