In the past I for TG I always have made a chicken liver pate. Sometimes with a variety of add-ins, most recently chanterelles. This year I purchased a lobe of foie gras instead. It is about 1.44 lbs. I know to remove the veins before cooking, but any tips for preparation would be welcome.
Failing any suggestions otherwise, my current plan was to cook similarly to the chicken, sauté slices of the lobe in butter with some garlic and herb, salt and pepper; add cognac and flambé, then puree. Saute Chanterelles and mix with the pureed liver. Mix it all with heavily whipped fresh cream to desired consistency. Serve with crostini, cornichon, and sour cherry preserves.
Maybe marinate the lobe a bit before cooking. That will impart flavor as that cooking process won’t be long in a pan. As you propose, I would not do the lobe as a whole, but rather cut it down, if using a sautéed technique. The thing is going to really lose fat/volume faster than chicken liver. Depending on how cooked you want the interior, perhaps consider doing the butter/fat, herbs, garlic together for a few seconds before the foie. Unlike chicken livers the foie is going to start rendering and losing volume very fast.
Thanks. I assume that is a benefit, that I can end up with a lot of goose fat to put to other uses. I will keep that in mind though, maybe use larger slices and cook at a gentler temp in order to render some fat but barely cook the middle?
I would slice it similar to if doing it seared, like 3/4"-1". That way it won’t be totally raw for 1/2 it’s volume as if done whole, but you also won’t have to cook it too long. It really will lose a ton of its volume if cooked too long. The rendered fat is of use, but not as great a use as when eaten as foie. I would not do sear type heat either, but a typical sautée heat. Even at that it seems like a three minute process.
Take that with a grain of salt as 90% of the time I just prefer seared and have only made FG pate a couple of times.
I did just that. Haven’t really sampled yet but initial taste seemed excellent. Clearly seared foie is superior, probably even like a tourchon, but we’ll have a big crowd and I want it to stretch a bit farther.
having never done it I’m not sure if this post will help but isn’t the point to keep the fat in the final product?
we had a guest at a party bring a poached foie log that was quite tasty. IIRC, it was poached in sauterne
I do it often at home and have it out whenever it’s on the menu.
Best presentation yet:
sliced into medallions - 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
sprinkle one side with coarse salt.
heat DRY pan to very hot - keep pan very hot
place salted side down
This cooks very fast - within 2 minutes flip to the other (unsalted) side
2 minutes remove (save any goose fat for other uses
Place on some type of greens - have fun and experiment with the base - sautéed greens or mixed micro greens etc.
drizzle with reduced balsamic and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts
Enjoy
Sauternes is perfect with this
ps - the best place to buy IQF sliced Hudson Valley (best in US) foie gras is …Amazon!