50 ways ... to cook a foie gras !

I love this song, from Simon and Garfunkel. 
"Fifty ways to leave your lover". Not to cook a foie gras, of course. 

I have to say it would be funny :

"Don't slip out the back, Drack !

Go in the pan, Stan

You don't need to be boiled, Coy

Just listen to me !

Hop in the oven,

Don't need to discuss, Duck,

Just drop off the dish, Lee

And get yourself crisp !"

... Ok, this is an adaptation who worth no more than 50 cents, ok ... But we do what we can ! 

Well, I'm going to share with you three ways to cook your foie gras. 
The two first methods are traditional, the third one is adapted to our stressed and fast life ... It's with micro wave ! Yeah, madame ! 

... I have to say I never dared with micro wave. But I found a lot of recipes with it on internet and the critics were all good. So why not ? 

My mother gave me 2 foie gras that she bought the past year, in January, while foie gras's period was over and prices were cheap. She frozen them. 
They were big and seem tough under the finger. That's how they must be. 
The bad point : I needed to removed the nerves. 
The third one, I bought it already without nerves. Much easier ! But really small. 

So, let's begin with our foie gras. 

Here what you'll need : 

• 1 crude "foie gras" of 500 grammes or so. 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sugar
• Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls. 

Your oven must be preheated at 150°C (Th 5 / 300°F)

FIRST AND SECOND METHOD, on the same time : 

Foie gras natural, in Terrine.

Foie gras with Armagnac, in Terrine. 

You'll do exactly the same for two foies. Except the step 3.

Step 1 : 

Let your foie gras soak in a salty water for 2 hours. It will help to take away the nerves and the blood.

Step 2 : 

The most harrowing part for a lot of people ! 

We think a foie gras is fragile. Ok, it's true. But this is not crystal ! 

You can manipulate it ! 

I'm not a meticulous person. And I always do a slaughter with my foie gras, in this step. But who cares ? 

When you'll put it in the terrine, everything will be fine, believe me ! 

So, follow me : 

Open your foie in 2 part, first.

Now, with the tip of a paring knife, try to find the biggest nerve, who comes usually between the two lobes (the two parts) of the foie. 

Carefully, because it can break (but if it happens, keep cool, no problem), lift up the nerve, scratching delicately all around the meat. 

Do it for all the nerves, small or big, you can find in the foie. 

But don't worry ! If you can't take away ALL the nerves, it's not the end of Earth ! Even if we're on December 19th, we still have two peaceful days ! 

At the end, you can have, as me, shreds... 

All will be combined cooking ! 

Step 3 : 

For 500 grammes, you'll need 8 grammes of salt, one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of pepper, for the natural one.

Add one tablespoon of Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls, for the second one. 

Mix all that and make a sweet massage to your foie, to impregnate correctly the meat. 

Step 4 : 

Put your foie in your terrine and cover it with the lid. And put your terrine in a large dish.

Foie number one : the sober one ! 

Foie number 2 : The alcoholic one ! 

Step 5 : 

Important : Make boiling water and pour it in the dish. The water must be extra hot and must come to the level of the lid's terrine. 

In the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 6 : 

When it's done, take them out the water. With a table spoon, take away a large part of fat, but not all, it must stay some yellow part. 

There must be some blood too. Try to take it away too, as much as possible. But if not, don't panic, it's not grave ! 

Yes ... That's the reason why we call them "le foie gras" (the fat liver)

Step 7 : 

Cut a cardboard to the terrine's dimensions and coat it with aluminum. Do the same with a can. 

Step 8 : 

Put all this on the foie gras and in the fridge for 4 days ! Don't eat foie gras before 4 or 5 days. Just because it need time to mix all the flavors. 

But no more than 10 days ! 

After 1 hour in the fridge. 

THIRD METHOD : Micro wave and without nerves ! 

The easiest way of cooking for sure ! 

But I never tasted it, I'll tell you after Xmas if it was good ;)

Step 1 : 

For 500 grammes, you'll need 8 grammes of salt, one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of pepper.

Add one tablespoon of Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls. 

Mix all that and make a sweet massage to your foie, to impregnate correctly the meat. 

Yes, it's the same than Step 3, on the previous recipe :)

Step 2 : 

Put it in a dish who can go to micro wave, no lid ! 

Step 3 : 

My microwave is a 1000 watts. I let it cook for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. 

Do it for 1 minutes, first and let go 20 seconds by 20 seconds, to be sure.

Stick gently a knife's tip in the middle. It must be tepid, lukewarm. 

Step 4 : 

When it's done, put the foie in a jar or, as me, in 2 little terrines, because the 2 little jars I took were not big enough. 

I cut the foie in 2 pieces. 

Cover with the lid and in the fridge for 4 days minimum and 1O days maximum. 

After one hour... 

After 4-5 days, eat it on a piece of farmhouse bread (pain de campagne) or gingerbread (pain d'épices) a little bit toasted, with onions conserved. 

Joyeux Foie Gras !

PS : I'll post a picture after 5 days, just before Xmas.

Recapitulative : 

• 1 crude "foie gras" of 500 grammes or so. 
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sugar
• Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls. 

Your oven must be preheated at 150°C (Th 5 / 300°F)

FIRST AND SECOND METHOD, on the same time : 

Foie gras natural, in Terrine.

Foie gras with Armagnac, in Terrine. 

Let your foie gras soak in a salty water for 2 hours. 

Open your foie in 2 part, first.

With the tip of a paring knife, try to find the biggest nerve, who comes usually between the two lobes (the two parts) of the foie. 

Carefully, because it can break, lift up the nerve, scratching delicately all around the meat. 

Do it for all the nerves, small or big, you can find in the foie. 

For 500 grammes, you'll need 8 grammes of salt, one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of pepper, for the natural one.

Add one tablespoon of Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls, for the second one. 

Mix all that and make a sweet massage to your foie, to impregnate correctly the meat. 

Put your foie in your terrine and cover it with the lid. And put your terrine in a large dish.

Important : Make boiling water and pour it in the dish. The water must be extra cold and must come to the level of the lid's terrine. 

In the oven for 40 minutes.

When it's done, take them out the water. With a table spoon, take away a large part of fat, but not all, it must stay some yellow part. 

There must be some blood too. Try to take it away too, as much as possible. 

Cut a cardboard to the terrine's dimensions and coat it with aluminum. Do the same with a can. 

Put all this on the foie gras and in the fridge for 4 days ! Don't eat foie gras before 4 or 5 days. Just because it need time to mix all the flavors. 

But no more than 10 days ! 

THIRD METHOD : Micro wave and without nerves ! 

The easiest way of cooking for sure ! 

But I never tasted it, I'll tell you after Xmas if it was good ;)

For 500 grammes, you'll need 8 grammes of salt, one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of pepper.

Add one tablespoon of Armagnac or Porto or Banyuls. 

Mix all that and make a sweet massage to your foie, to impregnate correctly the meat. 

Put it in a dish who can go to micro wave, no lid ! 

In a microwave of 1000 watts, let it cook for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. 

Do it for 1 minutes, first and let go 20 seconds by 20 seconds, to be sure.

Stick gently a knife's tip in the middle. It must be tepid, lukewarm. 

When it's done, put the foie in a jar or

Cover with the lid and in the fridge for 4 days minimum and 1O days maximum