What is foie gras, how to prepare and serve it. What is foie gras

Interesting 12.01.2018

Interesting

European delicacy

French cuisine is very popular all over the world. Many famous chefs started their careers in this European country. Often French dishes can be found on the menu of famous restaurants. Among them, you will certainly find such a delicacy as foie gras. This dish is quite expensive, but its unsurpassed taste is worth it. But what is foie gras? Let's figure it out together.

Only the facts

Foie gras - goose liver that is cooked in an unusual way. The dishes that include this product are so tender and tasty that all the gourmets of the world love this delicacy. The name comes from the French foie gras - "fatty liver". Today, in order to get the liver for the dish, instead of geese, special ducks and their hybrids, called mulards, are fattened. 75% of this delicacy comes from France.

Many countries have abandoned this dish, because what is foie gras and how it is obtained, I think you should not tell. Moreover, the bird from which this delicacy is taken must be overfed (some specimens reach a weight of about 35 kg). We think that they do not voluntarily agree to this, so they are force-fed. Some countries consider this an inhuman act. These include Germany, Poland, Italy. Probably, you should not delve into the question of how exactly the bird is fattened, since many simply want to try foie gras.

How to prepare

Let's find out in more detail what foie gras is, how it is prepared. Goose liver is fried with onions in butter, and then crushed into a pate. To be honest, not everyone will like the dish. A specific taste and smell to the liking of a few. We suggest considering a recipe that includes raspberry sauce and an apple. Maybe this will allow us to understand the question: "What is foie gras?" Required ingredients for the dish:

Goose liver - 100 g;

Apple - 1 pc.;

Raspberries - 100 g;

Butter - 20 g;

Sugar and powdered sugar, a little honey, a pinch of salt and pepper.

Consider the cooking process

Raspberry sauce in French cuisine is part of many dishes. The meaning of the sauce is to get raspberry juice, in which there will be no pulp and seeds. How to achieve this? Just put the berries in a steam bath and wait for the raspberries to release their juice (just don't rub the berries). A medium-sized apple needs to be peeled and the core removed. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and cane sugar, put honey inside. Put the apple in a preheated oven to 180 C for 15 minutes. We dissolve cane sugar and honey in a pan, as a result we get caramel. We pour it over an apple and for another 5 minutes - in the oven. We put the goose liver on a napkin to leave excess fat, make small cuts, salt and pepper on both sides. We take a dry frying pan and heat it over a fire, then fry the liver for 2 minutes and put it on a napkin to remove fat. Now you need to prepare the dish for serving. As decorations, we use blueberries, black bread toasts and an apple slice, which was previously dried. We place the apple in the center of the plate and pour over it with raspberry sauce. We put croutons on it and on top - goose liver. To complete the dish, put blueberries, dried apple and again - raspberry sauce. I think now you more or less understand what foie gras is.

Food lovers love all sorts of delicacies. Such a delicacy is poultry liver pate. For those who still do not know what foie gras is, this article describes in detail how the dish is prepared, what it is eaten with, and also presents several recipes for cooking at home. This delicious delicacy is found on the menu of an expensive restaurant, but if you wish, you can cook it yourself by following simple instructions.

What is foie gras made from?

In the restaurant, when ordering foie gras, they will bring you a classic version of this dish, prepared using goose or duck liver. In appearance, the consistency of foie gras is more like a pate, but it has a very delicate, melting taste that will remain in your memory for a long time. For cooking delicious delicacy it is necessary to thoroughly grow a goose (or duck), get a liver, and then soak it, pouring it with honey and milk to get not only a larger size, but also a unique taste.

You can appreciate the real taste of foie gras only where it is produced: in Paris, Luxembourg, Budapest, Vienna and other European capitals. In Russia, this dish is also served, but much more expensive than at home. The average cost of foie gras in Moscow restaurants often exceeds even the price of a marble steak - from 1000 rubles. for 50 g. Depending on the origin, it increases. Foie gras with truffle will cost you from 2000 rubles. for 50 g.

How to cook a French dish at home

It is not necessary to go abroad to appreciate the taste of a rare delicacy and learn how true chefs make foie gras. Use the ingredients you need in the following recipes and your homemade foie gras will turn out just as good as the best French chefs. The main thing is desire, and any foie gras recipe below will help you bring the result to the perfection shown in the photo.

To prepare fried foie gras, you should have at the ready:

duck liver - 500 g;
garlic - 4 cloves;
olive oil - 2 tbsp. l;
Bay leaf;
cilantro;
chervil;
boiled spinach;
salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking fried foie gras with sauce:

Pour 500 ml of water into the pan, grate the garlic. Put on a small fire, boil, adding salt, pepper, bay leaf, olive oil. Strain the resulting garlic broth.
Dip herbs in boiling water for a minute, send them to a blender along with spinach and garlic broth.
The foie gras sauce is ready! You can put it in the refrigerator.
Take the liver, cut it into small slices.
It is necessary to fry the pieces in a dry frying pan, constantly removing fat.
The readiness of foie gras is checked with a metal skewer. After piercing, it should be warm.
The dish is served with garlic sauce. Looks great, tastes amazing. Your guests will be delighted!

Pate

Goose liver dish with white wine will also be to your taste. You will need:

goose liver - 1 kg;
white wine Sauternes - half a glass;
sea salt and pepper - to taste;
truffle - 1 pc.

Cooking method:

At night, it is necessary to fill the liver with ice water.
In the morning, drain the water, cut the liver into pieces and pour over the wine. Leave to marinate for a couple of hours.
The hardest part: preheat the oven to 95 degrees. Place the liver in a container, which then put in a pan with water. Put everything in the oven until the liver reaches a temperature of 45 degrees on a meat thermometer.
Drain the fat, but don't throw it away. It will come in handy later for storage.
Put the form with the pate in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Foie gras is served preheated with warm water. Pour the leftovers with pre-melted fat and store again.

From chicken liver

For Russian cuisine, chicken pate a la foie gras is suitable. Ingredients for cooking:

chicken liver (turkey is suitable) - 300 g;
garlic;
olive oil;
milk - 1 glass;
flour - 3 tbsp. l.;
yolk - 5 pcs.;
salt, pepper - to taste;
cognac - 1 stack;
butter - 50 g.

How to make pate:

Saute onion with garlic olive oil. Don't overcook!
We send the liver to a blender and bring it to a uniform mass with all other components.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and send it to the oven, preheated to 175 degrees, for an hour.
Pour the finished dish with melted butter and remove for a couple of hours to cool. If a lump forms during baking, flatten it with a knife and then pour oil over the pâté.
Dinner is served!

How to eat foie gras

If you came to a restaurant and ordered a delicacy, then you definitely need to know what foie gras is and how to eat the dish correctly. French cuisine offers many complementary salads with fresh herbs and spicy dressings. AT this case the use of mayonnaise or ketchup is considered bad manners. Often this can even offend the chef. The dish must be eaten as it is brought from the kitchen. When serving, foie gras is poured over with a specially prepared sauce, so the proportions are ideal even for the most demanding client.

A sweet white Sauternes or sweet champagne is often chosen as a drink, which goes well with the delicate liver taste of an overseas dish. Remember that foie gras is very high in calories. The delicacy is served no more than 150 g per person if the dish is the main one, 30-50 g if it is an additional cold snack. Supplement must be lettuce or other raw vegetables.

How to feed geese for foie gras

To get a fatty liver for making foie gras, birds are grown and fattened in a special way on special farms. Only the best food is selected, for example, corn, which is boiled to a certain state, then given to the geese. At the last stage before slaughter, the bird is force-fed to make the liver even larger. While many disagree that geese need to be tormented for one dish, connoisseurs of delicious food have never refused foie gras from Europe's most famous farms.

Video: homemade duck liver pate

You have learned what foie gras is, how to cook, what the dish is eaten with. In the video below you will see the detailed process of preparing this dish. Step by step, repeating each action of the chef, you can cook delicious foie gras, which will surprise all your guests for lunch or a dinner party. Have a little patience, prepare the necessary products and start cooking a French delicacy.

The gourmet food of foie gras comes from Egypt, because even 4000 years ago, cunning Egyptians forcibly overfed ducks and geese with figs, so that after that they would enjoy soft and tender liver obese birds. Since then, it has been customary to overfeed poultry to obtain an expensive delicacy, the most global producer of which is invariably France.

Making foie gras is much easier than getting it. Fresh goose liver can be eaten even raw, and we don’t even mention pates, terrines or simple frying. We will discuss some foie gras dishes in this article.

Cooking fried foie gras

Most often, goose liver slices are fried with a minimum of seasonings in order to fully enjoy the pure taste of the dish.

Ingredients:

fresh foie gras - 100 g;
green lettuce leaves - 2 pcs.;
salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking

Before preparing foie gras, goose liver is divided into shares and carefully cleaned of films and veins. Then the product is cut into sticks 2-3 cm thick, seasoned and fried on both sides in vegetable oil for 1 minute. Properly cooked foie gras has a whitish surface that fades into a darker and underdone slice core. Savor fresh foie gras with lettuce or other refreshing, neutral-tasting herbs.

Foie Gras Pate - Recipe

Ingredients:

goose fat - 90 g;
foie gras - 500 g;
shallots - 2 pcs.;
provencal herbs - a pinch;
salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking

Fry chopped shallots in goose fat until transparent, then add goose liver, keep the dish in a pan for 2 minutes. Lastly, season the future pate with Provencal herbs, salt and pepper.

Put the goose liver with onions in a blender and grind until smooth. Ready pate is served on well-fried toast.

Terrine of foie gras with nuts

Ingredients:

foie gras liver - 1 pc.;
date - 3 pcs.;
pistachios - 8 pcs.;
almonds - 8 pcs.;
hazelnuts - 8 pcs.;
cognac - 50 g;
salt - to taste.

Cooking

Grind dates and nuts and pour cognac, cover with foil, and then put in the refrigerator.

We cut the goose liver into centimeter slices and put it in a mold, covering its bottom and side walls. In the formed recess we lay the walnut-fig mass and close it with the last layer of the liver. We cover the form with a lid and bake the dish at 60 degrees for 30 minutes. We drain the fat from the finished dish, cover the form with a film and put oppression. So the terrine should stand in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, and only then it can be served. Enjoy your meal!

No matter how many names in the culinary world have been invented. For example, not everyone knows what “foie gras” is, but most people associate this dish with something overseas, expensive and refined. Is it really so? Is it possible to cook enigmatic foie grass at home without resorting to the help of a chef. What are the varieties of the dish? The phrase foiegras in Russian quickly became a single word and partially lost its meaning, because in translation from French, from which it came, it means "fatty liver". Initially, the phrase was related to goose or duck liver. The birds were intentionally well-fed before being slaughtered and butchered, turning their livers into a hearty cold snack.

But outside of France, the traditional recipe was quickly modified, and foie gras became a dish based on the liver of any bird, up to chicken, turkey, etc. The classic preparation of foie gras involves serving it as an independent dish or using it as a component of other hot dishes. Of the alcoholic beverages, foie gras is usually accompanied by champagne or other dessert wine.

In the historical homeland, foie gras has several varieties. Its whole version cannot have more than 2 parts from different copies of the liver, while spices, liqueur and table wines, vodka on grapes are added to it. The classic foie gras combines several different livers, so that the cut of the product reveals its marbled texture.

For block foie gravy, all pieces of liver are emulsified, so the consistency becomes more uniform both externally and when touched. Also, a dish can have only 50% foie gras or more to keep this name behind it, and it can be diluted with goose fat. By the way, the associations of this dish with the privileged segments of the population are not accidental. In terms of cost, goose liver, especially increased in volume due to forced fattening of poultry, is much more expensive than chicken and the like.

Separately, attention should be paid to the technology of preparation of various types of foie gras. The most common and affordable to the consumer is canned, obtained by processing the product. high temperature(100 degrees) in a closed container. This allows you to keep the liver in a form suitable for consumption or further cooking for a long time. However, it will need to be kept in a cool place: for example, a pantry.

Half-cooked foie gras has a creamy texture, as a result of which it does not lose its properties and palatability only when stored in a cold place. To obtain such a product, the liver is sterilized and packed in a glass or ceramic container. And the most traditional is foie gras, which can only be purchased on the market. Such a product is not stored, but for most dishes, the recipe requires raw foie gras, which has not been preserved or sterilized, as the main ingredient.

How to cook foie gras according to the traditional recipe?

The classic recipe for processing goose liver foie gras includes, in addition to the main component, only 3 ingredients: white wine, pepper and salt. If desired, they can be supplemented with your favorite spices. For 1 kg of liver there are 50 ml of white table wine and a pinch of any seasonings.

Preparation of goose liver is carried out through its washing and soaking in cold water for a day. Therefore, the preparation of foie gras usually begins in the evening. After 8-10 hours, it must be cut into fairly large pieces, which are rubbed with pepper and salt, as well as any other seasonings and placed in a bowl filled with white wine. The liver will marinate in alcohol for another 2-3 hours.

The next step has several variations. If you want to get a traditional foie gras, then the pieces taken out of the marinade are filled tightly with light pressing, and a little empty space must be left up to the neck of the pot, where air exchange will take place. If a foie gras block is planned, the pickled liver is passed through a meat grinder twice, and then the resulting mass is also removed into a ceramic container.

In an oven preheated to 100 degrees, place a cup of water to create a steam effect, put a container with foie gras on the lower grate and cook the dish for 30-40 minutes. The fat that the liver secretes needs to be drained into a separate cup: they will subsequently be poured over ready-made foie gras when it cools to the required temperature. In addition, this impregnation is a natural preservation for foie gras, allowing it to be stored for up to 7 days in the refrigerator.

Christmas foie gras with goose liver and truffle: recipe

On the Christmas table in France, foie gras is an indispensable element that crowns the whole composition. But it is prepared differently than in traditional recipe: foie gras is served here, diluted with duck or goose fat, lard and even pork fillet. However, the goose liver itself should retain about 55%.

Compound:

Goose liver - 800 g
Milk
White mushrooms - 1-2 pcs.
Duck liver - 300 g
Cognac - 120 ml
Pork fillet - 300 g
Spices - to taste

Cooking:

The liver needs to be soaked in milk for 4-5 hours, after which it should be removed from films and other debris, including the biliary tract. If desired, all fat is cut off from it.
Then porcini mushrooms are prepared, which are replaced by truffles in the original recipe. For the indicated volume of goose liver, there are 1-2 mushrooms that need to be cut and put into the liver.
At the next stage, the liver is marinated in cognac, and at this time you should start preparing the remaining components. The pork fillet is ground in a meat grinder, having previously lost films and bones, the duck liver is sent there too.
Minced meat must go through a meat grinder twice, after which it is combined with salt, pepper, nutmeg and foie gras marinade.
Now you need to find a round shape that can be placed in the oven, and lay out its bottom and walls with a mixture of minced meat with spices and marinade. 0.25 of its total volume should be left for the subsequent “closing” of the dish.
The marinated liver is placed in the resulting “pot” of minced meat and covered with the remains of minced meat, as a result of which it is sealed into it. So that when baking the dish does not turn out to be dryish, 50 g of duck fat is laid on it.
Place the container of foie gras on the bottom rack in the oven, and underneath it a bowl of water to create water bath. Under such conditions, Christmas foie gras will cook for 50 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees.
The traditional recipe assumes its further maturation within 2 days, but it is much more important to serve the dish cold, cut into plates 1-1.5 cm thick.

Chicken liver foie gras recipe: cooking features

Chicken liver, even with proper fattening, which is not produced in Russia, cannot be compared with goose in its fat content. Therefore, in all foie gras recipes where chicken liver appears, if necessary, butter is added to the list of ingredients, which allows you to increase the fat content of the product and ready meal. And without it, foie gras becomes lighter and therefore attractive to those who follow the figure or are simply accustomed to sticking to healthy and low-fat foods.

The classic recipe involves soaking 1 kg of chicken liver in cold water for 4 hours, after which the product is rinsed again under running water and placed in a free bowl. The liver should be poured with 500 g of dry red wine, add 1 tbsp to this marinade. sugar and a pinch of salt. If you wish, you can throw 2-3 peas of red pepper there. It is required to impregnate chicken liver with such a mixture for 12-18 hours, therefore it is advisable to carry out such a procedure at night.

After the liver is marinated, it is necessary to prepare porcini mushrooms in the amount of 200 g. They are cleaned and washed, and then placed in a meat grinder, where the liver cut into pieces is also sent. You need to grind the products 2-3 times until they turn into a uniform mass. Then they are injected with 50 g butter, previously softened, and the whole mixture is laid out in a ceramic mold.

Raw fua is pressed, the container is covered with a lid or covered with foil, and sent to an oven preheated to 190 degrees. As in the case of traditional French recipe, chicken foie is cooked in a water bath, so a bowl of water is also placed in the oven. Total cooking time - 45 min.

No matter how many names in the culinary world have been invented. For example, not everyone knows what “foie gras” is, but most people associate this dish with something overseas, expensive and refined. Is it really so? Is it possible to cook enigmatic foie grass at home without resorting to the help of a chef. What are the varieties of the dish? The phrase foiegras in Russian quickly became a single word and partially lost its meaning, since in translation from the French language, from which it came, it means “fatty liver”. Initially, the phrase was related to goose or duck liver. The birds were intentionally well-fed before being slaughtered and butchered, turning their livers into a hearty cold snack.

Separately, attention should be paid to the technology of preparation of various types of foie gras. The most common and affordable to the consumer is canned, obtained by processing the product at high temperature (100 degrees) in a closed container. This allows you to keep the liver in a form suitable for consumption or further cooking for a long time. However, it will need to be kept in a cool place: for example, a pantry.

Half-cooked foie gras has a creamy texture, as a result of which it does not lose its properties and taste only when stored in a cold place. To obtain such a product, the liver is sterilized and packed in a glass or ceramic container. And the most traditional is foie gras, which can only be purchased on the market. Such a product is not stored, but for most dishes, the recipe requires raw foie gras, which has not been preserved or sterilized, as the main ingredient.

How to cook foie gras according to the traditional recipe?

Christmas foie gras with goose liver and truffle: recipe

On the Christmas table in France, foie gras is an indispensable element that crowns the whole composition. But it is prepared differently than in the traditional recipe: foie gras is served here, diluted with duck or goose fat, lard and even pork fillet. However, the goose liver itself should retain about 55%.

Compound:

Goose liver - 800 g
Milk
White mushrooms - 1-2 pcs.
Duck liver - 300 g
Cognac - 120 ml
Pork fillet - 300 g
Spices - to taste

Cooking:

The liver needs to be soaked in milk for 4-5 hours, after which it should be removed from films and other debris, including the biliary tract. If desired, all fat is cut off from it.
Then porcini mushrooms are prepared, which are replaced by truffles in the original recipe. For the indicated volume of goose liver, there are 1-2 mushrooms that need to be cut and put into the liver.
At the next stage, the liver is marinated in cognac, and at this time you should start preparing the remaining components. The pork fillet is ground in a meat grinder, having previously lost films and bones, the duck liver is sent there too.
Minced meat must go through a meat grinder twice, after which it is combined with salt, pepper, nutmeg and foie gras marinade.
Now you need to find a round shape that can be placed in the oven, and lay out its bottom and walls with a mixture of minced meat with spices and marinade. 0.25 of its total volume should be left for the subsequent “closing” of the dish.
The marinated liver is placed in the resulting “pot” of minced meat and covered with the remains of minced meat, as a result of which it is sealed into it. So that when baking the dish does not turn out to be dryish, 50 g of duck fat is laid on it.
Place the container of foie gras on the bottom rack in the oven and a bowl of water underneath to create a bain-marie. Under such conditions, Christmas foie gras will cook for 50 minutes at a temperature of 150 degrees.
The traditional recipe assumes its further maturation within 2 days, but it is much more important to serve the dish cold, cut into plates 1-1.5 cm thick.

Chicken liver foie gras recipe: cooking features

Chicken liver, even with proper fattening, which is not produced in Russia, cannot be compared with goose in its fat content. Therefore, in all foie gras recipes where chicken liver appears, if necessary, butter is added to the list of ingredients, which allows you to increase the fat content of the product and the finished dish. And without it, foie gras becomes lighter and therefore attractive to those who follow the figure or are simply accustomed to sticking to healthy and low-fat foods.

After the liver is marinated, it is necessary to prepare porcini mushrooms in the amount of 200 g. They are cleaned and washed, and then placed in a meat grinder, where the liver cut into pieces is also sent. You need to grind the products 2-3 times until they turn into a uniform mass. Then 50 g of butter, previously softened, is introduced into them, and the whole mixture is laid out in a ceramic mold.

Raw fua is pressed, the container is covered with a lid or covered with foil, and sent to an oven preheated to 190 degrees. As with the traditional French recipe, chicken foie gras is cooked in a bain-marie, so a bowl of water is also placed in the oven. Total cooking time - 45 min.

Foie gras is always served chilled, and in some cases it is allowed to ripen in the cold for 36-48 hours. According to French traditions, foie gras is consumed with table wine. In Europe, some modifications were introduced, and fruits, nuts and ginger, as well as fruit-wine sauces, became constant companions of this dish.