Foie gras terrine is a classic French delicacy very popular, especially at Christmas time. Fat duck liver is slowly cooked in a terrine at bain marine and served with spiced bread or savory brioche and balsamic fig jam. It has a rich buttery taste flavored with Cognac and Porto.
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Ethical foie gras
Foie gras is a duck or goose liver fattened by force-feeding.
This technique of forced feeding is very controversial and some countries have banned its production.
Although this method of fattening the duck liver was used way back in 2500BC by the Egyptians.
We can also find recipes on the first Roman cookbook from Apicium: "De Re Coquinaria".
You can find out more about ancient Roman food in the article: The Fascinating Ancient Roman Food And Recipes.
In France, foie gras is considered a protected cultural and gastronomical heritage.
The European Union recognizes the foie gras produced according to traditional farming methods.
There is a very interesting article about foie gras farming in the United State written by J. Kenji López-Alt at Serious Eats: Foie Gras new fire on an old debate.
Read the article as it raises interesting points.
The physiology of a duck is very different from a human or a cow and the method used to force-feed a duck cannot be compared as if it was applied to a human being
As long as you buy the foie gras from a reputable farm, duck farming is no different than other farms raising animals for human consumption.
Difference between Terrine, Torchon, Pâté
While foie gras is the fat duck or goose liver, the way it can be preserved and cooked may differ.
- Terrine: the whole foie gras is marinated in brandy and cooked in a terrine at bain-marie.
- Torchone: the whole foie gras is cooked wrapped in a cloth (torchone in French) and it has a round shape.
- Pâté: the Pâté de foie gras is not made with the whole liver. The foie gras is minced and mixed with other meats and /or vegetables and spices to form a paste.
Ingredients
Foie gras: when you buy the foie gras, make sure it is already deveined. Removing the veins without breaking the liver into pieces is very difficult. Make sure the liver has been produced on a reputable farm, the fresher the better. I bought mine directly in Toulouse at the shop called: La Canarderie
Marinade: the foie gras has to marinate, usually in Porto and Cognac. However, I used Cognac and my homemade orange liqueur. It came out delicious.
Spices: I only used coarse salt and freshly grated black pepper
Step by step instructions with images
Marinate the foie gras
- Mix the cognac, the orange liqueur with salt and pepper
- Open the two lobes of the foie gras on a plate and
- Gently pour the marinade over the liver
- Sprinkle the bottom of the terrine with coarse salt
- Place the liver in the terrine and pour the remaining marinade over it
- Cover and let it marinate overnight in the fridge
Cooking it
- Remove the terrine from the fridge
- Heat up the oven at 210 F - 100 C
- Once the oven has reached the temperature, place the terrine in a large pan
- Pour into the large pan some boiling water to cover ⅔ of the edges of the terrine and bake for 50 minutes
- To check that the liver is cooked, you can pierce it with the top of a knife. The knife should enter smoothly
- You can also check the internal temperature. It should be at 110 F - 45 C
Maturing it
The foie gras is still not ready, it needs to mature at least 5 days before being served.
- Let the foie gras come down to room temperature for about 30 minutes
- Cover and keep it in the fridge for 5 days
How to remove it from the terrine and serve
You can serve the foie gras in the terrine, but if you want to serve it in a tray, proceed as follow.
- Place the terrine in hot water for 1 minute
- With a foie gras scoop, detached the fat from the edges
- Turn the terrine upside down in the tray
- Remove the terrine
- Serve the foie gras on a tray
- To slice the foie gras use a wire slicer
Tools you need
Ovenware Terrine small size: to cook the foie gras
Round Cake Pan, 12-Inch: to bake in bain-marie. You may be able to use a smaller pan, but I found this large size pan handy for any other bain-marie baking.
Slate Cheese Board Set: this set is very handy to have and not only for foie gras. You can also serve cheese or any small appetizers
Foie Gras Cutter: this tool is specifically used to perfectly slice the foie gras. It is a wire attached to a handle.
What to serve with foie gras
How they serve it in France
Here in France, the foie gras is served with pain de epices and fig compote.
- Pain de epices is a soft bread made with ginger, molasses, and brown sugar. I personally don't like it but if you want to try I will publish the recipe later in the year.
- Fig compote is a savory fig jam with balsamic vinegar and cinnamon. I will publish the recipe in the next few days.
How I prefer to serve it
Frankly, I rather serve the foie gras with a regular fresh good quality bread. The foie gras doesn't really need additional strong flavors.
Sometimes I make a fresh savory brioche in the bread machine, and you can find the recipe in the recipe card below.
To eat the foie gras, I place a slice on the bread and sprinkle some coarse salt and black pepper.
My boys love to add the fig compote, the sweetness of the fig compote gives a good contrast to its buttery flavor.
The best wine for foie grass
It is very important to serve the foie gras with a sweet white wine.
In France I always buy Sauterne.
Other French wines are Jurançon or Monbazillac.
More French delicacy you may like
If you are making the homemade foie gras terrine, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.
📋 Homemade Foie Gras Terrine
Verified Culinary AuthorityVideo
Ingredients
For the foie gras
- 1 lb raw foie gras
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon cognac
- 2 tablespoon orange liqueur
Brioche
- 500 gr flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200 ml milk
- 150 gr butter melted but not hot
- 2 fresh eggs
- 2 tablespoon yeast
Instructions
Marinate the foie gras
- Mix the cognac, the orange liqueur with salt and pepper2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoon cognac, 2 tablespoon orange liqueur
- Open the two lobes of the foie gras on a plate and1 lb raw foie gras
- Gently pour the marinade over the liver
- Sprinkle the bottom of the terrine with coarse salt
- Place the liver in the terrine and pour the remaining marinade over it
- Cover and let it marinate overnight in the fridge
Cooking the foie grass
- Remove the terrine from the fridge and heat up the oven at 210 F - 100 C
- Once the oven has reached the temperature, place the terrine in a large pan
- Pour into the large pan some boiling water to cover ⅔ of the edges of the terrine and bake for 50 minutes
- To check that the liver is cooked, you can pierce it with the top of a knife. The knife should enter smoothly
- You can also check the internal temperature. It should be at 110 F - 45 C
Maturing the foie gras
- Let the foie gras come down to room temperature for about 30 minutes
- Cover and keep it in the fridge for 5 days
Remove it from the terrine
- Place the terrine in hot water for 1 minute
- With a foie gras scoop, detached the fat from the edges
- Turn the terrine upside down in the tray and remove the terrine
Savory brioche in the bread machine
- Mix together all the wet ingredients200 ml milk, 150 gr butter, 2 fresh eggs
- In a seperate container mix the flour with the sugar and the salt500 gr flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bread machine, then the dry ingredients
- Add the yeast and put it in the bread machine to make the dough. It should take 1.5 hours2 tablespoon yeast
- Once the dough is ready, place it into a greased and floured loaf pan
- Brush the top with egg wash and let it rest for another 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes at 355 F - 180 C
- Let it cool down for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and slicing it
Serving the foie gras
- To slice the foie gras use a wire slicer
- Serve the foie gras on a tray with brioche and fig balsamic jam and a glass of sweet white wine Sauterne
Notes
- Make sure you buy the foie gras from a reputable farm
- When you buy the foie gras, make sure it is already deveined
- You can use Porto and Cognac to marinate it
- It is best to let the foie gras mature 5 days, but you can also eat it the next day
Robert
Great recipe. Thank you
FB
I tried this and I think that maybe it should be 2 teaspoons of salt per lb of fois gras. I put less than 2 tablespoons and it turned out very salty.
Laura
Thank you for letting me know, it was a typo on the recipe card and I have corrected it. It is 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of peppers. You can see that in the video I do not use tablespoon to measure the salt.