Recipe involving foie gras

March 20, 2017 11:25 PM

I have recently come into the possession of a small (150g) jar of ethical foie gras (ie, naturally fed as opposed to the more traditional gavage). This is my first (and probably only) time eating foie gras, let alone cooking with it, and I'm at a loss. Can the hive mind recommend a recipe for me?

About me:

I am an advanced home cook with a fully-stocked kitchen, and prepared to try anything at least once.

I dislike most animal livers because of the texture but adore the taste - particularly if it's in pate or liver wurst form.

Like truffles, this is probably going to be a once-off occasion so I want maximum bang for my buck.

I have some budget to work with here, but would prefer not to buy any more extremely expensive (ie $100+) ingredients.

What do you guys suggest?

posted by ninazer0 to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Best answer: Is it in pate form? If so just buy some nice bread, toast it in small slices, and have it with friends as an appetizer! I'm French and that's what we always do for Christmas.
posted by snoogles at 12:28 AM on March 21, 2017 [18 favorites]

I swear it's the easiest protein in the world to cook. Thick slices, screaming hot cast iron skillet, 30 seconds per side. Here's a longer version from Serious Eats. Classic serving would be with a drizzle of jam on toasted Brioche, but it really works with almost anything.
posted by Lame_username at 12:29 AM on March 21, 2017

I had an amazing chestnut and foie gras soup at a restaurant a while ago. Don't have the recipe but might be worth googling.
posted by ropeladder at 12:40 AM on March 21, 2017

If it's a jar, it's highly unlikely the link the second post will work for you because that requires thick slices of whole foie gras.
posted by just.good.enough at 1:18 AM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I vote with snoogles. I'd let it warm to room temperature before toasting the bread.
posted by Bruce H. at 1:34 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'd make Beef Wellington. (I prefer individual Beef Wellingtons; YMMV.)
posted by DarlingBri at 2:24 AM on March 21, 2017

Best answer: If you got it in a jar, then its not really the type you cook with. Best thing to do is get some nice toasted bread and use the foie as a spread, or served with jam.

The type you cook with is usually sold as whole livers - or some small cut of a liver. We'd occasionally find these even at butcher shops in London. For those, it is best to slice them and sear them in a pan and serve with something sweet. Or use like butter to melt on top of oven dishes like roast duck.
posted by vacapinta at 3:04 AM on March 21, 2017 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Toasted brioche is really nice for spreading pate so would work with foie gras too.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:16 AM on March 21, 2017

One thing you can cook with processed foie gras (in addition to the above-mentioned​ Beef Wellington) is baked eggs/eggs en coccotte, with a layer of either pâté or bloc de foie gras in the ramekin. This description, without truffiling​ the eggs, would work fine. I'd favour this approach over a Beef Wellington in this specific situation, because you'll get a more intense experience of the foie gras as it's a bigger part of the dish.
posted by howfar at 3:45 AM on March 21, 2017

If you decide to just eat it on toast, foie gras is actually best served cold according to my French mother-in-law (and my own experience has proved this to be true!)
posted by Blissful at 4:45 AM on March 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

On fancy toast with fig jam, of course.
posted by athirstforsalt at 5:00 AM on March 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Spread on slices of toasted brioche, with a very modest amount of a good caramelised onion chutney (or, even better, sauternes jelly if you can get hold of it or know how to make it), a pinch of salt. Heavenly.
posted by FavourableChicken at 6:32 AM on March 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

Howfar is right that you can cook with jarred foie gras, but there's not really a reason to. It's a pretty assertive ingedient, so I don't think you can really screw it up. If I had one shot at it, I'd let it come to room temperature, reserve 20% of it, and put the rest out on a nice plate like any pate. Sides are up to you, but buttered, grilled (yes, literally, unless you have a salamander) levain or sourdough is a classic in my book but various crackers are also fine. Fig preserves is another classic but I've had good luck with various wine jellys and apricot. Sauternes is the traditional wine match but go out of your way and see if you can't find a Jurancon, preferably a petit manseng, that's the wine that has driven all my ohimgod foie gras moments. For the main course, cook a wide noodle like tagliatelle or linguine, toss with a bit of butter, and then stick the reserved foie on top of the plated pasta. It melts all over and smells like heaven.
posted by wnissen at 8:54 AM on March 21, 2017 [4 favorites]

A friend recently ordered the noodle-paella called "fideua," with mushrooms and foie, while we were in Spain. (I think it also had raisins.) I'm squicked by foie, but this was like moaningly awesomely delicious.
posted by gusandrews at 9:14 PM on March 21, 2017

- a sweet spread with bread, foie gras, preserves, sliced figs, cherries, butter, radish, a coy 'black garlic', a nice wine
- in fresh ravioli or as a mousse over fresh pasta
- as a sauce for seafood (eg clams) or vegetables (eg leeks)
posted by semaphore at 10:28 AM on March 26, 2017