Escalopes de Foie Gras à la Périgueux

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy stainless-steel skillet
• •1-quart (1-liter) heavy saucepan
• •Thin flexible metal spatula
• •Two shallow dishes
• •Cold sheet pan or metal tray
• •Warm round serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the Madeira sauce

   Pour the Madeira into a small heavy saucepan and boil briskly until reduced to ¼ cup (60 ml). Add the veal demi-glace, lower the heat, and simmer until about ¾ cup (180 ml) remains and the sauce naps the back of a spoon, meaning it leaves a clean line when you draw through it with a finger. Stir in the truffle juice or essence, remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the cold butter a few pieces at a time. Hold the sauce just warm. If it tightens too far, loosen it with a teaspoon of hot water; if it turns greasy after boiling, take it off the heat and whisk in a teaspoon of cold water. Ça se rattrape.

   The demi-glace is the home equivalent of the brigade's stockpot and saucier. Choose one that sets firmly when cold and tastes of roasted veal, not caramel or excess salt.
2. 2

   Prepare the escalopes

   Keep the foie gras cold until the moment you work with it. If cutting from a whole lobe, use a thin knife warmed in hot water and wiped dry between cuts, making four clean escalopes about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick and 2½ ounces (71 g) each. Lay them on a cold tray, blot away surface moisture without pressing, and season both faces with the salt and pepper.

3. 3

   Coat with truffle

   Put the beaten eggs and finely chopped truffle in separate shallow dishes. Dip each escalope into the egg, let the excess fall away, then roll it in the chopped truffle and press very lightly so both faces and the edges are evenly covered. Add no flour or breadcrumbs; the egg and truffle coat specified by the dish must remain itself. Chill the coated escalopes uncovered for 15 minutes. If a bare patch appears, dab it with egg and press on more truffle before sautéing.

   Chop the truffle finely enough to cling, but stop before it becomes a wet paste. Distinct small pieces give the finished crust its dark, nubbled surface.
4. 4

   Ready the sauté

   Warm a round serving platter and bring the Madeira sauce back to a gentle serving temperature without boiling it. Heat half the clarified butter in a 12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it runs freely across the pan and a loose crumb of truffle sizzles immediately. Clarified butter only in this pan. Whole butter's milk solids scorch before the truffle coat has time to set.

5. 5

   Sauté in batches

   Lay two refrigerator-cold escalopes in the pan, leaving room around them, and do not move them for 60 to 75 seconds. When the first crust has set, turn each one with a thin metal spatula and sauté the second face for 45 to 60 seconds. The truffle should smell deep and earthy, the coating should be set rather than charred, and the foie gras should yield gently at its center. If rendered fat floods the pan before the crust colors, the pan was too cool: lift out the escalopes, pour off the excess fat, reheat the pan, and return them briefly. Ça se rattrape. Transfer them to the warm platter, wipe away any loose blackened truffle, add the remaining clarified butter, and repeat with the final two.

   If the coating clings when you try to turn an escalope, give it another ten seconds. Pulling early tears the crust; a properly set surface releases with far less argument.
6. 6

   Dish in a circle

   Arrange the four escalopes in a close circle on the warmed platter and spoon the Madeira sauce flavored with truffle essence into the well at the center. Keep the sauce off the upper crust so the chopped truffle remains distinct. Carry the platter straight to the table; foie gras waits for no one. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy raw foie gras from a purveyor who will cut four firm, even 2½-ounce (71 g) slices for you. Uneven escalopes are troublesome here: the thin edge melts while the thick center is still cold.
• •Fresh black Périgord truffle gives the finest crust. Outside its season, whole preserved black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer; drain and chop them, then use their natural packing juice as the truffle essence. Truffle-flavored oil is not an equivalent.
• •Use only clarified butter for the sauté. Ordinary butter may taste agreeable at first, but its milk solids blacken before the cold foie gras and egg coating have set, leaving bitterness exactly where the truffle should speak.
• •Foie gras is traditionally served warm and rosy within. Keep it below 40°F (4°C), buy it from a reputable source, and choose another preparation for guests who require poultry liver to be cooked completely through.
• •A mature red Bergerac or a dry Madeira suits the earthy crust and dark sauce. Keep the accompaniment quiet, pommes Anna or a smooth celery-root purée, because this dish has already said quite enough.

Advance Preparation

• •Reduce the Madeira with the demi-glace up to one day ahead and chill it covered. Reheat gently, then add the truffle essence and cold butter shortly before serving.
• •The foie gras can be portioned earlier on the day of cooking and held on a covered cold tray. Keep the slices flat so their edges remain clean.
• •Chop the truffle up to two hours ahead and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator. Coat the escalopes only 15 to 30 minutes before sautéing, or the egg will dampen the truffle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)