My relationship with "Foie Gras" (fatty liver in French, if you didnt know) is not too long--but I love it the way it is. Unhealthy, inhuman, high cholesterol--whatever taboo or feedback from Foie gras haters are attached to it, you give me a foie gras and I will lick the plate right in front of you...
Now the question comes--good foie gras and bad foie gras, a perfectly cooked tranche of foie gras and one that is overcooked due to the request of the customer, that virtually, you are left with a piece of liver (akin to Chicken Liver) without any fat in it, thus just the "Foie" without the "Gras". Fresh, really fresh foie gras and then an oxidised piece of shit--rancid, tasteless and awful!!
Being a patron of Foie Gras, my trips to Paris had been continuously focused on the shelves of gourmet stores or supermarket loaded with amounts of Foie Gras. All locally sourced, locally cooked & sold for the local clientele. The first tranche of Foie Gras terrine I bought, just 2 euros for 40 gm--I was desperately looking for its taste. Got one baguette, some sea salt, just to find out, the taste was disgusting--quite close to that of a Foie Gras Mousse (something of which I am not a fan) & threw the rest in sheer disgust.
In posh supermarkets of Paris, Foie Gras was expensive--demanding a few hundred euros a kilo--outrageously expensive for my pocket--since, I also need to carry them all the way to Abu Dhabi. So, all I was looking for the cheaper alternative. I remember Chef Franck telling me once, "Prices come down after Christmas", so my search for reasonably priced Foie Gras continued...
April 4th, in Paris(after 3 months of my last visit), I was desperately looking for Foie Gras--terrine, torchon or anything...best would be "cru", or raw. And finally I got two fresh "fatty duck livers from South West of France"..one dedicated for cutting into trances for my favorite "Foie Gras Poele" or Pan fried Foie Gras and one for making a Foie Gras Terrine--a layered foie gras terrine, the first one I learnt making in restaurants.
So, for the layered terrine I prepared a reduction of -- red wine, sauternes, balsamic vinegar, cognac, sugar, some crushed pepper--with some spices like star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Just reduce on slow fire till you get syrup--quite thicker than your sugar syrup. Whilst, this is reducing, leave your chilled foie gras outside till, it comes to a room temperature.
Once the *syrup* is done, strain and let it cool & clean the foie gras. (follow any youtube videos for this--quite complicated to describe here).
After cleaning and opening, lay it on a flat tray. Make your seasoning mix--per 500 gram of foie gras, 9 grams of salt, 1 gm sugar and 2 gram of crushed black pepper. Dust the cleaned foie gras with this seasoning and leave it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
After 24 hours, prepare your terrine mould--wrap it with plastic wrap (easy to remove the foie gras after being cooked, and dont worry of melting, since the cooking temperature is quite low). Take out the marinated foie gras and keep it aside for about 30 minutes.
Pour a few spoons of Sauternes on the terrine and put a layer of Foie Gras --make sure you put some pressure on the foie gras , to make sure it spreads evenly on the bottom layer. Spread the "mulled wine syrup"thinly and then put another layer of foie gras--evenly applying pressure to make sure that there is no holes here and there. Again spreading another layer of mulled wine syrup. Continue till you are done with the entire foie gras. Put some more Sauternes on top, cover it up with plastic wrap (or as we say cling film in kitchens) and let it refrigerate for about 6 hrs to 12 hours.
[Now when ready to cook]
Preheat your oven to 100 deg C. Prepare a water bath if you dont have a convection oven--at least till reaching half of the terrine mould and keep a plate or something elevated on the water bath, so as not put the terrine mould directly on the water bath. Generally, I recommend keeping the foie gras out of the chillers 30 mins before cooking, since it reduces cooking time & fat loss.In any case, the total weight loss from raw to cooked terrine will be between 25% to 30%.
And then, in goes the foie gras...and voila..wait till the internal temperature reaches at least 42 degree. Cook it anymore, you are destroying the gras from the foie again. Get a kitchen therometer for yourself, if you want to make the perfect foie gras terrine. Keep aside in a cooled place till it is cold enough. You will be left with a lot of fat on top. Pour off the excess fat & you need to put some pressure. Prepare a cardboard wrapped with plastic film again (size should be enough for the perimeter of the foie gras and not the terrine actually). Put this on the terrine first and then some heavy cans, bottles heavy enough to apply direct pressure and evenly on the foie gras. Put the terrine in the refrigerator and keep this pressure for at least 48 hours.
Once done, remove it from the terrine mould carefully, not to break the foie gras--remove all the plastic wrap or anything. Your terrine is now ready to eat. All you need is some bread (my favorite is brioche), some sea salt(fleur de sel if you want) and some crushed pepper, and some fruit chutney (recently, I prepared a chutney of dates, raisins and red wine vinegar). Et voila...you are already a patron of French Cuisine now... :)
Now the question comes--good foie gras and bad foie gras, a perfectly cooked tranche of foie gras and one that is overcooked due to the request of the customer, that virtually, you are left with a piece of liver (akin to Chicken Liver) without any fat in it, thus just the "Foie" without the "Gras". Fresh, really fresh foie gras and then an oxidised piece of shit--rancid, tasteless and awful!!
Being a patron of Foie Gras, my trips to Paris had been continuously focused on the shelves of gourmet stores or supermarket loaded with amounts of Foie Gras. All locally sourced, locally cooked & sold for the local clientele. The first tranche of Foie Gras terrine I bought, just 2 euros for 40 gm--I was desperately looking for its taste. Got one baguette, some sea salt, just to find out, the taste was disgusting--quite close to that of a Foie Gras Mousse (something of which I am not a fan) & threw the rest in sheer disgust.
In posh supermarkets of Paris, Foie Gras was expensive--demanding a few hundred euros a kilo--outrageously expensive for my pocket--since, I also need to carry them all the way to Abu Dhabi. So, all I was looking for the cheaper alternative. I remember Chef Franck telling me once, "Prices come down after Christmas", so my search for reasonably priced Foie Gras continued...
April 4th, in Paris(after 3 months of my last visit), I was desperately looking for Foie Gras--terrine, torchon or anything...best would be "cru", or raw. And finally I got two fresh "fatty duck livers from South West of France"..one dedicated for cutting into trances for my favorite "Foie Gras Poele" or Pan fried Foie Gras and one for making a Foie Gras Terrine--a layered foie gras terrine, the first one I learnt making in restaurants.
So, for the layered terrine I prepared a reduction of -- red wine, sauternes, balsamic vinegar, cognac, sugar, some crushed pepper--with some spices like star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Just reduce on slow fire till you get syrup--quite thicker than your sugar syrup. Whilst, this is reducing, leave your chilled foie gras outside till, it comes to a room temperature.
Once the *syrup* is done, strain and let it cool & clean the foie gras. (follow any youtube videos for this--quite complicated to describe here).
After cleaning and opening, lay it on a flat tray. Make your seasoning mix--per 500 gram of foie gras, 9 grams of salt, 1 gm sugar and 2 gram of crushed black pepper. Dust the cleaned foie gras with this seasoning and leave it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
After 24 hours, prepare your terrine mould--wrap it with plastic wrap (easy to remove the foie gras after being cooked, and dont worry of melting, since the cooking temperature is quite low). Take out the marinated foie gras and keep it aside for about 30 minutes.
Pour a few spoons of Sauternes on the terrine and put a layer of Foie Gras --make sure you put some pressure on the foie gras , to make sure it spreads evenly on the bottom layer. Spread the "mulled wine syrup"thinly and then put another layer of foie gras--evenly applying pressure to make sure that there is no holes here and there. Again spreading another layer of mulled wine syrup. Continue till you are done with the entire foie gras. Put some more Sauternes on top, cover it up with plastic wrap (or as we say cling film in kitchens) and let it refrigerate for about 6 hrs to 12 hours.
[Now when ready to cook]
Preheat your oven to 100 deg C. Prepare a water bath if you dont have a convection oven--at least till reaching half of the terrine mould and keep a plate or something elevated on the water bath, so as not put the terrine mould directly on the water bath. Generally, I recommend keeping the foie gras out of the chillers 30 mins before cooking, since it reduces cooking time & fat loss.In any case, the total weight loss from raw to cooked terrine will be between 25% to 30%.
And then, in goes the foie gras...and voila..wait till the internal temperature reaches at least 42 degree. Cook it anymore, you are destroying the gras from the foie again. Get a kitchen therometer for yourself, if you want to make the perfect foie gras terrine. Keep aside in a cooled place till it is cold enough. You will be left with a lot of fat on top. Pour off the excess fat & you need to put some pressure. Prepare a cardboard wrapped with plastic film again (size should be enough for the perimeter of the foie gras and not the terrine actually). Put this on the terrine first and then some heavy cans, bottles heavy enough to apply direct pressure and evenly on the foie gras. Put the terrine in the refrigerator and keep this pressure for at least 48 hours.
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| My Foie Gras Terrine after pressing and slicing it into portions |
Once done, remove it from the terrine mould carefully, not to break the foie gras--remove all the plastic wrap or anything. Your terrine is now ready to eat. All you need is some bread (my favorite is brioche), some sea salt(fleur de sel if you want) and some crushed pepper, and some fruit chutney (recently, I prepared a chutney of dates, raisins and red wine vinegar). Et voila...you are already a patron of French Cuisine now... :)
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