New Year’s Eve pork in aspic

Oudejaarsavond varkensgalantine

250 grams/9 oz. lean pork
100 grams/4 oz. grated aged cheese
100 grams/4 oz. bacon
salt & pepper
meat spices
few drops tabasco & Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
‘dash’ of brandy or cognac
fine breadcrumbs

for the aspic:
6 sheets unflavored galantine
250cc/¼ liter/1 cup beef stock from ½ cube
2 egg whites
¼dl/2 tbsp lemon juice or white wine
salt & pepper

to garnish:
1 hardboiled egg
capers, parsley, gherkins

Galantine is a dish of stuffed meat that is poached and served cold coated in aspic.

Cooking time 2 hours; setting time 10 hours!

Grind the pork, mix in the cheese, spices, sauces, eggs, brandy and enough bread crums to make a firm mixture.

Put bacon strips overlaying each other slightly on a wet cloth to make a 10x8 cm/4x3” square.

Spread half of the meat mix onto the bacon and layer it with the rest of the bacon strips. Put the remainder of the mix on top and roll the bacon-and-meat into a tight roll. Wrap the roll tightly into the cloth (not too tight in the middle). Put a plate upside down in a pan. Put the wrapped pork roll on it, add abundant water and boil for two hours.

Take the roll from the pan and put it for 10 hours between two cutting boards with a heavy weight on top. Afterwards take it out of the wrap, slice the pork roll thinly and arrange the slices rooftile-wise on a (ob)long plate. Brush the slices with aspic and garnish with wedges of hard-boiled eggs, capers, sliced gherkins, parsley and a ring of chopped aspic.

Aspic
Soak the galantine in cold water. Bring the stock and egg whites while stirring constantly to an almost boil. Keep for 10 minutes at a near boiling temperature. Strain the stock through a wet cloth, add the tightly squeezed out galantine, lemon juice or wine and salt and pepper to taste. Let cool off until it is still liquid.

Brush aspic on the pork galantine. Let the remainder set and then cut with two knives to form ‘crystals’ to use as garnish.