Roast Tentacle Au Jus

Step 3 Mould

I did not spend very much time on my mold and it shows, however given how simple it was to make I think the outcome was pretty good. I made a model of the tentacle out of newspaper wrapped in newspaper and wrapped with tape. I shaped the model to fit on a serving dish that I liked so that it would have a natural curve to it and leave room for precut slices. The jello will be somewhat flexible but has a tenancy to split while you're not looking so make the mould the right shape.

Once I was happy with the model I used it to form an aluminum foil mould, by simply pressing a large sheet of foil over it. Heavy gauge foil would have been ideal but I didn't have any, so I just used multiple layers (2-3 worked for me). I folded the edges over to add some stiffness and used additional balled up pieces for support. If your model is longer than your mould will be simple fold up the end (see third picture). The mould doesn't have to be all that strong, I could easily squish mine with my fingers but it was rigid under it's own weight.

Now wedge the mould into a large pan that will help keep everything stationary and make moving easy. Line the mold with plastic wrap to waterproof and ease extraction. Sandwiching a layer of something with an interesting texture under the plastic wrap might have interesting results. Without it I got a crinkly texture which was alright.