[jyl]

Okay, on the aspic.

I have been simmering (more of a slow boil) the aspic-to-be for, what, 3 hours now? Its a mess of beef knuckle ends, half a mess of beef neck bones, a bit of onion and carrot, a chicken carcass I happened to have (making dinner for tonight). The cartilage is soft, the meat is falling off the neck bones, the chicken carcass has pretty much disintegrated. The liquid has been reduced by about a third.

I'll keep going until the liquid is reduced by two thirds, I guess. Then I think I'll strain the liquid, refrigerate overnight, in the morning I'll remove the fat cap, reduce the defatted liquid down some more, and strain again, through a coffee filter. By then I should know if it (a) tastes like crap or (b) needs more gelatin to stay solid at room (serving) temp. If (a) I'll correct or move to plan B, if (b) I can add gelatin. Then I'll pour a layer into the mold, refrigerate, add my cooked meat and whatnot, pour another layer, refrigerate, etc. I'm assuming this stuff will set up pretty quickly in the fridge, like Jell-O times.

Wyvern and 126, does that sound like a plan?

I've read about clarifying using lean beef and egg white, but I don't understand it. I don't need a perfectly clear aspic anyway.