Pheasant in Aspic (Xолодец из фазана)

While aspic used to find its way into festive dinners in the past, aspic is not common in American cuisine, and has garnered some disgust in some quarters (see “The Icky Era of Aspic”, a rather uncharitable article), but I’ve found that people are more and more wiling to try new things. It’s an important dish on the Russian ‘zakusky’ table; zakusky are snacks before the main meal: things like caviar, smoked meats and fish, salads, pickled mushrooms and vegetables, etc. In Russian it’s called холодец, a reference to the cooling process necessary to get the final product.

I first made pheasant in this way for some close Russian friends. They loved it, and I always make it when they’re in town. I also like the way this dish makes use of the whole pheasant; lots of hunters simply take the breasts off the bird, and dispose of the hind legs and carcass, which to me is a terrible waste. I serve it in individual servings, in 4 oz. mason jars, which are fun, and they transport well.

Ingredients

2 whole pheasants, plucked or skinned*
2 quarts homemade chicken stock
1 small onion, quartered
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs of thyme
1/2 bunch parsley
2-3 dried boletus mushrooms (optional)
1 package gelatin

Recipe

Carefully remove breast meat from both birds, put in bowl or plate, cover, and refrigerate. Place carcasses and hind quarters in large stock pot, add onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Fill with chicken stock, add additional water to cover, bring to low boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 2-3 hours, or until meat easily come off bones. At very end, add reserved breasts, and carefully poach them until just done (cut one in half to check). Remove breasts to plate to cool. Strain remaining stock into clean pot, and bring to simmer, and continue reducing liquid. Remove as much meat from leg bones and carcasses, remove any tendons, and cut into a rough dice. Cube the cooked pheasant breast, and mix with leg meat on cutting board, and then distribute meat in prepared jars. Cut reserved carrots into small dice or slices, and sprinkle into the jars over the meat. Distribute parsley leaves in each jar. Follow instructions for preparing gelatin, and add to simmering stock, stirring carefully to dissolve. Let cool for 5 minutes, then ladle into the jars, filling to within 1/4 of the brim. carefully lay nasturtium petals on top. Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator. Once the jars are thoroughly chilled, seal them with lids, and put in refrigerator. Serve with horseradish, mustard, vinegar, and good crusty bread.