Coating Foods with Gelées

In more formal French cooking, gelées have long been used to coat fish and meats such as trout, chicken breasts, and game. The piece of meat is first chilled and then placed on a rack over a sheet pan. The cold but still-liquid gelée is spooned over and allowed to set; the process is repeated until the meat or fish is coated with a smooth layer. Most diners today are more excited by a piece of meat or fish embedded in its own natural gelée, taken from a terrine or gratin dish, than by the presentations of the past, but a slice of cold meat coated with a sparkling herb gelée is still a striking sight.