potted meat from Poperinge

First make fresh chicken stock. Clean and cut the vegetables for the stock: onions, leek, carrots and celery. Add thyme and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and add a boiling fowl. Leave for 2 hours to simmer and foam regularly to obtain a clear stock. Strain and cook the stock for another quarter of an hour to make the flavor more intense. Allow to cool off and put the stock in the refrigerator overnight. Degrease afterwards for further use. Take a large soup kettle, put in the pieces of skinned roast chicken, rabbit and veal stew meat. Pour in vinegar and water over it, in a ratio of 1 to 2.5 volumes. Cut the onions into coarse pieces and add them together with bay leaves and thyme. Season with pepper and salt. Pour in a quarter of a bottle of dry white wine, bring to a boil and foam. Leave to simmer for about 45 minutes. Then check the cooking of the meat and decide to extend the cooking time.

Remove the defatted chicken stock from the fridge and warm without boiling. Let gelatine sheets soak in cold water. The amount thereof depends on your preference for the desired binding of the end result. Keep in mind that the acid in the dish reduces the binding power of the gelatin. Some recipes go up to 15 leaves per liter of liquid. Dissolve the soaked gelatine in the lukewarm chicken broth. Take a pottery bowl (type Römertopf) and place a few lemon slices on the bottom. Scoop the cooked meat with the onions from the soup kettle, drain and put it in the bowl. Pour over the lukewarm chicken stock. Stir and season with a little pepper, salt and lemon juice if desired. Put the bowl in the refrigerator, at least until the next day. Serve with a fresh salad and Belgian fries. And of course with a local beer!

Foto: tested, a variant with only chicken and portioned in individual jars