Cold Cuts in Aspic: How Is Aspic Sausage Made?

The jellied sausage is one of the boiled sausages and is made from chopped up, pre-cooked or pre-cured meat. A jelly mass of aspic or edible gelatine or collagen that has escaped from chopped rinds ensures the strength of aspic sausages. They can be roughly divided into three different types: aspic, corned beef, and pressed sausage.

For the aspic, meat cut into rough pieces is pre-cooked in broth and formed into a loaf with the help of aspic. Unless the product name states otherwise, only pork is used. A chilled mold is poured with a portion of the seasoned, dissolved gelatin and chilled until solid. Then the pieces of meat and, if necessary, other ingredients such as vegetables or eggs are added and everything is then poured over with the remaining gelatine mixture. Now the jelly is cooled again and knocked out of the mold as soon as the gelatine has solidified.

With corned beef, which is traditionally made from beef, the meat is not cut into chunks. Instead, the desiccated, cured and pre-cooked meat is shredded into fibers. The meat chopped up in this way is also solidified with gelatine to form a jellied sausage.

The pressed sausages are the only aspic sausages that actually have a sausage shape. The firmness is not achieved by aspic made from gelatine, but by collagen. The pre-cooked, chopped meat is mixed with so-called rind broth. These are very finely chopped rinds that contain said collagen. The mass is filled into natural or artificial casings and the pressed sausages are boiled. Collagen exudes when heated and solidifies when cooled. Depending on the type, pressed sausages can contain tongue, heart, liver, or blood in addition to the meat.

Not only pork or beef, but also poultry, game, fish, seafood, hard-boiled eggs, and vegetables can be prepared in aspic. It can be served as a main meal with a cold sauce such as tartar sauce or mayonnaise.