Foie Gras Butter

If you enjoy the flavor of Foie Gras you will like this recipe. First, it is a great way to stretch a relatively small amount of very pricey Foie. Secondly, there seem to be a lot of people who have trouble with the texture, and this technique eliminates that issue. The main ingredient is obviously Foie Gras. There is no need to seek out the most perfect piece of grade A super fresh liver. When I can find them Foie Gras Pieces (company’s trim from portioned slices) work great especially in light of their price point which is usually a third of the price as whole/portioned pieces. Also, don’t skimp on the booze. Use whatever you like, but don’t cheat yourself. Most liquor stores have a variety of pints if not little ‘airline’ bottles. Take the time to find what you want.

Foie Gras Butter

Eight oz room temp. Butter

Four to six oz Foie Gras

One shallot, sliced
One tsp thyme
One tblsp brown sugar
Two to four oz booze, I like Jack Daniels, port works well, scotch if you like, even sherry.

Salt and Black Pepper

Sear the Foie just as if you were preparing it to eat meaning one to two minutes per side. Strain the solids away and chill while returning the rendered fat to the pan. Over medium heat caramelize the shallots, and then add the thyme and sugar. Deglaze with the booze and remove from the heat as soon as the alcohol has burnt off. Chill this mixture to room temp.

You can use a fork to mix this up if need be but a food processer works best. Blend everything together at room temp. Roll this mixture up into a log with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This log of Foie Gras goodness can be frozen and used straight from frozen with great effect.

How to use Foie Gras Butter you might be asking. This recipe was designed as a compound butter to top steaks with. It would also work great in mashed potatoes, on a piece of tuna, over vegetables, or in a soup. If the butter is heated too much all the fat seems to separate, which isn’t totally bad, but just be warned.

Michael Rhulman recently had a nice post about eating Foie Gras at home. I hope we can open people’s minds to such a wonderful product.