Foie Gras

[Culverin]

Since xxx's thread asked about Berkshire Pork, that got me thinking about what else I have yet get my hands on.
It clicked that for me, was foie gras.

Despite my total food nerdyness and home cooking adventures, I never even considered tackling foie gras simply because of availability and price.


This changed on my recent trip to HK, it wasn't until my last day there that I finished all my touristy stuff and killed time by wandering into Jusco near Taikoo Shing. Bottom floor was a pretty uppity grocery market.

They seemed to stock the best of the best, so curious, I wandered over to the meat section.
mmmm, wagyu beef

Hmm, curious, what's that in vacuum bags... whoa, it's foie gras, omg, they're freaking huge. I wish there was a smaller pack.
Hey. omg, they sell them in tiny packs as well.
...... that looks kinda cheap.
math math math... WTF? SO CHEAP.
$15 a pack?!?!?!? must have!!!!

The problem was, that I was no longer had access to the apartment *sigh*, biggest regret of my whole trip.


After I got back home here, I started doing more research and found these:
TED Talk - Sustainable Foie Gras

YouTube

No Reservations - Au Pied de Cochon

YouTube

My question to you guys:
Is there a local farm?
I'm sure foie gras is available at those overpriced specialty food marts like meinhardt etc, but I'd rather not pay an arm and a leg when I would be just as willing to get the whole ducky.

So, ideally, you guys know of a local farm? (I've searched, but my google-fu is apparently pretty weak).

I'd like to be able to go and just get the whole duck.
I would do all the tough work of plucking and butchering it myself.
That way, I could use up all the ducky parts and nothing would be wasted.
I figured it's the least I could do in terms of respect and sustainability.

thanks guys.

[AVS_Racing]

yes foie gras in hk is freaken cheap it was sooo good too. all i know of locally is probably grandville island? but its probably very expensive? i think my frd said around $50 for a lil Pattie the size of your fist?

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

i never had a proper foie gras before, i know its high end and expensive. Kind of like shark fin soup's territory?


One thing i dont understand is why is it so expensive when they sell it at a restaurant? i mean why would it even be expensive to begin with ? there are shit loads of ducks, just like chicken. They aint rare, so why on earth would their liver be expensive? and judging by the video, their liver is actually pretty damn huge?

Chinese people eat pig livers, you dont see them paying an arm and a leg for it

[Meowjin]

because the ducks are forcefed corn hence the extra price.

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

thats the only reason? hmmm


than those special fed duck meats must cost extra too???

[Culverin]

Chinese Pig livers = leftovers from normal pigs we eat.
Foie gras = Specially farmed.

They are super force fed, this takes effort, care and time in order to do it.
Ditto with knowledge on how to properly run a foie gras farm.

Demand isn't super high, but supply is even lower, so that has made the price quite high.

As for how much you pay in a restaurant, places that would even serve foie gras in the first place are usually uppity so you'll get a premium.
It's considered a high end item, thus more premium.
My steaks are always screwed up when I eat out, and I'm thinking it'll be the same for foie gras, yet another reason i'm searching.

Please keep an eye out guys!

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

so can there be two types of foei gras?


one just farmed for the specific reason, to get top notch foei gras.


What about the regular ducks, thats being sold.....what do they do with the livers (left over?)

[turbomelon]

Imo sustainable foie gras just doesn't taste as good. Since they don't force feed sustainable foie gras ducks, they just harvest them before they migrate. I know you said you wanted a farm where you could just buy a duck, but as far as I know there are none locally that make foie gras. You could certainly buy a duck, but i don't think it'll taste all that great if you try to pan sear the liver that comes out of those ducks. I've had some sustainable foie gras and it was grainy and the texture was not all that great compared to the silky smoothness that comes from quality traditional foie gras.

I'd just get it from Armando's Finest Quality Meats and pan sear it. They sell em in smaller sizes too. Not that expensive probably 50-70 bucks for an entire liver 20-30 for a "smaller" half liver portion. In terms of restaurants I'm sure you've tried west or le crocodile their foie gras is probably the best in town in terms of eating out.

In terms of cooking it I usually just put a small amount of regular olive oil wait until the oil is hot and sear both sides for about 30-40 seconds. For each slice I usually empty out the oil and put in new oil since the foie gras lets off a lot of oil.. and if you leave it there you'll end up broiling/melting away your remaining foie gras pieces in fat/oil.

[Senna4ever]

Urban Fare sells it.

[unit]

its not that expensive. even in a restaurant, its usually about 20 bucks which is not bad.

[Gnomes]

When I was in Hong Kong, this chain restaurant was selling foie gras. 120HKD for a size of a pack of cigarette. My 1st experience, truly heavenly.

[bd0n]

The best Foie comes from quebec, and most if not all restaurants in the city order from http://www.auxchampsdelise.com/english/fresh.html they do it the most humane while also getting the nicest product, allways buy group B cause it will usually be just as good as group A.

[gomcse2002]

I think you can get frozen foie gras from either Gourmet World on E. Hasings in Vancouver or WAGGOTT'S SEAFOOD at Park Royal shopping centre in West Vancouver