Foie Gras, the Myth, and the facts.
Article Category - Food
When I began my research for this article I was as in the dark about the subject as are, I suspect, most people. This is a product that arouses passion, very strong passion, in the hearts of it’s protagonists, and it’s detractors. On the one hand lovers of Foie Gras maintain that it has no equal for taste and texture and is the ultimate in liver products. It’s detractors maintain that it’s very existence is a brutal and unpleasant manifetation of the worst aspects of animal husbandry. As is often the case there is some truth, I think, in both points of view. There are, without doubt, numerous ‘factory production’ establishments where the livestock are treated with an indifference which borders on or is actual cruelty. This is also true of many ‘factory’ systems for the production of meat products throughout the world, pigs, chickens, turkeys, veal calves have all been, and in many cases still are, ill treated. At the same time many enlightened farmers treat their livestock with kindness and concern. They would no more mistreat an animal than mistreat a child in their care.
Foie Gras is the liver of a duck (foie gras de canard) or a goose (foie gras d’oie) which has been force fed to encourage the unnatural growth of it’s liver, but the force feeding process mimics something that has been happening naturally for thousands of years. Ducks and geese are, for the most part, migratory birds and more than two thousand years ago the ancient Egyptians found that the birds gorged themselves for several weeks in advance of their north bound migration. This over eating resulted in the birds having very greatly enlarged livers, the fatty content of which provided them with an additional source of energy on their long trip north. The Egyptians also found that this enlarged liver was a great delicacy, and that forced feeding would produce the same results as that achieved by the birds gorging themselves in the wild. The breeding of ducks and geese for the purpose of producing this product has been happening ever since that time. I know that those with deep seated feelings will deny that this is the case but I have watched the ducks at Ferme Arnabar queue jump to get to the front in order to undergo the ‘unpleasant’ process of ‘gravage’ ahead of their peers. As with all types of livestock farming the attitudes and methods employed by the farmer with regard to his livestock are all important.
The ducks at Ferme Arnabar (yes they are ducks, just very large ducks) are reared in a large barn for the first three to four weeks of their lives. This is to protect them from the elements and the local fox and cat population. Once big enough to fend for themselves they are put into large (half hectare, about 1.25 acres) pens, about 500 birds to each pen. After another four weeks, now fully grown, they are transferred to even larger pens, fields really, complete with wooded areas and lakes. 
For the last four weeks of their lives they are transferred to a large field next to the farm where they can be ‘summoned’ for ‘gravage’ which takes place for the last two weeks before slaughter. The slaughter house is on site at the farm, the birds do not have to suffer transportation and the stress that causes.
I’ll leave the reader to make up their own minds with regard to the morality of Foie Gras production. The rest of this article concerns the different types of Foie Gras, and the uses to which it can be put, how to cook it, how to present it. Firstly I am dealing in this article with Foie Gras de Canard (duck liver) not Foie Gras d’Oie (Goose liver). There is no vast difference between the two, especially not with the very large duck breeds used by Arnabar and some other producers. Raw whole uncooked unpackaged livers (cru) are virtually unobtainable in the UK and for raw whole liver this article deals with Foie Gras de Canard Entier mi cuit which means ‘whole, part cooked, duck liver’. This is usually packaged in a glass jar of the ‘kilner’ type with a little duck fat and usually salt and pepper. It is this ‘entier’ that is used in the recipes that demand foie gras for cooking. Whole Foie gras is, as has been said, an ancient delicacy and has been part of the best gourmet recipes through the ages. A royal dish in the reign of Louis XVI, it was then celebrated by the greatest names in culinary history such as Auguste Escoffier head chef at the Savoy Hotel London who composed menus for Edward VII. Italian composer Giacchino Rossini gave his name to the renowned 'Tournedos Rossini' a creation of Antonin Carême. The writer Alexandre Dumas inserted foie gras recipes into his great culinary dictionary ‘Dictionary of Cuisine’. We have collected several recipes for the use of Foie Gras Entier on our site and I suggest you follow this 'recipes' link.
Foie Gras ‘en bloc’ is the pieces of liver left over from the short cooking process to which the ‘entier’ is subjected to. It is a homogenised pate (which is, of course, French for paste) very smooth and buttery but lacking the ultimate butteriness of ‘entier’ and unsuitable for further cooking. Foie Gras ‘en bloc avec morceaux’ is the same homogenised pate as the ‘en bloc’ but with the addition of small pieces of whole liver ‘morceaux’. In addition to this some producers also produce a product with added garnitures e.g. our own supplier Arnabar produces an ‘en bloc’ with the addition of ‘piment d’Esplette’ as a seasoning. ‘En bloc’ products are used cold without further preparation other than garnishes. The best method of ‘preparing’ an ‘en bloc’ product is to chill the can thoroughly, then remove both ends of the can and push the bloc from the tube. From here on in I suggest you follow this link recipes and enjoy.