Venison liver mousse

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g game liver(s) (preferably venison or deer), fresh
• 30 g porcini mushrooms, dried
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp thyme, fresh
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp sea salt, fine
• 75 g butter
• 4 cl port wine (Tawny)
• 2 cl whiskey (pure malt, e.g. Speyside), mild
• 100 g goose fat or pork fat
• some olive oil
• Pepper, black, freshly ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 days 20 minutes; Total time approx. 2 days 1 hour

Gibier foie gras mousse

Remove the skin and tendons from the livers and cut into large cubes. Fry over low to medium heat in a mixture of olive oil and butter until the center remains pink (approx. 3-5 minutes). Remove from the pan and let cool, then add the port wine to the pan and cook off any drippings. Soak the porcini mushrooms in a little lukewarm water (approx. 20 minutes) and then chop them finely. Reserve the soaking water. Once the livers have cooled slightly, chop them finely, roughly chop the garlic, and grate the bay leaf. Reserve a handful of the chopped livers. Place the rest in a bowl with the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, the port wine stock, the soaking water, and the whiskey, along with the butter, salt, and pepper, and puree until smooth. Fold the chopped porcini mushrooms and the reserved liver pulp into the mousse, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a terrine dish. Melt the lard and let cool slightly. Clean the edge of the terrine and carefully cover the mousse with the melted lard. Wait until the lard has solidified, then cover with foil and let it rest in the refrigerator for about two days.