Răcituri
Meat in aspic
Cold meat jelly of pig's trotters or cockerel, rich in garlic, for the winter feasts
Photo: Gmelfi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Răcituri is meat in aspic: pig's trotters, pork or an old cockerel are simmered for hours into a stock that sets on its own as it cools. Seasoned with plenty of garlic, it is served cold on the winter festive table. In Romania it is usually called piftie; in Ukraine and Russia the same principle is known as kholodets.
Origins and history
The name comes from the verb a răci, to cool: the dish only exists once it is cold. Other names are piftie and tremurici, after the wobbling of the jelly. Răcituri belongs to winter and to the pig slaughter, when fresh trotters, ears and head were available and the cold outdoor air served as a fridge. The Moldovan investment agency counts meat in aspic among the country's festive dishes. Today it is also made with cockerel, turkey or smoked pork knuckle.
How it is made
The meat, with as many trotters, joints and rind as possible, goes into cold water and simmers for four to five hours over a low heat, uncovered and skimmed regularly. After a few hours carrot, parsley root and onion are added. The stock is strained, and the meat is taken off the bones and divided among deep plates or dishes. Then comes the most important step: crushed garlic, in generous amounts, is stirred into the lukewarm stock. This is poured over the meat and must set somewhere cool for at least a night. A fatty, older cockerel or pig's trotters provide enough natural gelatine; according to a recipe for cockerel răcitură, you do need to add gelatine with young, lean poultry.
Where and how to try it
Răcituri is above all home cooking. Around Christmas and New Year it is on almost every festive table, cold from the cellar or the fridge, with bread or warm mămăligă. If you want to try it in a restaurant, ask for răcituri as a cold starter in the winter months; the rest of the year it is rarely found.
Răcituri
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse the meat, put it in a pan with the cold water and bring slowly to the boil. Carefully skim off the foam.
- Simmer gently for 2 hours, uncovered. Then add the carrots, parsley root, onion, peppercorns and bay leaves and simmer for another 2 to 3 hours, until the meat falls off the bones.
- Strain the stock through a fine sieve or cloth. Salt to taste; the stock can be well salted.
- Take the meat off the bones and divide it among 4 deep plates or small dishes, with a few slices of carrot if you like.
- Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt into a paste, stir it into the lukewarm stock and pour this over the meat.
- Leave to cool and refrigerate for at least 12 hours until the jelly is firm. Serve cold with bread or warm mămăligă.
