questions about foie gras

[sommrluv]

Most commercial operations do NOT cage their birds. That's an exaggeration. Actually, most American operations have free ranging areas.

Here's a great discussion on natural raised foie by Chef Michael Ruhlman:

http://blog.ruhlman.com/2008/04/best-foie-gras.html

If you've ever fed a baby bird, or watched one being fed by it's mother...that is gavage. It is natural, unpainful, as a bird has no gag reflex.

Here's a video with two foie farms, one naturally raised in Spain, one forced fed in France.

I've seen a french video where the farmer DOES NOT hold down his geese, they freely come, but I can't seem to find it.

The woman in the video, Janice, has some points, but I don't agree with her on every one.

 

[beerman]

It can be made from duck or goose. I have cooked with it for years in fine dinning. I think it is OK to me it just tastes like butter. It is illegal in some places. Ill ask around down here to see if anyone makes it at home.

 

[AHappychick]

wow I was unaware of how it was made. I tasted it a few times and never really liked it so I never gave it much thought. I do like the way the people in spain raise thiers maybe its not quiet as good but sure is better on the goose!

Good Luck making your own I think if you use the natural way it sounds like something good to try

 

[sparkles2307]

If you get on Google and search "foie gras book" it brings up a lot of literature about it, pro and con, recipes and history. I went to the "Shopping" results on google after I looked it up. I think livere is nasty and am against force feeding any animal, but if the ducks have a good life and arent force fed just over fed a bit I dont see an issue with the production. Heck we stuff our calves as full as they can get and limit their excercise area to a small feed lot in order to finish them off for market so I dont see a lot of difference...and our calves are VERY happy.

 

[Bossroo]

My grandmother always had foie gras for Christmas, not only for the adults but for all of us grandkids too. It is to die for. Also, she rendered the goose fat down and had tubs of it that she served spread on black bread. Us grandkids would always ask for seconds, it was so good. She raised her young geese in the barnyard, then when the winter snows got too deep, the fat grass fed geese were braught into the barn. Then for a few weeks before Christmas she would bring in 3-4 select geese into her enclosed back porch to be fattened up. (She got too cold trudging out to the barn 3 times a day.) She would make a hot grain plus stale leftover bread, pastries, etc. mixed mash and roll them into finger size servings and then go out to the porch and handfeed those geese one by one like a mother bird feeding her young in the nest who eagerly begged and gorged themselves three times a day until litterally they couldn't stand , much less walk anymore.

 

[lokalori]

for anyone more interested in the process I found this website. It was in french but I used linked it through google translator.


-Loki

 

[Wifezilla]

"we will spend the nail on the inside. It should certainly not crash " LOLOL

Don't you just love translation software?

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
I'm beginning to understand now. I had purchased some French stock muscovy ducklings from JM Hatchery that were supposed to be up to 50% larger than other muscovies. I penned these ducklings, and fed them a 24% broiler mix until I noticed that some of the larger males could hardly walk. When I slaughterd a male, I found the largest muscovy liver that I have ever seen.

I like that one recipe that I saw on the fatty liver site. Think I'll give it a try when I get a chance.

 

[uhuh555]

Foie grasis is best done with males (females have 4 to 5 times the blood veins in/around their livers making them less desirable).

Raise them on game bird starter with the highest protein % you can get.

At 14-17 weeks (you can do this with any mature bird) confine them to small pens were the water and feed dishes are close together to reduce their movement but not so small that they can't even move (that would be unkind). Provide light 24/7, this increases their feed consumption.

Cook corn meal to make a mash, add 1 cup of canola per 1 quart of cooked corn meal mixing it well. Only feeding the oil/corn meal mash allow them to eat all they want 24/7 until ready to butcher (3 to 4 weeks).

The livers are not as large as in the forced feed tightly cages birds. This way is less cruel--I say less cruel because you end up with a bird that is very unhealthy, teetering on death due to liver failure, crowding of lungs and other organs. The meat quality is lowered due to build up of toxins in the blood (livers cleanse the blood of these toxins)--results are a fatty over-sized liver.

Good luck with your efforts to do this.

 

[fla_native]

Ive never been a big liver fan but foie gras is great!
I have never been able to understand the arguments against it.
Heck, we breed chickens (cornish X) designed to force feed themselves!
Why not foie gras?