027 / 75 · Cold Supper Centerpieces

Chicken Sweetcorn Buttermilk Mold

4 small chicken-sweetcorn molds, about 225 ml each; modest cold chicken-course portions · Active 30 min · Total 10 hr

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Sweetcorn kernels give a lightly tangy buttermilk chicken mold a clear golden accent. Individual portions avoid carving a large loaf at the table. The chicken is a cooked chilled starting ingredient, and the corn is drained ready-to-eat canned corn.

Jump to ingredients

Hand-drawn individual chicken and sweetcorn buttermilk molds, one cut open.

Choose a genuinely pourable cultured buttermilk

Use pasteurized cultured buttermilk, not dried powder spooned straight into the bowl or milk soured by an unmeasured splash of lemon. Its gentle acidity is part of this formula. Warm the gelatin with ordinary milk first; temper that into the cold cultured milk so the dairy is not boiled. A smooth base makes small pieces of chicken easier to distribute.

Drain the corn and share the chicken evenly

Measure the corn after draining, then pat it dry. Each of four molds receives roughly the same amount of chicken and kernels; give the mixture a gentle stir between spoonfuls rather than filling the first mold with all the settled pieces. The molds are cold-course portions with about 62 grams of chicken each. They are not claimed to be balanced lunches by themselves. Set them on a level refrigerator shelf, cover, and keep the chicken’s original cooking or opening deadline through the following day.

Ingredients

  • 2 standard ¼-ounce envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin (14 g total), of specified setting strength
  • 6 tablespoons cold drinking water (90 ml)
  • ½ cup pasteurized whole milk (120 ml)
  • 1¼ cups pasteurized cultured buttermilk (300 ml), kept cold
  • 9 oz fully cooked ready-to-eat plain chicken (250 g), safely chilled and cut into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces
  • 1 cup ready-to-eat canned sweetcorn kernels AFTER draining (160 g), patted dry
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped washed chives (2 g)
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine salt (0.75 g), or omit if chicken is salty
  • ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon neutral oil (2.5 ml), divided for wiping molds

Set out

Small saucepan, Mixing bowl and whisk, Knife and clean board, Sieve and clean towel, Scale and measuring jug, 4 metal individual molds of at least 300 ml capacity each, Paper towel, Food thermometer, Cold plates, Refrigerator

Allergens

Milk. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Check chicken’s cooked ready-to-eat state and original deadline; keep cold. Drain and dry corn, then weigh 160 g. Check mold capacities, dry and oil lightly. Bloom gelatin over 90 ml cold water in the saucepan 5–10 minutes.
  2. Add milk and warm gently while stirring until gelatin dissolves, about 120–140°F (50–60°C); take off heat before boiling. Whisk 3 tablespoons buttermilk gradually into warm gelatin. When lukewarm and smooth, whisk into remaining cold buttermilk with chives, salt and pepper.
  3. Refrigerate 15–30 minutes, stirring gently, until lightly thickened. Fold in cold chicken and dry corn. Divide evenly among four molds, about 225 ml each, stirring gently between scoops and leaving at least ½ inch (1.25 cm) below rims. Put any excess in a separate refrigerator cup.
  4. Cover and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below at least 8 hours until firm throughout. Allow 10 hours total from cooked chilled chicken.
  5. For unmolding, set a cold plate beside the refrigerator. Dip only the outside of the metal mold in warm, not hot, water, about 100°F (38°C), for 5–8 seconds without letting water touch food. Dry the outside, loosen just the upper edge with a clean fingertip and invert onto the plate. If stuck, repeat a brief dip rather than shaking violently. Refrigerate again immediately if not serving now. Serve one modest cold chicken-course mold per person.

Gelatin starting strength

Use food-grade unflavored powdered gelatin with a manufacturer benchmark of 7 g for about 2 cups (500 ml) plain liquid. Weigh the stated grams: envelope sizes and powder density vary. A flavored dessert packet, collagen peptides, sheet gelatin or agar is not an equal substitute.

Cold service

This is an original retro-inspired recipe, not a recovered 1960s formula. Gelatin is animal-derived; the vegetable ingredients do not make the dish vegetarian. A reliable refrigerator and the stated earlier ingredient deadlines are essential.

Ingredient labels

Check cooked chicken, corn, buttermilk and gelatin labels; prepared meat can add other allergens.

A useful detail

Water and dairy total 510 ml. Chicken 250 g and drained corn 160 g bring the mixture to roughly 900 ml; 14 g gelatin supports this tangy, inclusion-heavy base. Four 300 ml molds supply headroom above roughly 225 ml each.

Another way

  • Use 250 g fully cooked chilled ready-to-eat turkey in place of chicken, retaining its original poultry deadline.
  • Use 2 g finely chopped washed dill instead of chives.

Keep it well

Keep covered at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 2 days of assembly AND within 3 days of the meat’s original cooking, or an earlier commercial opening/use-by deadline, whichever comes first. Count the overnight set. Use only meat whose original deadline extends through setting and service. Keep cumulative unrefrigerated preparation and service below 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C); discard beyond those limits. Do not freeze the finished gel.