Chef Mashama Bailey’s Foie Gras and Grits Recipe

Foie gras (pronounced “fwah grah”) is a delicacy made from fattened duck or goose livers. French for “fat liver,” foie gras comes from force-fed waterfowl, a practice dating back to at least 2500 BC: Ancient Egyptian paintings illustrate humans force-feeding birds. Since producers feed the animals much more than they usually eat, their livers swell to up to ten times their normal size.

Restaurants typically serve the specialty food product seared, in mousse form, or as a pâté. Chefs often use truffles and dark liquors like brandy to flavor the delicacy, which has a buttery or creamy texture. You can purchase foie gras online or from certain specialty stores.

Although foie gras can technically be either duck liver or goose liver, most of the world's foie gras producers raise Muscovy ducks or Moulard ducks (a cross between a Muscovy and a Peking). The distinction between foie gras production and other duck farms is the force-feeding process, sometimes referred to by its French name, “gavage.”

Most foie gras farms feed their animals corn-based feed which they insert into the duck's esophagus through a long metal feeding tube; the process takes seconds. Force-feeding typically happens two to three times a day during a two- to four-week period. After the liver-fattening process, the producers will kill the ducks and process the duck livers.

France is currently the largest producer (and consumer) of foie gras, but Israel, California, and New York have had strong production of foie gras in the past. Foie gras production is currently illegal in California, and in 2019, the New York City Council voted to ban the storing and selling of foie gras in the state. New York state is the home base of two major foie farms that account for 90 percent of domestic foie gras production. The Supreme Court of Israel voted to ban foie gras farming in 2003.

Prepare raw, whole foie gras by removing any traces of green gall bladder attached to the liver, then split the two lobes of the liver in half by hand. Cut the lobes lengthwise to remove the veins. From there, four options are common for preparing foie gras:

1. 1. Seared foie gras: The easiest way to prepare fresh foie gras is to cut it into thick slices and sear it. When briefly seared in butter, foie gras becomes brown and slightly crispy on the outside and meltingly smooth on the inside. Since the liver is low in collagen, it becomes tender when you cook it briefly but can taste dry when overcooked.
2. 2. Foie gras terrine: To make a terrine of foie gras (also known as a pâté de foie gras), press the liver into a mold and gently heat it in a hot water bath to cook. After cooking, cool and slice the terrine.
3. 3. Foie gras torchon: A foie gras torchon involves rolling the livers in a towel and poaching them, making them easier to slice into rounds for an appetizer.
4. 4. Foie gras mousse: Purée cooked foie gras into a mousse and serve it spread on toasted Brioche.