Foie gras:the best pâté

Foie gras is a favorite starter for Christmas or New Year festivities. It is not new: geese are represented while force-fed in Egyptian tomb frescoes. The current polemic about whether it constitutes animal cruelty is old news as well: Alexandre Dumas under the entry “foie gras” in his Great cooking dictionary of 1870 recalls the petition written by a French gourmet but virtuous aristocrat in defense of the rights of geese. It was presented to the chamber of Lords with no effect whatsoever. The production method is ingenuous. By constantly over nourishing ducks or geese, their liver is enlarged to 10 times its normal size and reaches a fat content of 50 to 65%. It is the dispersion of the fat within the liver cells, which creates the incomparably rich taste of the transformed organ. Very little remains to be done to finish this walking pâté. A well-grown liver is pale pink and uniform in color. When poked with a finger it will give but retain its imprint. There are two ways to prepare it: you either sauté thick slices of liver in a hot pan or you cook the whole liver and refrigerate it for a few days before eating it cold and sliced on pieces of bread. The second technique has my preference. To cook a liver you have again several choices. They have to do with flavorings and shape. If you want round slices, you will prefer to make a torchon of foie gras simmered in stock. If you like terrines and want to add your own flavorings you will marinate the duck liver in a terrine with some cognac and spices and bake it in a water bath inside the oven. Whatever you choose, you will need a thermometer to monitor closely the temperatures. The secret of a good pâté is to minimize fat loss. To attain the best result you need to raise progressively the internal temperature from 110F (45C) to 160F (70C).
Start your preparation three days before you intend to serve it. The taste of the foie gras will then have had time to develop. Buy the best possible ingredient from a mail order company (D’Artagnan or Hudson valley foie gras) and use one of the three following recipes. which will provide roughly for 15 people.

Basic preparation
(Easy, Time: 15 or 3 hours unattended, 10 minutes preparation, Expensive)
Ingredients:
1.6 to 2 lbs foie gras
Material:
Large salad bowl

Place the foie gras overnight in salted ice water in the refrigerator. If you are short on time, you may place it for 3 hours in a temperate salted bath.
The next day, remove the foie gras from the water and bring to room temperature for 3 hours. The whole process is needed to expose the veins. Pull the exposed veins out. The foie gras will part into its two lobes.


Torchon foie gras (courtesy of Eric Ripert executive chef of Le Bernardin)*
(Easy, Preparation and cooking: 35 minutes, resting time: 24 to 48 hours, Expensive)
Ingredients:
Foie gras from basic preparation
10 to 12 g. of salt
3 g white pepper
2 cups (500 m) chicken stock
Material:
Plastic film
Wet cheesecloth
Kitchen twine
Large stockpot
Large ovenproof dish
Thermometer
Perforated sheet over a baking sheet.

Weigh the foie gras and season it on both sides (60% on the rough side, the rest on the smooth.) The right proportion is 12 g per 2 lbs (1 kg). Let the foie gras cure for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Roll the foie gras in saran wrap to get proper shape and remove air bubles. Each roll should be approximately 3 to 4 inches wide and 11 inches long.
Place the roll in the middle of a wet cheeseclothe. Remove the plastic film and roll again in shape. First tie the shorter side and continue to roll tightly before securing the other side.
Preheat the oven to 300F (150C)
Bring the chicken stock to a boil, transfer to the rectangular ovenproof and allow to cool to 160F (70C) and add foie gras rolls to the stock. Place the large ovenproof dish in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the internal foie gras temperature of 90F ( 30C) is reached. Let them cool and drain in the fridge by placing the rolls on a grill over a baking sheet.
When cool, remove the cheesecloth, roll again in saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
*This recipe is part of the subtle Tuna recipe Eric gave me to share as a New Year’s Eve recipe, which will be featured in my blog on December 25th.
Two variants for a foie gras terrine
1-Bain-marie (Easy, Preparation and cooking:60 minutes, refrigeration:2 days, Expensive)
Material:
Foie gras from basic preparation
10 to 12 g. fine salt
3g white pepper
2oz(60ml) Cognac
1 teaspoon sugar
Material
Ovenproof terrine with a cover
Larger ovenproof dish
Thermometer
Place the 2 lobes on the large dish. Sprinkle the salt sugar and white pepper on both sides and pour the Cognac over them.
Marinate in the refrigerator for 12 hours, turning them over at half time.
The day after, one hour prior to cooking, remove the liver from the refrigerator. Place them in the terrine, keeping the curves on the outsides. Clean the large ovenproof dish and fill it with water
Preheat the oven at 300F (150C) place the ovenproof dish in the oven and bring the water temperature to 160F (70C). Check with a thermometer. Place the uncovered terrine in the bain-marie and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the terrine from the bain-marie, cover it and let it cooled naturally for 2 hours. Refrigerate for at least one night before serving with toasted country bread.

2- Baked (Easy, Preparation and baking time: 2 hours, Refrigeration :2 days, Expensive)
Ingredients:
Foie gras from basic preparation
10 to 12 g fine salt
3 g white pepper
Material:
Plastic film
Paper towel
1 cookie sheet
1 terrine
1 lbs (500g) flour or sugar package to use as a weight
Weigh the foie gras and season it on both sides (60% on the rough side, the rest on the smooth.) The right proportion is 12 g per 2 lbs (1 kg). Cover with a plastic film and let the foie gras cure for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven at 160F (70C) and bake until the center of the livers reaches 113F (45C) approximately 1hour and 50 minutes.
Pat the two lobes dry and place in the terrine, curves on the outside. Place a plastic film loosely on top and use the flour or sugar package on top to weigh down the pâté. Refrigerate for 2 days before serving.