Finnish Aladobi - "Head Cheese"

Saliha

Well-known member
Head cheese or brawn is a cold cut that originated in Europe. A version pickled with vinegar is known as souse. Head cheese is not a cheese but a terrine or meat jelly made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig (sometimes a sheep or cow), and often set in aspic. The parts of the head used varies, but the brain, eyes, and ears are usually removed. The tongue, and sometimes even the feet and heart, may be included.
Head cheese may be flavored with onion, black pepper, allspice, bay leaf, salt, and vinegar. It is usually eaten cold or at room temperature as a luncheon meat. It can also be made from quality trimmings from pork and veal, adding gelatin to the stock as a binder.
Historically, meat jellies were made of the cleaned (all organs removed) head of the animal, which was simmered to produce stock, a peasant food made since the Middle Ages. When cooled, the stock congeals because of the natural gelatin found in the skull. The aspic may need additional gelatin, or more often, reduction to set properly.
(Source: wikipedia)

1 kg (2.2 lbs) calf or pork shoulder or ribs
2 l (2 quart) water
6 black pepper
1 bay leaf
8 - 10 gelatine
salt

1. Put the cleaned meat to boil in salted water. Peel the blood foam. Add the peppers and bay leaf.
2. Cook meat until done and remove the meat from the pot stock. Sift the broth.
3. Cool the meat and cut into small cubes. Soak the gelatines, thaw them to the broth, pour the broth on the bottom of the pan about 0.5 cm.
4. Let set in refrigerator half an hour.
5. Decorate bottom of the casserole with hard boiled egg slices, boiled carrot slices, cucumber slices and some fresh herbs. Place the chopped meat to dish. Pour on top the jelly broth so that the meat covered.
6. Keep in the refrigerator until the next day. Pour into a serving dish.

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Image: http://huhmare.blogspot.fi/2013/07/alatoopi-eli-lihahyytelo.html
 
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