Turkey Meat Jelly - Romanian Piftie

Here you can see the turkey leg and the gizzards. In this picture, it's turkey gizzards, but I still think that the chicken ones are better in aspic.

Wash well and even keep in cold water for 2-3 hours, for a clearer jelly at the end.

This is the rind I bought from a better butcher's shop. It's easy to find in the winter.

If I can't find it at the butcher's, I go to the shops selling all kinds of Sibiu sausages and I buy a piece of rind such as this one, it's also a little salty.

Make sure you wash it well and clean with a knife the extra fat and the impurities.

If you have a larger piece, cut into 2-3 smaller ones, roll them up.

Now, we take a large 5 liter pot, place the meat and the gizzards inside, add the rind - if you have.

Pour in cold water, just enough to cover the meat, no more!

Place over heat. When it starts to foam, skim it off and discard.

Turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and let the jelly simmer gently for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add 1 large onion, 1 bay leaf, pepper and 1 tablespoon of salt to the pot.

Let boil slowly for another 1 hour - be very careful, the aspic now only needs to bubble slightly, not to boil intensely!

Tip! The pleasant and whole taste of meat comes precisely from this slow and long-lasting cooking. I wouldn't recommend using a pressure cooker to boil the jelly!

This is what the stock looks like after 3 hours of boiling.

If it's rooster or pork, I cook it for 4-5 hours, but for turkey and chicken, 3 hours are enough.

Now turn off the heat, leave the pot covered and forget about the jelly for another 2 hours (yes, no fire!)

Sitting like this in the pot, the stock will infuse even better with all the flavors.

After 2 hours, drain the cooking juice from the pot into a large bowl.

Leave it on the table, as well as the meat in the pot, to cool properly.

This is just so that you can work easily and distribute the meat into the plates without burning yourself. The stock shouldn't be hot either when you put the garlic in, it will only scald the garlic and make it taste bad.

Now that the stock is cooled, you can add in the garlic crushed with the press.

Mix well and season with salt if needed.

I know from my mother that the jelly must be a bit saltier, right on the verge, otherwise it will be tasteless because the meat also takes in the salt. When it settles, you'll see that it will be perfectly good.

Distribute bits of meat, the gizzards and the rind rolls (cut into smaller pieces) into shallow plates.

I make about 3-4 large plates from these quantities - of course, you can make small shapes, boxes etc.

With a ladle, pour the stock through a small sieve straight into the plates - so that you don't have pieces of garlic and impurities in your jelly.

You can garnish with slices of boiled eggs, carrots, potatoes etc.

Place the jelly to settle in the fridge, then cover with cling film so that the whole fridge won't smell like aspic :)

Garnish with greens right before serving, the jelly plates will look more vivid.

It's even tastier with a horseradish sauce with sour cream next to it. For this, combine in a bowl 2 tablespoons of sour cream with 2-3 tablespoons of grated horseradish (which comes grated, in vinegar, in shops) and salt to taste.

Good aspic is like a work of art - there is no need for many sophisticated ingredients but for some time dedicated to this and every step done correctly!

Enjoy!