The Christmas foie gras

If foie gras is to be part of your holiday celebrations and you've always wanted to try doing your own, now's the time to be thinking about it. Here's one way to do it:

DUCK FOIE GRAS EN TERRINE

Serves 6-8
a 700-800g duck liver
1 level teaspoon salt (calculate 12g per kilo of liver)
a pinch of white pepper
a pinch of nutmeg or quatre-épices

• Break open the liver into its two main lobes, peel away any fine membrane
• With a small, pointed knife, prise out the veins as best you can – it doesn’t matter if you break up the liver, it will be pieced together again in the terrine
• Lay the de-veined pieces in a shallow dish in one layer
• Measure the salt (or weigh it out – 12g per kilo of liver) and mix it with pepper and spices; sprinkle this all over the liver
• Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight
• Pack the pieces of liver tightly into a terrine just large enough to take the whole quantity – it should be full to the rim (lots of fat will float to the top)
• Cover the terrine with foil and a lid, put it in a roasting pan and fill the pan with warm water to come two-thirds of the way up the sides of the terrine
• Heat the oven to 110oC; insert a thermometer in the water, put the pan on the hob and heat the water till the thermometer reads 70oC
• Put the whole shooting match in the oven and bake for 40 minutes
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour
• Remove the lid and scrape away any excess fat (keep for frying: wonderful!)
• Cut a piece of cardboard the size of the rim of the terrine and wrap it in foil
• Place the foil-covered cardboard on top of the foie gras, put a weight on top
• Refrigerate the foie gras, complete with its weight, for a few hours
• Remove the cardboard/foil + weight, scrape the fat off the cardboard/foil and off the top of the foie gras and put it in a small pan
• Melt the fat gently and pour it back over to completely seal the foie
• Replace the lid and refrigerate the foie for 2-3 days, and up to one week
• Once broached, foie gras should be eaten up pronto