The glorious silken mouth feel of Foie Gras is irresistible. The decedent bit of contrast between the perfectly seared, browned exterior and the soft, luscious interior is sublime. It is hard to find in restaurants, and expensive when it is.
But what of home preparation? Irrelevant to discuss I suppose as the eminent ban on this delicacy is upon us. But my lovely bride gifted me a 1/2lb lobe, $31, frozen, for Christmas and it's fate was a sizzling hot pan, brioche and balsamic. Last night was the night, with fellow foodies.
In fear of having too much to coordinate in delivering the final dish, I passed on the sweetened fruit, caramelized pears or such. I just keep thinking about Thomas Keller advice...something like "it's not difficult to prepare, just don't look away while it's in the pan or you'll be left with an expensive puddle of duck fat".
Epicurious' Sauteed Duck Foie Gras. Dead easy, hot oil, livers in, 30 or so seconds, livers out, balsamic in a bit of the fat and make that a bit syrupy. Pour over the Foie Gras. Very easy. I would only say that the livers shrink a bit, so be generous when carving the pieces to cook. They cook VERY quick, keep a close eye.Also, a Gordan Ramsey trick, lightly crosshatch cuts in the surface of the livers. This opens the surface up a bit and makes the browning more effective and attractive.
I served it over toasts carved out of brioche hamburger buns from Whole Foods and poured a Alvear Solera 1927 sticky dessert wine. All in all a success, a real treat.
I'm ready to experiment more, but only 4 months left....
Hmmm. Sounds like an interesting combo. How did you find the wine paired?
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