How to cook jellied pork legs. How to make jellied pork feet

Jellied meat is now prepared from a variety of products. For example, beef, veal, pork, and poultry can be used as meat. For flavoring additives - carrots, onions, garlic, as well as spices and herbs. But in any recipe, the most important thing is pork or beef legs. And then we will tell you how to cook jellied meat from pork feet. But before that, let's delve into the history. Has jellied meat always been prepared this way?

The history of jellied meat

The distant “ancestor” of modern jellied meat was ordinary rich meat soup or broth. With such a dish you could be satiated and regain your strength. When the broth with pieces of meat froze, it became like jelly. This was due to the fact that animal bones and meat contain special gelling substances. But at that time this was rather a drawback of the dish, since the frozen soup had to be reheated.

The cold form of this dish was adopted by the peoples of the North. They also cooked rich meat soups with spices and herbs, but then they deliberately took them out into the cold. In this form, the dish could be taken with you on long hikes or hunting. In cold conditions it did not spoil, and if necessary, it could be heated over a fire to make soup. This is such a universal solution!

Interesting fact: at first in Rus' jellied meat was a second-rate dish. In rich houses, after sumptuous feasts on the second day, all the leftover food was collected, crumbled, poured with broth, and boiled. Then they poured it into dishes and put it in the cold. As a rule, such a dish was given to the servants.

Everything changed with the advent of fashion for everything French. French chefs showed us how to cook jellied meat: they brought grace and taste to this dish. So on the royal table there also appeared jellied fish, decorated with all kinds of vegetables and seasoned with spices. Ordinary people preferred meat, inventing many hours of boiling so that it would come off the bones better. And if you also season the jellied meat with mustard or horseradish, it won’t be a shame to serve it to the master’s table!

But let's get back to our recipe. Now you will learn how to prepare delicious jellied pork legs in all the details!

Pork leg jellied recipe

Many people are afraid of the long process of preparing jellied meat. In fact, the jellied meat takes a long time to cook, but it’s not difficult. Every housewife just needs to try it once to be convinced of it!

Usually, good jellied meat is obtained when pork and beef legs are boiled together. But the housewife does not always have a leg of beef, and jellied meat made only from pork legs may not harden as desired. In this case, you need to stock up on store-bought gelatin.

The good thing about homemade food is that it never gets boring for the simple reason that every housewife cooks in her own way and differently every time. As they say, it doesn’t happen once in a while. And pork jelly is no exception, so the breakdown of products is approximate. Each housewife decides according to her own taste what and how much to put there.

We will need:

4 pork feet,
0.5 kg pork,
1 medium carrot
1 onion,
peppercorns,
ground pepper,
2 bay leaves,
20 g gelatin,
3-4 cloves of garlic,
salt, pepper

So, let's start preparing the jellied meat.

We thoroughly wash the pork legs, place them in a saucepan and pour in enough water to cover the legs by five to six centimeters.
After boiling, remove the foam and note the time. Place on very low heat and continue to cook for exactly four hours, occasionally skimming off any fat that appears on the surface. Slow cooking and removal of fat give the broth transparency and a special subtle taste.
Pour a glass of broth and cool. Pour gelatin over cooled broth.
Add the meat to the pan and cook for another hour.
Cut the onions and carrots into cubes, add to the broth along with bay leaves and black peppercorns. Salt to taste.
Cook for another hour. In total, the pork jellied recipe will take six hours of cooking. Please note: under no circumstances should you add water!
We take out a piece of meat, legs, cool them a little, separate the meat from the bones. We cut everything into small pieces.
Place the resulting meat in the broth and bring to a boil. Add gelatin, garlic and ground pepper dissolved in the broth.
Pour the hot broth into plates or molds.
Cool until room temperature and put it in the refrigerator to harden.

Now you know how to make jellied pork legs. But it’s worth adding that jellied meat is not only a tasty and satisfying dish, but also very healthy. Due to its high collagen content, jellied pork legs have a beneficial effect not only on the condition of our skin, but also promotes the restoration of cartilage in diseases such as arthrosis, arthritis, and osteochondrosis. Jellied meat is especially useful for fractures for rapid healing of bones and subsequent recovery.

What you will need
Pork legs - 1 kilogram
Chicken leg - 300-400 grams
Onions - 1 head
Carrots - 1 large
Garlic - 3 cloves
Parsley and dill - 1 small bunch each
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Ground black pepper - 1 teaspoon

How to cook jellied pork feet
1. Soak pork legs in water for 2 hours. Wash the pork legs thoroughly, removing dirt with a food brush or knife.
2. Place the legs in a saucepan, add water so that the water level is 6-7 centimeters higher than the level of the pork legs.
3. Place the pan over high heat, bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low so that the water simmers just a little. Remove foam regularly.
4. Cook pork legs for 2.5 hours under a loosely closed lid, then add to the pan chicken leg, peeled carrots and peeled onions.
5. Cook the jellied meat for another 1.5 hours.
6. Salt and pepper the jellied meat, add greens (directly in bunches).
7. Peel the garlic, chop it and add it to the jellied meat.
8. Cook for another 1 hour, skimming off the foam.
9. Strain the broth through cheesecloth, remove the vegetables.
10. Place the meat on a dish, separate the bones, and chop the meat finely. Separate the cartilage from the bones and chop finely.
11. Place the meat in dishes for jellied meat.
12. Pour broth over the jellied meat.
13. Cool the jellied meat and put it in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Kholodets is a traditional Russian dish of meat and frozen broth that we love to cook for the holidays. Especially during the cold season. For many, jellied meat is an equally important and obligatory dish for New Year's table, like Olivier. Each housewife has her own secrets for preparing jellied meat; recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Tastes and preferences for such a dish are also formed in families over the years. Some people like cold meats made exclusively from pork, while others add chicken or beef to it. Often all types of meat are found in one aromatic frozen jellied meat. The set of favorite spices is also individual.

Very often jellied meat is prepared more than once, until the moment when the very recipe is found that will appeal to every family member. After all, you can cook with large pieces of meat and with the addition of vegetables and herbs. You can grind the meat into minced meat and prepare a very nourishing meat jellied meat with a dense texture, or you can make a thin and transparent frozen broth that will melt on your tongue as if by magic.

That's why there is such a wide variety of recipes. But the most important thing that unites them is that in most cases jellied meat is cooked without adding gelatin, but only on the basis of thick, rich broths of high concentration, which harden on their own. This is due to the fact that the broth is cooked from pieces of carcasses that have a large number cartilage tissue, which gives such properties to the broth. Usually legs, tails, and ears are used for jellied meat. Everything where there are bones, joints, cartilage and skin. In addition to its richness, such a broth will also have a special taste. But for the full bouquet and richness of the dish, meat is best suited, which is added during the cooking process and, unlike bones and joints, ends up in the finished dish.

If you want to make the jellied meat elegant and beautiful, then put beautifully chopped vegetables, olives, and green leaves in it. This is done before the broth is poured into the mold, so that when it hardens, all this elegant beauty remains inside.

Preparing jellied meat yourself is quite difficult and takes a long time; jellied meat from pork feet takes a particularly long time to prepare. This jellied meat is prepared without adding gelatin; many housewives are concerned about whether it will harden, but if you strictly follow the recipe, the cooking process will be crowned with success. The result is ultimately worth the effort, and the most important thing is that properly cooked tender jellied pork legs are a very tasty cold appetizer for a holiday or even for every day.

Ingredients:

pork neck - 1 kg;
pig legs - 2 pcs.;
onion - 1 pc.;
carrots - 1 pc.;
garlic - 8 cloves;
bay leaf, peppercorns, salt - according to preference.

Preparation:

1. Place pork legs, meat cut into large pieces, carrots and onions into a 5-liter saucepan. Pour all the ingredients with water and put on fire. After the water begins to boil, the jellied meat must be salted and the foam that appears is removed with a slotted spoon; this is necessary so that the jellied meat turns out to be transparent in color.

2. Cook the jellied meat for 5-6 hours over low heat. Remove the vegetables from the pan after one hour of cooking.

3. 30 minutes before readiness, add the remaining ingredients. We take out the meat and cook the broth for another 15 minutes. Strain the broth.

4. We separate the meat into fibers, do it with our hands to feel and remove all the bones.

5. Place decorations on the bottom of the mold; chopped olives and herbs can be used as decoration.

6. Place the meat in the mold and fill it with broth. Leave it like this until it cools completely, then put it in the refrigerator for several hours.

7. Before serving, place the jellied meat on a plate, turning the form upside down. If you followed all the steps in the recipe, the jellied pork legs will be elastic, hold their shape well and will not melt at room temperature.

The tasty, aromatic, transparent jellied meat is ready, you can start your meal.

A hearty snack will be an excellent decoration for the holiday table.

To prepare you will need the following set of products:

beef - 0.5 kg;
processed pork legs - 1.3 kg;
onion - 1 pc.;
carrots - 210 g;
garlic - 2 cloves;
bay laurel leaves, pepper, salt - optional;
greens - used for decoration.

Cooking steps:

1. Rinse the meat with water, put it in a pan, fill it with water so that the water completely covers the meat. Turn on the heat, wait for it to boil and skim off the foam.

2. Reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and leave in this position for 5 hours. Salt and pepper the broth, add vegetables and bay leaves, continue cooking for another 60 minutes.

3. Remove the vegetables and meat from the broth and set aside on separate plates, leaving the broth to cool. Strain the broth through a fine sieve.

4. We butcher, sort and cut the meat, which will be added directly to the jellied meat. Use only the pieces you intend to eat.

5. We see fat on the surface of the broth; it needs to be removed. If you leave it, then a thick white layer of frozen fat will form on the surface of the finished frozen jellied meat.

6. Combine the meat with the broth, small quantity Leave the meat for decoration. Stir and place back on the hot plate.

7. Let the broth boil and turn off the heat. Pass the garlic through a press.

8. Cut the carrots into thin circles or flowers, put them in a mold, and add the greens there too.

9. Use the remaining meat to secure the decoration so that it doesn’t run away.

10. Using a ladle, pour the meat and broth into the mold, let it cool and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

11. Before serving, the layer of fat that has formed on the surface must be removed. It not only spoils appearance, but also not very pleasant to the taste.

12. Transfer the jellied meat to the surface, with the decoration on top.

Serve cold, garnished with fresh herbs and vegetables. Don't forget about mustard and horseradish, these two seasonings best friends real homemade jellied meat.

Beef jellied meat prepared according to this recipe is a separate dish, in this case there is no need to add gelatin. The jelly will set on its own if you prepare it from the correct part of the animal carcass, for example, pig ears, tails or legs. For beef jellied meat, the most commonly used part of the leg is called the motolyga (motolyga). This is essentially a knee with a joint; it is the joint tissue that allows you to make a thick, well-hardened broth. After all, this is exactly what is needed for jellied meat. The taste of beef, of course, will be different from pork. The characteristic smell and taste of beef and veal will give jellied meat its own properties. The color of the jellied meat will also be darker, as happens with beef broth. In my example, I will show how to make jellied meat with meat ground in a meat grinder, but you can also make large pieces by cutting the meat with a knife or disassembling the pieces into fibers. Choose according to your taste.

Ingredients:

beef motoski (part of a leg with a joint) - 1 kg;
beef - 300-500 g;
onions - 2 pcs;
carrots - 1 piece;
garlic - 1-3 cloves;
peppercorns, salt - to taste.

Recipe:

1. Fill the meat with water, after boiling, drain the water. Fill with new water, add the peeled vegetables and cook the meat for 5 hours. Skim the foam when boiling, this will help keep the broth, and subsequently the jellied meat, transparent.

2. After an hour of cooking, remove the carrots and onions from the pan so that they do not overcook. Continue cooking the meat. When it is ready, take it out and separate the meat from the bones. Pass the boiled meat and garlic through a meat grinder.

3. Pour the strained broth over the chopped meat and stir, distributing evenly. Season to taste and add ground black pepper.

4. Cool the beef jellied meat, put it in the refrigerator until completely frozen. It is best to cover the container in which it will harden with a lid, and if there is none, then cling film.

The jellied meat is ready, decorate it with herbs and serve. Cut into portions and serve with spicy seasonings and sauces. Bon appetit!

People who have little time can prepare jellied meat according to “ lazy recipe" The entire cooking process will take no more than 1 hour. This kind of jelly is very simple to prepare; the main difficulty is to find a really high-quality stew. Ideally, you should use stew homemade, the quality of store products should be verified in advance. Since the stew itself does not have the properties necessary to thicken the jellied meat, it will have to be helped with this. Ordinary gelatin will come to the rescue, which will give the desired jelly-like consistency.

Products:

beef stew - 300 g;
onion - 2 pcs;
carrots - 1 piece;
gelatin - 20 g;
water - 1 l;
peppercorns - ½ tsp;
salt - 1 tsp.

Preparation:

1. Pour gelatin into a bowl and dilute it as indicated in the instructions on the package. Set aside to swell.

2. Place the carrots, peppers, and onions in a saucepan and fill with water, you will need 500 milliliters. Turn on the burner and cook the vegetables for 10 minutes.

3. We take out large pieces of meat from the stew and cut them up, put them in a mold. Pour the rest of the jar into the broth. Cook for 25 minutes.

4. Strain the broth through a sieve and combine it with the swollen gelatin. Mix and pass through the sieve again.

5. Cut the boiled carrots into slices. Take 3 circles, cut them in half and send them to the meat, sprinkle with dried green onions.

6. Fill the stew with broth. Close the container with a lid, and after cooling completely, put it in the refrigerator.

At first glance, the combination of stew and gelatin may seem unusual, but nowadays the simplicity of cooking is valued. To taste, stewed jellied meat prepared according to quick recipe, no different from the classic one.

Another decoration for the holiday table can be jellied meat that looks like ham. The ham tastes soft and tender, great option cold snack, without adding preservatives.

Products:

pork knuckle - 3 pcs.;
pig ears - 6 pcs.;
pork leg - 2600 g;
pork neck with bone - 1.8 kg;
onion - 250 g;
celery stalk - 600 g;
garlic, salt, bay, peppercorns - according to preference.

Preparation:

1. Place the pork in a pan, add water, and turn on the burner. If there is stubble on the shank and ears, shave it off with a disposable razor.

2. After boiling, place the pork in a colander and rinse with running water. This way we remove scale from the meat.

3. Place clean pork in a saucepan, add onion, celery, and fill with water. Turn on the heat and remove the scale with a slotted spoon.

4. Cover the pan with a lid and let the meat cook at a low simmer for 4-4.5 hours. An hour before the end of cooking, add chopped garlic, as well as salt and spices.

5. Remove the boiled pork from the broth and cool. We separate the pulp from the bones and ears.

6. Strain the broth through cheesecloth.

7. The form must be wrapped in cling film. Place the ears in the mold, followed by the prepared meat and rich broth.

8. Using a fork, distribute the broth throughout the pan. We wrap the ears up and wrap them with film. We put the form under pressure. We put it in the refrigerator to let our ham harden.

9. Before serving, cut into pieces like regular ham.

Place the pieces of prepared jellied meat beautifully on a plate. Garnish with vegetables and lettuce leaves and serve festive table with mustard and horseradish. Very tasty and appetizing to look at!

There is nothing complicated in preparing jellied meat in a multicooker; just put all the ingredients in a bowl, put the desired program and the dish will be prepared overnight. After this, you need to remove the dish from the mold and cool it.

You will need:

pig's ear - 1 pc.;
pork hoof - 1 pc.;
pork knuckle - 1 pc.;
chicken legs - 2 pcs.;
onion - 130 g;
carrots - 80 g;
salt - optional.

Preparation:

1. Place the thoroughly washed and de-bristled parts of pork and chicken into a multicooker bowl. We cut very large pieces into pieces.

2. Cut the onion into two parts, no need to peel it, put it in a bowl. Onion peels will give the jellied meat a bright, beautiful color. Divide the carrots into 3 parts and move them to the meat.

3. Pour water into the bowl so that it completely covers the food. Salt the meat and close the lid of the multicooker. We turn on the “jelly” or “stew” mode; in this mode, by default, the meat is cooked for 6 hours.

4. After the time has passed, he takes the food out of the bowl. We separate the meat from the bones and pass it through a meat grinder.

5. Strain the broth through a fine sieve. Combine the chopped meat with the broth, add your favorite seasonings, and stir.

Turn on the “soup” program and bring the jelly to a boil. Then turn off the multicooker and add fresh garlic squeezed through a press.

6. Cool to room temperature, pour into molds and put in the refrigerator until completely set.

Even novice housewives can prepare delicious jellied meat in a slow cooker. The meat will not burn if all the water has boiled away and the cooking process will stop. While cooking is in progress, you can calmly go about your business or go to bed, setting it up for the night.

Ready-made jellied meat is perfect as an appetizer for the holiday table.

How to cook delicious jellied pork and chicken

For tasty jellied meat, you need to use only fresh meat; meat that has been frozen will not work. If desired, the chicken can be replaced with turkey neck. The mixture of pork and chicken gives a very delicate and pleasant taste, the jellied meat will be light and transparent.

Ingredients:

laurel leaf - 4 pcs.;
pork leg - 600 g;
pork on the bone - 0.5 kg;
chicken leg - 1 pc.;
salt - 2 tsp;
peppercorns - 13 pcs.;
onion - 140 g;
garlic - 25 g.

Cooking recipe:

1. Place the meat and onions in a saucepan, pour 4.5 liters of water.

2. Place the pan on the fire, cook over high heat until it boils, then reduce to low. After 3 hours, salt, pepper and add bay leaf. We take the chicken out of the broth; it will cook before the pork.

3. Take out the meat when it is ready, let it cool, and cut it into small pieces. We do the same with chicken.

4. Finely chop the garlic and place it on the bottom of the mold. Place the meat in the molds. If the meat is not salted, add additional salt.

5. Onion lovers can chop it and add it to the meat.

6. Fill the molds with broth, let cool and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, the pork and chicken jellied meat is completely ready. It will become elastic and soft at the same time and at the same time very tasty. Bon appetit!

Festive jellied pork and turkey - video recipe

I suggest you look at another recipe for making jellied meat. This time the company pork meat The dish will contain turkey, from which we will use a wing. And for a beautiful festive presentation, we will make beautiful flowers on the surface of the aspic from boiled eggs and carrots. It’s nice to put such jellied meat on a holiday table. New Year and hear praise from all guests and household members.

Now you know how to prepare the most delicious jellied meat. In this matter, you do not need to have special culinary skills, the main thing is to have patience and time. Good luck with your culinary experiments!

Pork leg jellied meat is a rather specific dish, but if you choose the right recipe, then the end result will be a delicious snack.

This is a standard cooking option without any additions.

Required Products:

Carrots and onions, one each.
Salt and other seasonings to taste.
Four pork feet.
A few bay leaves.
Two cloves of garlic.

Cooking process:

First you need to pour it well hot water legs, then put them in a large saucepan, pour cold water and bring to a boil.
Prepare the vegetables: cut into halves and lightly fry in a dry frying pan on both sides. Then place them in a saucepan with the legs and cook all together for about five hours over low heat.
Add the bay leaf and other spices to the pan with all the ingredients. After everything boils, boil for about two more hours and remove all the ingredients. Do not pour out the broth.
IN special forms place the vegetables, pour in the broth and put them in the refrigerator. When the contents thicken, remove excess fat formed from above.

How to cook with chicken

You can cook jellied pork legs with another type of meat, for example chicken.

Required Products:

Several legs.
Onion and carrot.
Salt and seasonings to taste.
A few bay leaves.
Chicken whole and in parts.

Cooking process:

It is best to cut the chicken into small pieces.
Prepare a large pan, place pork legs, chicken in it and fill with water. Wait until everything boils, reduce the heat slightly, and cook the dish for about 5 hours.
When approximately 3 hours of cooking have passed, add chopped carrots and onions, as well as salt and spices to the meat. After another 60 minutes, you can remove the bay leaf.
After the full cooking time has ended, the resulting broth must be cooled, and this is done separately from the meat: it must be removed from the pan.
Place the meat pulp into the prepared jellied bowl and pour in the cooled broth. Place the resulting mixture in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

Recipe for pork legs and knuckles

This method allows you to prepare a very dense jellied meat for slicing.

Required Products:

Several pig's feet.
Bulb.
One knuckle.
Garlic, salt, pepper and seasonings.

Cooking process:

Place the legs and shanks in water for several hours and let them settle.
After the allotted time, change the water and let the meat cook for four hours.
After two hours of cooking, you can add chopped onions and spices.
After the cooking time is over, remove the meat, cut it into small pieces and mix with garlic. Broth - cool.
First place a certain amount of meat in the prepared dish, then pour in the broth and leave to cool until completely solidified.

Cooking in a slow cooker

You can prepare jellied meat in a slow cooker, and it’s very easy to do.

Required ingredients:

A piece of chicken.
Several pig's feet.
Two cloves of garlic.
Carrots and onions, one each.
Salt, bay leaf and other spices.

Cooking process:

Clean the legs well, fill them with water and let them sit for about 60 minutes.
After that, place them in the multicooker bowl, put the chopped chicken and vegetables in there and fill a third with water. Turn on the “Extinguishing” mode for 6 hours.
When the operating mode is almost over, open the lid, add finely chopped garlic, salt, bay leaf and other seasonings to the broth.
Then take out the meat and let it cool. Then remove all excess, chop clean meat into small pieces. Place in beautiful containers and fill with broth. Keep the dish in the refrigerator for at least six hours so that it hardens well.

Pork feet and beef

This option is for those who like heartier dishes.

Required Products:

About a kilogram of beef.
A few carrots and two onions.
4-5 pork legs.
Salt and spices to your taste.

Cooking process:

Soak the feet in cold water for about an hour. Then bring them together with the beef to a boil and cook for at least five hours.
About two hours before the end of cooking, add all the spices, garlic and bay leaf to the pan.
When everything is ready, cool the broth and disassemble the meat into small pieces.
Prepare a deep dish, lay out the main component and fill the remaining meat with broth. Then put the molds in the refrigerator until the morning.

With added language

Interesting recipe " Jellied tongue"Jellied meat lovers will definitely like it.

Necessary products for cooking:

One onion and one carrot each.
Three pig legs and the same amount of tongue.
A couple of cloves of garlic.
Pepper, salt and spices.

Cooking process:

The legs need to be thoroughly cleaned and all excess and dirty removed, then brought to a boil in a large saucepan.
After everything has boiled, add onions and carrots - all whole.
Leave the broth to cook on low heat for at least five hours. About two hours after boiling, you can salt everything, add spices and chopped garlic into small pieces.
While the legs are being prepared, you need to boil the tongue in a separate bowl for about two hours.
After everything is ready, cool the pork leg broth. The tongue must be cleaned while it is still hot, otherwise it will be difficult to do.
Cut all the boiled meat into small pieces, place in the selected container, add broth and refrigerate for at least three hours.
Additionally, the jelly can be decorated with slices of boiled eggs, olives, and sprigs of fresh herbs. This must be done before pouring.

A few secrets of delicious jellied meat

Like any other dish, jellied meat has its own characteristics and preparation nuances. If you know these secrets, you can easily prepare a delicious snack.

Here are the most basic points you need to know when preparing jellied meat:

If you want to cook jellied meat without gelatin, then you will definitely need legs or heads. Both pork and beef will do. Please note that the color of the pork dish is more cloudy than that of the beef dish.
You can use absolutely any meat for cooking. The most tasty option is considered when several types of product are used.
Onions and carrots are always used as vegetables; you can add more, such as celery or herbs. You need to add vegetables to the meat either at the very beginning or about 2 hours before the end of cooking - these two methods are considered optimal and slightly change the taste in their own way ready-made dish. Bay leaves and peppercorns are used as spices.
Remember that The more you boil the broth, the tastier the result will be. It is usually recommended to do this for at least six hours. Before pouring the finished broth into plates, it must be allowed to cool.
It is customary to serve jellied meat with horseradish or very hot mustard to add piquancy.
The most tender is jellied meat, which is prepared from pork legs and chicken.
It is best to grind boiled meat by hand. Then you can accurately exclude the ingress of any unwanted parts, such as small bones or cartilage.

There are dishes in Russian cuisine without which it is impossible to imagine a holiday table, and the everyday menu looks too poor. One of the most popular and beloved is the rich and fragrant jellied pork jelly, the secrets of which anyone knows. experienced housewife. If you choose the right meat, process it and cook it, you will get such a tasty treat that even dieters will not be able to refuse.

The recipe for jellied pork legs has remained unchanged for many centuries. But the technology for its preparation is quite intricate and consists of many small, but very important points, failure to comply with which can lead to loss of results, that is, that unforgettable taste.

About the most important thing

In this recipe, the most fundamental point is the quality of the main product, that is, pork bones or, more precisely, hooves. It is without them that it is impossible to prepare one of the most favorite dishes of Russian people - jellied pork legs.

When choosing them, you need to pay attention:

The color of the pig’s legs - they should be white, without yellowness or a bluish tint, which may indicate the animal’s old age or improper slaughter;
By smell: it may either not be there at all, or there may be a slight aroma of fresh meat;
Per condition skin: There should be no stubble on it. If it is still present here and there, it must be cut off;
As for fat content: here, as they say, everything is a matter of taste: if you want to get a rich aspic from the legs of a pig, you need to choose those with more fat;
For size: there is no need to proceed from the principle “the bigger the better”, because the smaller the hooves and the leg itself, the younger the pig was.

By the way, the perfect jellied meat will come from the front leg of pork. There will be fewer bones in it than in the back, but, on the contrary, there will be more fatty meat.

Jellied meat classic

Ingredients

Pork leg - 1 pc. weighing 1-1.2 kg + -
— 1 large piece (2 small) + -
— 1 pc. (large) + -
— 10-12 peas + -
— 2-3 pcs. + -
- 0.5 tsp. + -
- 1-1.5 tbsp. l. + -

Preparation

Each housewife can vary the amount of food based on how many people the dish is intended for. We offer a portion designed for a family of 4 people.

Since we prepare jellied meat from pork leg, we will pay most attention to it. The leg needs to be washed and scraped, removing all the blackness from the hooves and skin (especially if you are lucky enough to find a tarred one).
If your leg has not been burned yet, you will have to do it yourself. Ideally - singed straw to give the skin a special golden color and aroma. But if this is problematic, you can limit yourself to treating the leg with fire from a gas burner. To do this, you need to remove the grate from the gas stove, add fire and tar the problem areas, that is, areas covered with bristles, if any.
After firing, we clean the leg to remove all the blackness from the skin.
Now you need to cut the meat. Armed with a kitchen hatchet, we first cut the leg into 2 equal parts lengthwise, and then divide each into 2-3 parts.
A saucepan for such a leg needs to be more spacious, no less than 4 liters. Place the meat pieces in it, fill it with water and leave overnight.
In the morning, rinse thoroughly, fill with fresh water so that the water level is 4 fingers above the stem, and place on the stove.
As soon as our future jellied pig’s feet boils, we must remove the foam and reduce the heat to a minimum. We collect the foam until not a trace remains of it.
Now let’s be patient, because our dish should simmer for at least five hours.
During this time, you should peel the carrots, onions and garlic.
An hour before the end of cooking, you need to throw whole carrots and onions into the pan.
5 minutes before turning off, add laurel, ground pepper and peas.
The signal that our leg is ready should be the arbitrary separation of meat and cartilage from the bones.
We take them out, put them in a bowl and send them to a cool place.
Strain the slightly cooled broth and season with chopped and pounded garlic.
As soon as the leg has cooled, we disassemble it. Grind the meat, rough cartilage and skin, place it on portioned plates, fill it with cool broth and put it in the refrigerator to harden.

To make our jellied meat as transparent as a tear, you need to cook it with the lid loosely closed;
Our broth should be salted no earlier than 5 minutes before turning off, so that the meat and cartilage are minimally salted;
Add the onion to the broth, after making a cross-shaped cut in it;
It is best to strain the broth through 4 layers of gauze placed in a colander. Thanks to this, it will become transparent, like a tear;
If we want to get a dish with minimum quantity calories, the fat that collects on top of the broth must be carefully collected with a spoon.

If we are preparing a dish for a holiday table, it can be decorated with flowers from boiled carrots (the one that was cooked along with the meat) and egg slices, placing them in plates with the broth that has not yet hardened. Parsley or dill leaves will also look very impressive in transparent meat jelly. By the way, if you add chicken meat to this recipe for jellied pork legs, it will also turn out very tasty. But more on that another time...