My Go at Making a Soup Terrine
Alright, so I decided to give this soup terrine thing a shot the other day. Sounded interesting, kind of old-school fancy, but I figured, how hard could it be? It’s basically just jellied soup, right?
First thing, I needed a base. Didn’t have any perfect leftover soup, so I made a strong chicken broth. Boiled some chicken bones, threw in carrots, celery, onions, the usual stuff. Let it simmer for a good long while to get all that flavor out. Strained it real well, twice actually, because I didn’t want any floaty bits messing things up later. Needed it clear.
Next up, the jelly part. I used gelatin. Had those sheets lying around. Soaked them in cold water like the packet said. Waited till they got all soft and wobbly. While they were soaking, I gently heated up my nice clear broth. Not boiling, just warm enough to dissolve the gelatin.
Squeezed the water out of the gelatin sheets, then stirred them into the warm broth. Kept stirring until they completely disappeared. You gotta make sure it’s totally dissolved, otherwise, you get weird clumps. Consistency is key here, or so I thought.
Now for the mold. I just grabbed a standard loaf pan. Greased it lightly with some neutral oil. Some people line it with plastic wrap, but I find that sometimes makes wrinkles on the final terrine. Took a chance with just oil.
I decided to make it a bit more interesting than just plain jelly. Had some leftover cooked chicken and peas. Shredded the chicken into small pieces. Let the broth cool down a bit – if it’s too hot, everything just sinks. Poured a thin layer of the gelatin-broth mixture into the bottom of the pan. Let that set just a little bit in the fridge, maybe 20 minutes? Just until it was slightly firm.
Then I scattered some chicken and peas over that layer. Poured a bit more broth mixture over them. Back in the fridge. Repeated this whole layering thing:
- Bit of broth mix
- Wait
- Chicken and peas
- More broth mix
Did this maybe three or four times until the pan was full. Takes a bit of patience, going back and forth to the fridge.
Once the mold was full, I covered it with plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge for the long haul. This is the boring part. Needs a good few hours, maybe at least 4-6 hours, or even better, overnight. I left mine overnight just to be sure. Tried not to peek too often.
The next day was the moment of truth. Getting it out. Loosened the edges carefully with a thin knife. Dipped the bottom of the pan very briefly in hot water – like, literally a second or two – to help it release. Put my serving plate on top of the pan, took a deep breath, and flipped it over. Gave it a little shake.
It actually came out! Pretty clean, too. Looked okay, the layers were mostly visible. Sliced it up with a sharp knife dipped in hot water (helps get clean cuts). Served it cold, obviously. It tasted… well, like cold chicken soup jelly with bits in it. Not bad, actually quite refreshing in a weird way. It was an interesting process, more fiddly than difficult. Glad I tried it, anyway.
