I’ve mentioned it in the past; even though it might raise some eyebrows, foie gras, or duck/goose liver, is my guilty pleasure. Maman would always serve this French delicacy during our holiday dinner. If you’ve never tasted foie gras before, it’s like eating a piece of intensely flavored, semi-softened butter.
I got a lovely whole duck foie gras from The Milk Pail Market in Mountain View, CA. Instead of serving it as a main course (I’ll publish a main course recipe soon), I added the foie gras to a savory custard and made crèmes brûlées. Obviously, this is not your ordinary vanilla flavored dessert crème brûlée. I made savory crème brulees in the past with ingredients like garlic, so this isn’t exactly new territory for me. The result was amazing; foie gras and sweet flavors pair perfectly together. I added specks of foie gras to the custard as well as a large piece in the center of each ramekin. I also topped them with a larger chunk on top of the sugar crust as a reminder of the flavoring inside. I served the fancy starter with toasted bread so the foie gras could be spread onto the toasts.
1. Info for Foie Gras Creme Brulee Recipe
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
- Servings: 6
- Calories: 160kcal
2. Ingredients for Foie Gras Creme Brulee Recipe
- 1-½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 12 ounces duck foie gras (or any pâté)
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, as needed
- 1 pinch red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon combined cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, freshly ground
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon fleur de sel (or any sea salt)
3. Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Cut 8 ounces of the duck liver into cubes. In a mini-blender, mix the diced duck liver with ½ cup heavy cream and the milk until smooth.
- In a saucepan, heat the remaining cream. Bring to a near boil. Turn off the heat and immediately add the duck liver mixture. Strain the dairy liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove the large solids, which could be unpleasant.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 2 teaspoons of sugar until they become pale yellow. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, chili powder (if used), nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the dairy liquid with the egg mixture by slowly adding a ladle of the dairy liquid at a time to prevent the yolks from curdling.
- Strain one more time through a fine mesh and discard all the solids (if any).
- Cut the remaining duck liver into 12 rectangular pieces.
- Place one rectangle of foie gras in each ramekin. Fill the ramekins with the crème brûlée custard. Place them in a warm water bath in a deep baking pan. The water should go half-way up the side of the ramekins (at least a 1-½-inch-high level of water). Loosely cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Open the oven, remove the aluminum foil and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. The texture of the crèmes brûlées should be a little jiggly but not liquid (the custard will get firmer and creamier as it cools).
- Allow the crèmes brûlées to cool a little.
- When serving, sprinkle the top of each cup with sugar, then caramelize with a culinary torch.
- Heat a pan and sear the remaining 6 rectangles of foie gras for about 1 minute until golden. Garnish each crème brûlée with the seared foie gras. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.
- Serve immediately, at room temperature, with a piece of toast on the side.
- Bon appétit!