Interested in French cuisine? Then figure out how to make foie gras.

What it is?

Foie gras is the fatty liver of fattened geese or ducks. By the way, the name is translated from French as “fatty liver”, so it fully reflects the essence of the product.

Birds are fattened in a special way, and this process cannot be called humane. First, geese and ducks feed naturally, then they are locked in cramped cages (thus movement and energy expenditure are limited) and fed with food rich in starch and protein. And the last stage is forced forced fattening. A special “gavage” pipe is placed directly into the bird’s throat, through which grain and fat are fed daily, and the volume exceeds the norm by 10 times!

The result is an exquisite delicacy that is popular not only in France, but throughout the world. One liver weighs about 500-700 grams, and the volume of fat in it reaches 40%. The hue can vary from pale yellow to light pink, and the structure is dense, but at the same time very delicate.

How to cook?

How to cook foie gras? There are many ways, and several will be discussed below.

Method number 1

You can cook fried foie gras. For this you will need:

• 200 grams of foie gras;
• 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (it is best to use olive oil);
• 3-4 lettuce leaves;
• a pinch of Provence herbs;
• salt to taste.

Cooking:

1. First, the liver must be washed well and cleaned of all veins. Next, salt it a little and rub it with Provence herbs. But do not overdo it with seasonings, they can kill the taste of the most important ingredient.
2. Cut the foie gras into small slices about 1.5 centimeters thick.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the liver on it. How long to fry such a product? Since it has a delicate texture, literally a couple of minutes on each side is enough.
4. Serve fried foie gras on lettuce leaves.

Method number 2

From the fatty liver of a duck or goose, you can make the most delicate pate.

List of required ingredients:

• 600 grams of fatty duck or goose liver;
• 70-80 grams of goose or duck fat;
• 1 head of onion;
• any seasonings to taste, for example, basil or Provence herbs;
• salt to taste.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Wash the liver, clean from the veins and cut into slices.
2. Peel the onion and chop finely.
3. Melt the fat in a frying pan and first fry the onion in it until soft, and then the liver. If desired, you can stew the ingredients under the lid for a couple of minutes to make them more tender. At the end or a minute before they are fully cooked, salt and season them.
4. Now place all the components in a blender or meat grinder and grind to end up with a homogeneous mass.
5. Serving such a tender pate is best served with hot crispy toast, it's very tasty!

Method number 3

Prepare delicious spicy foie gras with wine sauce. For this you will need:

• 400 grams of duck or goose liver;
• ground black pepper;
• coarse salt (you can use sea salt);
• 70 ml of wine (it is better to use white, it is lighter and has a mild taste);
• 30-40 ml of wine vinegar;
• a pinch of Provence herbs or other seasoning of your choice

Description of the cooking process:

1. First, properly prepare the liver: wash it, remove the veins and cut into medium-sized slices.
2. Prepare the sauce. To do this, simply mix wine, seasonings, wine vinegar and black pepper.
3. Lightly heat the salt in a frying pan, then lay out the liver and fry until tender.
4. Pour the foie gras with sauce and simmer for literally two minutes, and then serve.

Method number 4

This recipe is very unusual, as it involves the use of berries. But the taste of the dish is simply amazing!

List of required ingredients:

• 500 grams of foie gras;
• 300-400 grams of berries (for example, viburnum, strawberries, mountain ash, and so on);
• 3-4 tablespoons of sugar;
• 4 tablespoons of water;
• 3 leaves of fresh mint;
• salt;
• seasonings to taste.

Cooking:

1. The liver must be washed and cleaned of veins, and then cooked in any way convenient for you, for example, fry in a pan or send it to an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes, after wrapping it in foil (this way the product will retain juiciness). Before cooking, salt and season the foie gras, but not too much.
2. Now move on to preparing the berries. They need to be washed well and put in a pan, sprinkled with sugar. When they start up the juice, add water and cook everything until it thickens.
3. Place the foie gras on a plate cut into portions and pour over the berry sauce. Garnish the dish with mint leaves.

Method number 5

Prepare delicious and unusual pickled foie gras. Here's what you need for this:

• 600 grams of duck fatty liver;
• 500 ml of wine;
• basil, herbs de Provence and nutmeg to taste (a little of everything);
• salt.

Instruction:

1. Wash the liver and clean it from the veins, season it and salt it, place it in any container and pour it with wine. In principle, you can choose any other alcoholic drink, depending on your preferences.
2. Leave the foie gras to marinate overnight.
3. Next, wrap the liver with foil and send it to the oven preheated to 180 degrees. But place a container of water under the baking dish to make the heat treatment softer.

Method number 6

Delicious and unusual in taste, foie gras with grapes will turn out.

Required Ingredients:

• 300 grams of fatty goose liver;
• 100 grams of grapes (it is desirable to use a seedless variety);
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil;
• salt to taste.

Process description:

1. Wash the liver in running water and remove the veins. Wash and dry the grapes too.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the liver along with the grapes.
3. You can serve this dish with any sauce, for example, sweet and sour.

Treat yourself, guests and loved ones with delicious dishes!