Whole Roasted Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Apples and Black Truffles

I don't think it's any secret that when I started cooking The French Laundry Cookbook, I was completely squicked out at the thought of deveining a foie gras. After angsting about it for months, I eventually did it and found it strangely satisfying... and now I actually look forward to it. So, when the foie arrived from D'Artagnan, it was all I could do to get through that first 24-hour soaking in milk before I could get to the deveining. I know. I'm weird. Let's just get that out of the way, shall we? Okay, moving on...

Here's the foie in its packaging, and after having soaked in milk, just before deveining:



After deveining it and putting it all back together, I covered it in salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar, then put it in a glass baking dish. I pressed plastic wrap tight against it, then wrapped the entire dish and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 10 hours.

This dish originally called for thin slices of Granny Smith apple and chunks of truffle to be served with it, but I was so enamored with the foie with pickled cherries I'd made this spring, that I decided to improvise a bit. Foie gras is very rich and incredibly decadent, so I wanted something sweet, tangy and a little bit zippy to go with it. So, instead of the Granny Smith apple slices and truffle, I made a rustic apple and onion relish. I peeled, cored and cubed three Granny Smith apples, chopped up half a red onion, and put it all in a pan with some red wine vinegar, salt and sugar:



I cooked it over medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes, then on medium-low heat for about twenty minutes, then let it come to room temp:



It smelled so lovely, I couldn't wait to try it with the foie. I preheated the oven to 475 degrees and got the foie out of all its wrappings. I cut off a small piece of the foie and put it in a heavy sauté pan to render the fat so there would be some fat upon which to sear the whole foie. I then scored the top of the foie and placed it top side down into the hot pan, moving it around so that the sides of the foie would touch the inside edge of the pan, as well. After about 5 minutes when it was sufficiently browned, I flipped it, added five unpeeled-but-smooshed garlic cloves, and did the same thing to the other side.

When the other side was starting to brown, I placed a bunch of thyme on top of the foie and placed the entire pan of it in the oven for about 5 minutes. I took it out and let it rest for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to a serving plate:



Look at all that drippy, awesome fat. I shudder in the presence of its awesomeness.

Because this dish naturally lends itself to being served "family style," I invited the neighborhood and a few other friends over to celebrate a great week for French Laundry at Home. I served this in the dining room, and we all stood around the table slicing off pieces of foie, placing them on toasted brioche and baguette, topped with the apple and onion relish, and devoured almost the whole thing in no time. The relish was a huge hit, and I'm surprised that we plowed through the foie as quickly as we did. It was absolutely delicious, and the best preparation of it I've made thus far. If you're feeling a bit decadent this holiday season, and you have adventurous friends when it comes to eating, I recommend trying this. It's incredibly easy to make, and if that first bite doesn't make your eyes roll back into your head, then I don't know what will, you crazy monkeys.

Up Next: Roquefort Trifle with French Butter Pear Relish

Resources:
Foie Gras from D'Artagnan
Garlic, apple, chives and thyme from Whole Foods

Music To Cook By: Yael Naim, assorted. There's a lot of great music coming out of France lately, and Yael Naim is my new favorite. She's a bit quirky, but the music is boppy, odd and fun. A friend of mine in LA hipped me to it, and I'm glad he did. Enjoy!