Foie gras terrine

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 500 g poultry liver(s) (foie gras), raw, from goose or duck
• 50 ml cognac
• Salt and pepper, white
• 2 half pheasant breasts or pigeon or guinea fowl breasts, skinless and boneless
• 1 tbsp clarified butter
• 4 tbsp port wine
• 20 g truffles (winter truffles)
• 2 tbsp cognac
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes

Basic recipe and extension with insert

The liver must be raw, but can also be purchased frozen. You don’t need cleanly cut slices; offcuts can certainly be used. The liver must be free of all veins and nerves. This will inevitably disrupt its original shape somewhat. But that doesn’t matter, because everything will be reunited in the terrine. Place the prepared liver in a narrow container and pour in the cognac. Marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours, turning frequently to ensure the cognac is evenly distributed. Then lightly season the liver with pepper and salt, working the spices into the liver with your fingers. Remove the liver from the refrigerator for 30 minutes. For the basic recipe, choose a suitable terrine dish and press the soft liver into the dish, ensuring there are no air pockets. Leave 2 cm free at the top edge. For a terrine with a garnish, fry the desired two breast halves briefly in clarified butter until pink, season with salt and pepper, and deglaze with port wine over medium heat. You can also trim the breast halves to shape and cut them to the same diameter. Finely dice the raw parts and set aside. Cut the truffle into thin slices and pour the cognac over them. When the breast halves have completely cooled, quarter the truffle slices again and mix them evenly with the breast parts into the salt and pepper seasoned liver. Now choose a suitable terrine dish, fill halfway with the now truffled liver as described above, make a well in the center and place the breast halves one behind the other in the dish, then top with the other liver half on top. Whether with or without a filling, the dish should now be carefully tapped several times on a soft cloth to close any air pockets. Place the terrine in a larger, deep dish, pour hot water so that the terrine dish is three-quarters full, and place everything in the oven preheated to 130°C. Cook for 25-30 minutes. You can easily check the internal temperature with a thermometer and remove the terrine when it reaches 53-57 degrees Celsius. Now skim off some of the yellow fat, which will later, once the contents have cooled, be added to the top of the terrine as a solid mass to finish it off. Then let everything chill thoroughly for 24 hours before slicing the terrine and serving it with brioche as a salad, chutney, or other small side dishes. Serve with a sweet wine, such as Sauternes.