Kholodets or Meat Aspic is a traditional Ukrainian dish served with spicy horseradish and beet sauce. The kholodets is made with tender chunks of meat suspended in flavorful gelatinized broth. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also good for you!
If you’re looking for other traditional Ukrainian or Russian recipes, also try this Ukrainian Potato Salad (Oliv’e) or these delicious and buttery Stuffed Cabbage rolls,as well as Potato Varenyky (pierogi).
What is Kholodets or Aspic?
Both terms refer to a meat dish made of meat surrounded by flavorful gelatinized stock. Molded aspics were very popular in the 1950s but have long been forgotten. Not in Eastern Europe, though. Many Eastern European countries like Russia and Ukraine still serve this popular dish, especially around major holidays.
While the idea may sound strange, I call on you to be adventurous and try it at least once. So, what does it taste like? Aspic is served cold. As you take a bite, the heat of your mouth melts the rich meat stock flavored with parsley and fresh garlic and moistens the tender chunks of meat. Combine it with some spicy beet horseradish relish and a piece of good crusty bread, and you’ve got a true Ukrainian treat!
Types of Kholodets
There are two types of Kholodets and both require some kind of gelling agent to set the broth. One uses natural gelatin that’s extracted through long hours of cooking skin, tendons, bones, and ligaments of the animal, and the other one is made with commercially produced gelatin (I have that recipe for Kholodets here)
Both have pros and cons, but this recipe will focus on the traditional recipe that uses the natural gelatin extracted from the pork feet and hock through low and slow cooking. The flavor is extracted from deep within the bones, producing a rich broth as delicious as it is good for you.
Bone Broth (and Kholodets) is Good For You
Aside from the flavor benefits of this dish, did you know thatKholodets is amazing for your bone and joint health? The collagen, glutamine, and glycine extracted from the bones and released during cooking are good for the immune system and gut health. You can probably google “bone broth” to learn more about this.
Kholodets might not be the best dish to bring to your work potluck, as some might claim that it is for an acquired taste, but if it’ssomething you grew up eating and have always wondered how to make or are trying to be adventurous and try new foods – here it is!
How to make Kholodets:
Here’s a quick rundown of the whole process. Scroll all the way to the bottom for the detailed recipe and ingredients.
- Add the meats to a large pot and cover with water. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain the water.
- Cover the meat with fresh water again and simmer on low heat for 5 hours, adding more water as needed to keep the meat covered.
- Then, add carrots, onions, and bay leaves and cook for another hour.
- Remove the meat to a bowl and cool. Remove the onions, carrots, and bay leaves, and discard.
- Add parsley and garlic to the broth and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Drain the broth through paper towels to remove all impurities. Cool to room temp.
- Discard the pig’s feet, skin, bones, and fat from the cooled meat. Shred the meat and add to a 9″x12″ glass baking dish.
- Pour half the cooled broth and refrigerate until the broth is lightly set.
- Pour the other half of the broth on top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fully set.
- While the kholodets is setting in the fridge, make the beet and horseradish sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Scroll to the bottom for the recipe card with ingredient amounts and precise recipe.
How to get clear Bone Broth Kholodets
Anytime I make broth, I take great care to ensure it’s as clear as glass. It definitely adds to the visual appeal of the dish.
There are two things you need to do to ensure clear broth.
- One – you must ensure the meat is cooked at a very low simmer. Rapid boiling breaks up any impurities from the meat into tiny pieces that make the broth cloudy. So low and slow is the way to go.
- Two – once the meat has cooked and all the flavor has been extracted from the bones, meat, etc., you need to drain the broth through several layers of paper towels. The towels will catch any tiny pieces of impurities and fat that would’ve otherwise created cloudy meat aspic.
They’re extra steps that really make a difference!
Instant Pot Kholodets
Kholodets is one of the most amazing things to make in an Instant Pot because not only it cuts down the cooking time, it produces the clearest broth without any effort from you (you know, no skimming).
Read the bottom of the recipe card to find directions on making the Kholodets in the pressure cooker.
To make kholodets, I simmer the meat low and slow for many, many hours. This extracts all the flavor out of the bones and meat. Combined with the spicy horseradish sauce, this one is a true Ukrainian treat.
Can I use other types of meat in place of pork loin or beef chuck?
Other types of meat that you can use as a replacement would be – chicken breast, thighs, or drumsticks, as well as pork shoulder.
What to serve with kholodets?
Kholodets is typically served with spicy beet & horseradish relish. The recipe for it is included in the recipe card below.
Other foods that can be served alongside kholodets are mashed potatoes, golubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls), stuffed peppers and Olivier potato salad (a fancy Russian potato salad).
Kholodets – Aspic Recipe
5 from 6 votes
Kholodets or Meat Aspic is a traditional Ukrainian dish that is served with spicy horseradish and beet relish. It is made with tender meat chunks and delicious gelatinized broth.
Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin!
Course: Main
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Keyword: aspic, kholodets
Calories: 145 kcal
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 11 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 25 servings
Ingredients
The meat for Kholodets
- 2pigs feet
- 1pig’s rear hock
- 2lbsbeef boneless beef chuckfat trimmed
- 2lbspork loinfat trimmed
The aromatics (add in the last hour of cooking)
- 2large onionspeeled
- 2large carrotspeeled
- 2stalks celeryrinsed
- 15black peppercornswhole
- 2bay leaves
- 1.5Tbspkosher salt
- 2qtscold water (this amount is approximate, use more if needed)
Add after removing all meat and vegetables from the broth
- 1bunch parsleywashed under running water
- 6-8clovesgarlicpeeled, minced
For the Beet & Horseradish Sauce
- 1large beet *(or one 15oz can of canned beets, drained) cooked, peeled, finely grated
- 2 1/2Tbspwhite vinegar
- 2 1/2Tbspgranulated sugar
- 1 1/4tspkosher salt(use less if using table salt)
- 6Tbspextra hot horseradish sauce(I use Beaver Brand) (Or, freshly grated horseradish root)
Instructions
How to make Kholodets (Meat Aspic)
1st boil: To a large 8 qt pot add 2 pigs feet, 1 rear hock, 2 lbs pork loin, 2 lbs of boneless beef chuck, and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Next, remove the meat to a clean bowl. Discard the cooking liquid and wash the pot clean.
2nd boil: Add all the meat back to the pot, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 hours. All throughout cooking constantly skim the top from impurities with a slotted spoon. Do not cover with a lid.
Tip: Preventing rapid boil and keeping the lid off while simmering will ensure that the broth comes out clear and not cloudy.
Keep an eye on the water level – add more if needed to keep the meat submerged at all times. If needed add a smaller-sized lid or dinner plate to the top of the meat to weigh the meat down and keep it under the water.
Add aromatics: Now add 2 onions, 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery, 15 black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, and 1 ½ Tbsp of salt to the stock. Continue simmering for 1 more hour.
Remove solids: Remove all meat chunks from the broth to a large bowl. Remove and discard the remaining vegetables (onions, carrots, and bay leaves).
Line a large sieve with 3 layers of paper towels or several layers of cheesecloth and set it over a clean pot. Pour the broth through the paper towel lined sieve to remove impurities and fat.
Add parsley to the strained broth and simmer on low for 1-2 minutes. Remove the parsley and discard. Add 6-8 cloves minced garlic. Allow cooling completely.
Once the meat has cooled, discard the pig's feet, any bones, fat, or skin.
Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces and add to a 9"x12" baking dish in an even layer.
To make the meat aspic in individual portions, portion the meat between deep soup bowls or other small, but deep containers.
Cover & refrigerate until ready for next step.
While the meat is cooling, drain the cool broth: set a sieve lined with 2-3 layers of paper towels again over a large pot. Carefully drain the broth to remove any remaining solids, fat, or impurities. Change the paper towels as the broth stops flowing through – the fat creates a barrier and prevents the liquid from going through.
To get an absolutely fat-free broth, you might need to drain the broth through paper towels several times. Any fat left in the broth will cover the aspic in white patches as it solidifies if not removed at this stage. For best results, cool the broth to room temperature before using it in the next steps. Otherwise, pouring hot broth over the meat will melt the fat in the meat and make it float to the top.
Tip: The quickest way to cool the broth is to set the pot with the hot broth into a sink full of cold/icy water and stir it every so often until the broth cools.
Add half the broth to the meat: pour half of the cooled to room temperature broth over the meat. Skim any fat that floats to the top with a spoon. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes to slightly set. This will prevent the meat from floating to the top as you pour the other half of the broth. Keep the other half of the broth mixture at room temperature as the first half sets in the fridge.
Add the remainder of the broth: Once lightly set, remove the kholodets from the fridge and pour the remaining half of the broth over the top covering the meat completely. Add leaves of parsley for garnish if desired. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely set, about 4-5 hours or overnight.
Once set, cut into 2×2 squares and serve alongside some beet & horseradish relish.
To make the beet & horseradish relish:
Shred the cooked beet on the zester side of the box greater. Let sit in a sieve for several minutes pressing out any extra liquid out. Transfer to a bowl
Combine 1 large cooked and finely grated on the zester side of the greater beet with
Combine the shredded and drained beets with 2 1/2 Tbsp vinegar, 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Lastly, add 1/2 of the horseradish sauce (3 Tbsp) and stir everything to combine. Taste and continue adding the remainder of the horseradish sauce, a little at a time until desired spiciness level is reached. Keep in mind that as the relish sits in the fridge it will lose some of the spiciness.
Recipe Notes
TIPS:
You can use any other kind of meat instead of pork loin and the beef chuck, equal by weight to the one listed in the recipe. Do not replace the pig’s feet or the hock; they act as the gelling agent in the kholodets.
Instant Pot Kholodets:
For this amount of ingredients an 8 Qt Instant pot is needed. You’re welcome to halve the recipe and use a 6 qt pressure cooker.
Follow with the ingredients in the recipe (meats, aromatics & seasoning spices), but only add enough water to the pot to barely cover the meat. While cooking in the Instant Pot, the water does not evaporate like it does when cooked on the stovetop, so you do not need to add extra.
Seal the lid and cook on low pressure for 3 hours. If your Instant pot does not cook for longer than 90 minutes at a time (like some do), then restart it when the time expires and continue doing so until a total of 3 hours is reached.
Once the cooking time is complete, allow Natural Pressure Release (NPR), open the lid, skim the impurities that floated to the top, remove the meat carefully, and continue with the rest of the instructions on clarifying the broth and beyond.
Nutrition Facts
Kholodets – Aspic Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 145Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 55mg18%
Sodium 621mg27%
Potassium 304mg9%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 9IU0%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 16mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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