"at my wits end... question about foie gras"

[mudbug]

this is a question from one of the forums at epicurious.com, thought you might have some thoughts.....

"I had the most wonderful foie gras the other
week. The chef told me that is was prepared
in a very classic French way... basically,
the foie gras was rolled in cheese cloth and
then poached. He poached it in a very
subtle celery broth. Once poached, he
cooled, unwrapped and then sliced. The
presentation was very nice with medallions
of poached foie gras.

I've searched and searched for ways to poach
foie gras. Not that I probably couldn't
figure it out, but since I've never cooked
w/ foie gras, I just wanted some guidance."

Input?

Hello! Assuming that you've gotten as far as having wrapped the foie gras in the muslin, or cheesecloth, then refrigerate it overnight to allow it to set and seal. The next day, place the liver in a terrine, cover it with goose fat, and oven-poach 1 minute per ounce once the fat starts to simmer. Cool, drain on a wire cooking tray, and refrigerate at least 24 hours. Remove the muslin, and slice!

Enjoy!

[Pete]

The first step to doing a foie gras terrine is to allow the foie to come to room temp. I do this by soaking the foie in milk until it is room temp. Soaking it in milk will help remove any excess blood and bile. Once it is at room temp, very carefully open the foie up to pull any large veins. This is not as hard as it sounds. Start on the flat end of the foie, there the vein forks off so starting at one side push flesh to one side. As you find the vein just follow it and all its branches. Don't worry if you make a mess of the foie the first time. Once it is in the terrine no one will notice. At this point wrap the foie in cheesecloth and very lightly poach it. I do not let my foie get to more than 110-120 degrees F. I then pull it and chill quickly. Allow it to cool for at least 3-4 hours so that it has time to set up. I usually poach mine in some sort of wine.

I've only had foie gras seared...if you're poaching then cooling, is it served chilled? Or do you still sear it?

[Nick.Shu]

would it be provident to suggest that treatment of foie gras would be pretty much the same as chicken liver, or am i wrong?

[Isa]

In The French Laundry Cookbook they prepared a foie gras au torchon. In this case they use cheesecloth. The process takes four days. Simply said they poached it in either chicken stock, veal stock or simply water.


Sisi

[Pete]

Foie Gras can be served hot or cold. In classic French cooking it is usually served cold as in a pate or terrine. Though I do like cold preparations I really prefer mine served hot and seared. When searing make sure that you use a smoking hot pan. Foie is mostly fat and it will render out almost completely if cooked for too long. That is also why I recommend poaching it to only 110-120 degrees. Any more than that and you will be rendering it too much.

[Chef David Simpson]

I like to make foie gras with alba truffle sauce. Grilled not poached

[cape chef]

Sisi is right on the money.
The technigue you refer to Torchon is a classic method of preparing foie gras. I have not seen kellers rendiction but the way I have made Poached foie gras is to first let it sit a while to soften and then remove the vains, I then season with Kosher salt,pink salt,sugar,and white pepper. I then roll it into a log and roll it in cheese cloth and wrap it as tight as you can. I then let it cure in my walkin for one day and poach it in water-unseasoned not long just soft to the touch. I then roll it in more cheese cloth and hang it in the cooler for a day.I make a Rhyne cider jelly,a little arugula and drizzel with a hazelnut vinaigrette. Torchon is a great way to consume all that fat