I have often mentioned that recipes on this site are partly intended for family members who want to carry on traditions - though I am not sure who might pick up this torch. [Jump to Recipe]
Kocsonya (sounds sort of like - koach on yuh) is meat (usually pork) covered in gelatin. On the internet, it is sometimes translated simply as “aspic”, alluding to the technique of encasing various ingredients in a broth that (because it is made with meat and animal bits that contain collagen) turns to jelly when cooled. In some cultures - not Hungarian - containers were/are sometimes artfully shaped and the aspic was/is turned out onto a plate for serving. Picture a Jello salad mould.
Aspic appeared in many countries/cultures dating back many centuries. In Hungary, some have linked kocsonya to the city of Miskolc which has an annual Kocsonya Festival - apparently near the end of winter. That factoid was interesting since in my and Mr. KB’s experience, the making of kocsonya happened between Xmas and early new year. The bonus of that timing was that basements, cold cellars or garages were cold enough to store the kocsonya until they were all eaten. (This recipe makes about 10 large soup bowl portions. You can cut this in half which also permits you to use a smaller soup/stock pot.)
I have never made or eaten this. Mr. KB and everyone in his family, including his mother loved it. Ditto my family except for me (and my brother.) Since his mother stopped making it some years ago, Mr. KB researched this and came up with a recipe that takes time - mainly for stewing the meat - but definitely pleases those who get one or more to eat.
That still does not include me.
I've been known to declare that I'd rather eat blue Jello. This year (2022) I had to face up to a personal inconsistency. More than once I have made bone broth. It cooks for about 12 hours and once refrigerated becomes gelatinous. I spoon it out into a teacup, warm it, add turmeric and honey and enjoy. Mr. KB invited me to taste the broth from his latest batch and it was tasty - but... I still couldn't bring myself to eat it in cold, gelatin form.
BTW, A recent podcast from A Taste of the Past was all about Gelatin. "Historian and author Ken Albala clearly points out, 'Jello is among the best examples of a food that goes in and out of fashion.' In this episode, Ken discusses the history and future of the slippery stuff from his new book, "The Great Gelatin Revival." He believes young people will explore beyond Jello shots and once again embrace gelatin which was once prized in lovely aspic dishes. I'm not so sure.
Here's the Recipe!
Getting Ready
you need a large stock pot (and a smaller soup pot at the end); my large pot is 16 quarts/15 litres
lots of bowls for the final individual servings
consider where you will store this - 10 bowls may not fit in your fridge; because we make this in Winter we can store bowls (well covered) in our garage - temperatures permitting.
connect with a butcher that can supply some of the atypical ingredients
get 2 heads of garlic - used at different points in the recipe
cheesecloth will be needed to strain the broth
you need a brother skimmer and a sieve
plan - you will need at least 4 hours (though much of that is the broth cooking and you paying it some attention - and then there’s plating, storage and garbage disposal)
2 sweet onions (Vidalia), cut in half
200 g smoked pork shoulder
2 smoked ham hocks
6 pork hind feet (~3 kg)
2-3 pigs ears, cut into strips
6 peeled garlic cloves
4 tsp salt
20 black peppercorns
15 allspice corns
400 g pork skin, cut into strips
7 L water
Remove only the first layer of skin from the onions. What’s left will add some nice colour to the broth. See Notes below re proteins. Clean any protein bits that need to be rinsed off.
1) Add the onions and meat products to the stock pot. Cover all of this with water using more than 7 L - or more if necessary. Bring to a gentle boil, skimming off the foam. Be ATTENTIVE AT FiRST. Bring this just to the brink of boiling. BE CAREFUL. If the water comes to a rolling boil then the broth will become cloudy - see Notes below. Continue skimming off the foam that forms in this early stage while gently boiling for an hour.
2) In step 1 you can also add the peeled garlic, salt, peppercorns and allspice to the stock pot. (Though some prefer to add this after the first hour when the skimming is all done.)
(Do 6 cloves sound like a lot of garlic? It’s not really for the size of the pot, plus garlic becomes delicately flavoured when cooked like this. (Winter garlic may not be fresh. Not a bad idea to remove the often bitter green bit in the middle of each clove.)
3) After the first hour add the skin strips. Simmer uncovered for an additional 2 hours (or more) until the meat comes easily off the bone. Pay attention to keep it simmering, gently boiling - not full-on boiling. The goal is a tasty broth and meat that easily comes off the bone.
When the meat is tender - specifically the pork shoulder and pork hocks - remove it from the stock. Once cool enough for handling, break the meat into chunks - large bite-size. Distribute the meat evenly among the serving bowls in what you decide are appropriate serving sizes. (Our batch typically makes about 11 bowls.)
Typically one small clove of garlic is minced and added to each bowl.
Use a spider to remove remaining “debris” from the broth. This “debris” will all be discarded. Set up another large soup pot with a sieve lined with cheesecloth - it helps to have two people with this step. Ladle the broth into the new container/soup pot through the sieve/cheesecloth. Change the cheesecloth as necessary.
Adjust the seasoning of the broth to your taste. Use a ladle to distribute the sieved and now clear broth among the bowls. In some cases, the meat will be totally covered - or some may extrude a bit. It doesn’t matter.
Let the broth and bowls cool down a bit before covering them in plastic wrap. The next step is optional - as the broth cools, a thin layer of gelatinous fat forms on top and this can be carefully removed before covering the bowl with plastic wrap. If you opt out of this step it will firm up into a thin layer of fat that can either be left on or gently removed before eating.
Once the broth and bowls cool down and are covered with plastic wrap, store them in a cold place. - the fridge or a winter cold place - we use our garage.
Serving. If you Google ‘kocsonya’ you’ll see that plating varies and in all honesty can be quite unattractive. (That’s what I grew up with - entire pig’s feet etc. sticking out of brown jelly.) Mr. KB adopted the more appealing approach of serving the bowls adorned with slices of hard-boiled eggs and a sprinkle of really good paprika. As mentioned previously, you can gently remove the thin layer of fat first.
Notes and Tips...
Protein - for several ingredients you will likely have to visit a proper butcher. The pork shoulder and ham hocks should be available at your local European deli. Some of the “meat” has the purpose of creating the gelatin (and will be discarded) and some (once cooked) will be chunked, covered with broth and eaten.
Garlic - in winter it’s hard to predict how large a garlic head or cloves will be. Plus there’s the matter of taste. Adjust garlic used to your preferences.
Cloudy Broth - even if you avoided the rolling boil phenomenon, the broth will still be a bit murky. Filtering it through cheesecloth should fix that nicely. Mr. KB has never done (or needed to do) the following but chefs say that stock can be clarified with an egg raft. Google that or view this video.
Variations - if you Google ‘kocsonya’ you’ll find that some people add veggies to both the broth and the gelatin-encased meat
For KB Recipe Attribution Practices please visit “Whose Recipe Is It?”
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