Pain de Foie Gras

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •700 to 750 ml metal terrine mould or small loaf tin
• •18 cm snug saucepan with lid
• •Heatproof mixing bowl and small saucepan for a bain-marie
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible scraper
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Shallow dish for setting the aspic croûtons

Instructions

1. 1

   Braise the foie gras

   Keep the foie gras cold while you remove any visible veins, disturbing the lobe as little as possible. Season it evenly with the salt and white pepper. Bring the Madeira to a bare tremble in a snug saucepan, lay in the foie gras, and cover. Braise over very gentle heat for 12 to 18 minutes, turning once and spooning Madeira over the exposed surface, until the centre reaches 63°C / 145°F. The liquor must never boil hard, or the liver sheds its fat instead of keeping its silken body. If bubbling becomes vigorous, lift the pan from the heat at once and let it settle before continuing.

2. 2

   Chill and cut collops

   Lift the foie gras onto a small tray and let it cool for 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate until completely cold, about 2 hours. Strain the cooking liquor into a narrow cup and chill it beside the liver so every trace of fat solidifies on top. Lift that fat away cleanly. With a thin knife warmed in hot water and wiped dry, cut six neat collops, meaning thin slices, about 3 to 4 mm thick and 120 g in total. Reserve them cold. If a slice cracks, add it to the portion destined for the sieve; nothing is lost.

3. 3

   Clothe the mould

   Keep the melted aspic barely fluid, around 30°C / 86°F. Pour ½ cup (120 ml) into a shallow dish in a layer about 6 mm thick and refrigerate it for the croûtons. Use the remaining clear poultry aspic jelly with Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916): set the mould in a bowl of ice, pour in several spoonfuls of jelly, and rotate it slowly until a thin, even coat clings to every surface. Drain away the excess and chill until firm. Fix three handsome truffle slices to the base with drops of aspic, cover them with another thin layer, and chill again. This is clothing the mould, and the cold metal replaces the broken ice and brigade hands of the original method.

4. 4

   Reduce the Madeira liquor

   Measure the completely degreased cooking liquor, then simmer it in the smallest saucepan you own until precisely half that volume remains. The reduction should smell round and concentrated, with no harsh breath of alcohol. Let it cool for 3 minutes. Reducing by half is not decorative scaffolding; it concentrates the Madeira and gives the yolks enough flavour without flooding the emulsion.

5. 5

   Build the warm emulsion

   Whisk the two yolks with the reduced cooking liquor in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water, keeping the bowl above the water rather than in it. Whisk until the mixture is pale, creamy, and holds the trace of the whisk. Add the butter a cube at a time, whisking each addition smooth before the next. This is the Hollandaise method, a warm yolk-and-butter emulsion. If the butter begins pooling, take the bowl off the heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cool water. If it breaks fully, whisk the spare yolk with 1 teaspoon of water in a clean bowl, then rebuild the sauce by adding the broken emulsion one spoonful at a time. Ça se rattrape. Whisk in the crushed hazelnut and softened gelatin until the gelatin has completely dissolved.

6. 6

   Sieve and fold

   Press the remaining cold foie gras through a fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper, leaving any coarse fibres behind. Let the Madeira emulsion cool to 35 to 38°C / 95 to 100°F, distinctly lukewarm but still fluid, then fold the sieved foie gras into it in three additions. Use broad, gentle strokes and stop the moment the mixture is uniform. This is the step that decides the Pain de Foie Gras: hot emulsion melts and separates the liver fat, while cold emulsion catches the gelatin before the mixture is smooth. If beads of fat appear, stop. Whisk the spare yolk with a teaspoon of cool water in a clean bowl over barely warm water, then work the broken mixture into it by spoonfuls and cool it back to lukewarm before proceeding.

   A food processor warms and overworks the liver. The fine sieve is slower but gives the close, silken texture the dish requires; this step stays.
7. 7

   Layer the pain

   Spread a 1 cm layer of foie gras mixture in the clothed mould. Lay on some reserved collops and truffle slices without pressing them into paste, then cover with another layer of the mixture. Repeat until the mould is filled, finishing with the foie gras mixture. If it begins setting before the mould is filled, hold the bowl over the warm bain-marie for five seconds, remove it, and fold once or twice until supple. Cover the final layer with a 5 mm cap of the clear poultry aspic jelly used for Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916).

8. 8

   Set it cold

   Cover the mould without disturbing the aspic and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. The butter, foie gras, gelatin, and aspic must set as one structure, so do not hurry it in the freezer. One cook, one stove, one evening of work, then the refrigerator takes the night watch.

9. 9

   Unmould and border

   Cut the shallow tray of clear poultry aspic jelly associated with Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles (No. 916) into small diamonds. These are the croûtons named by the book, pieces of jelly rather than bread. Dip the mould in lukewarm water for 5 seconds, dry it, invert it onto a chilled platter, and lift. If it resists, repeat for only 2 or 3 seconds; too much warmth melts the clear aspic clothing. Border the Pain de Foie Gras with the croûtons and let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing with a warm, dry knife. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for a whole, fresh foie gras lobe with no bruised green patches, which signal contact with bile. Duck foie gras has a fuller, more assertive flavour; goose is paler and gentler. Either serves the method honestly.
• •The aspic must set firmly enough to cut but remain tender on the tongue. Test a spoonful in the refrigerator before clothing the mould. If it slumps, correct the aspic in its own preparation before beginning this recipe.
• •A sound preserved whole truffle is better here than a tired fresh one. Drain and dry it thoroughly, because loose preserving liquor clouds the aspic and weakens the clean layers.
• •Serve the pain cool rather than painfully cold. Ten minutes outside the refrigerator softens the butter and foie gras enough for their flavour to open while the aspic remains firm. Pour a small glass of Madeira or a restrained sweet white wine.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the clear poultry aspic jelly up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Melt it gently only when you are ready to clothe the mould.
• •The foie gras can be braised in Madeira and chilled a day before assembly. Keep the liver and its strained cooking liquor covered separately and below 4°C / 40°F.
• •The completed Pain de Foie Gras keeps for 2 days in its mould. Unmould it up to 1 hour before serving, keep it cold, and add the aspic croûtons shortly before it reaches the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 255g)