Răcituri

Ingredients

The meat

• 2pig trotters
• split
• 1pork hock
• or 1 whole chicken
• see the note
• 500 gpork shoulder
• optional

The pot

• 2onions, halved
• 2carrots
• 2bay leaves
• 10black peppercorns
• a few allspice berries
• salt
• about 3 litres water

To finish

• 1whole head of garlic
• crushed to a paste
• salt, to taste

To serve

• ground black pepper
• horseradish
• mustard
• pickles
• bread

Directions

1. Cool it fast and keep it cold. Take it out only in order to serve it. Cool the strained liquid quickly. Do not leave a warm pot standing. Discard it if it smells at all off. Discard it if the jelly turns cloudy or slimy. Do not take chances with set meat. Wash the trotters very thoroughly. Scrub them under running cold water. Check for any remaining bristles. Cover the trotters with cold water.
2. Bring it to a boil and drain it off. Rinse the trotters after draining. Put the blanched meat in a large pot. Cover it with cold fresh water. Start it in cold rather than hot water. Bring it up gently to a simmer. Skim all of the scum as it rises. Grey scum rises in the first half hour. Lift it off with a large flat spoon.
3. Keep skimming until no more rises. That is what keeps the jelly clear. Add the onion, carrot and spices. Add them after the skimming is done. They obscure the surface otherwise. Keep it at the barest simmer only. It must barely bubble at the surface.
4. Let it simmer for at least four hours. Four hours is a reasonable minimum. Put a spoonful on a cold plate. It should set firm within ten minutes. Boil it down further to concentrate it.
5. Rub a little liquid between finger and thumb. It should feel genuinely sticky. Lift the meat out onto a tray. Strain the liquid through a fine cloth. Strain it twice if it looks cloudy. Do not press the solids at all. Skim all the fat from the surface. Lift it off with a flat spoon.
6. Pull all the meat off the bones. Do it while the meat is still warm. Discard all bone, skin and gristle. Shred the meat into small pieces. Shred it fairly small and even.
7. Crush the whole head of garlic to a paste. Crush it with salt on a board. Use the flat of a large knife. That gives a smooth even paste. Stir the garlic into the warm liquid. The liquid should be warm not hot. Warm liquid keeps that sharpness. Let it stand a few minutes to infuse. Taste the liquid and salt it well. Cold food needs more salt than hot.
8. Divide the shredded meat between dishes. Spread the meat in an even layer. Do not pack it down tightly at all. Pour the warm liquid over the meat. Pour it slowly and quite gently. Let it settle between the pieces. It should cover the meat entirely.
9. Cool it to room temperature quickly. It needs at least six hours to set. Serve it straight from the refrigerator. Grind black pepper over the top of it. It keeps four days refrigerated.

Technique

• This is cooked meat set in jelly and served cold, so it must be refrigerated throughout — cool the strained liquid quickly rather than letting a warm pot stand, get it into the refrigerator promptly and take it out only to serve. It keeps about four days; discard it if it smells off or the jelly turns cloudy or slimy.
• The jelly sets from natural gelatine drawn out of the trotters over four hours of the barest simmer, with no powdered gelatine added. Test it by refrigerating a spoonful — it should set firm within ten minutes — or by rubbing a little between finger and thumb, where genuine stickiness is the gelatine itself.
• Keep it at the barest simmer, since a hard boil emulsifies the fat into the liquid and gives a cloudy greasy jelly. Blanch the trotters first and drain that water, skim the scum thoroughly before the vegetables go in, and strain through muslin without pressing the solids — pressing pushes cloudiness through.

Substitutions

• The atlas description calls this chicken aspic while its history describes pork trotters, and the two do not entirely agree — both versions genuinely exist, pork trotters are the traditional and reliable base, and chicken sets a much softer jelly unless wings and feet go in. The recipe gives both routes rather than pretending they are the same.
• Salt the liquid until it tastes slightly over-salted while warm, since cold food needs more salt than hot and it will taste right once set.

Variations

• Crush a whole head of garlic to a paste with salt and stir it into the liquid while it is warm rather than hot — boiling cooks the sharpness off, and that raw bite is what the dish is about.
• Pull the meat off the bones while still warm, when it comes away far more easily, and shred it fairly small so it stays suspended rather than sinking; pour the liquid over slowly so it covers the meat entirely, since exposed meat dries out and darkens.
• Start the pot in cold rather than hot water, which draws more gelatine out slowly and gives a clearer result.

History

Pork jelly set from long-boiled trotters with garlic, served cold at Christmas and New Year.

Frequently asked questions

What is Răcituri?

Răcituri is a snack from Moldova: jellied pork set from long-boiled trotters with garlic. Pork jelly set from long-boiled trotters with garlic, served cold at Christmas and New Year.

How long does Răcituri take to make?

Răcituri takes 40 minutes of preparation and 4 hours, plus setting of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Răcituri?

Yes, within limits. The atlas description calls this chicken aspic while its history describes pork trotters, and the two do not entirely agree — both versions genuinely exist, pork trotters are the traditional and reliable base, and chicken sets a much softer jelly unless wings and feet go in. The recipe gives both routes rather than pretending they are the same. Salt the liquid until it tastes slightly over-salted while warm, since cold food needs more salt than hot and it will taste right once set.

What is the most important thing to get right in Răcituri?

Cool it fast and keep it cold. Take it out only in order to serve it. Cool the strained liquid quickly. Do not leave a warm pot standing. Discard it if it smells at all off. Discard it if the jelly turns cloudy or slimy. Do not take chances with set meat. Wash the trotters very thoroughly. Scrub them under running cold water. Check for any remaining bristles. Cover the trotters with cold water.