Jennifer McLaganJennifer McLagan's new cookbook, Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes, is a celebration of animal fats such as butter, lard and chicken skin, which she argues are not only delicious but also extremely healthy.

She makes terrine of foie gras at Christmas — she and her husband live in Toronto but they also have an apartment in Paris, and that's where the tradition started.

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Book coverTerrine of Foie Gras

Although it is more fashionable to serve foie gras hot, my favorite way to eat foie gras is in a terrine, because you can take your time and enjoy the texture and the taste. You may look at this recipe and think that it is too long and complicated to tackle. It also requires planning: the cooked terrine needs a good 5 days in the refrigerator to mature, and you must start preparing the livers 24 hours before you cook them.

This is certainly not fast food, but making your own terrine is very satisfying.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from one of my culinary heroes, French chef Joël Robuchon. Accompany the terrine with toasted brioche or country-style bread and fleur de sel.

Serves 12
  • 2 fresh duck foie gras (about 2 to 3 pounds / 1 to 1.5 kg total)
  • 4 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons superfine (caster) sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons quatre épices (see page 91)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

On the morning of the day before you plan to cook the terrine, remove the foie gras from the packaging and carefully note the combined weight of the livers. Prepare the livers for cooking (according to the instructions on page 130 of the book).

In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, sugar, quatre épices, and nutmeg. Sprinkle this mixture over the deveined liver lobes and pieces, turning to evenly distribute the spices. Return the pieces to the bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the livers from the refrigerator and discard any liquid that has seeped from them. Let them rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

Cut a heavy piece of cardboard to fi t inside the bottom of a 6-cup / 1.5-l earthenware or enameled cast-iron terrine dish with a lid. Wrap the cardboard in plastic wrap and set aside. Place the terrine dish in an ovenproof pan deep enough to allow the water to come within 1 inch / 2 cm of the top of the terrine dish. Estimate the amount of water required for this water bath and pour it into a large stockpot. Set the pan and the pot aside.

Put one of the large lobes, fl at side down, in the bottom of the terrine dish, pressing fi rmly so it molds to the bottom of the dish. Place the strips and smaller pieces of liver around to fill in the gaps. Add the two smaller lobes and finish with the second large lobe. Arrange the livers so they fit as snugly as possible, pressing down firmly.

Don’t worry if the livers rise above the top of the terrine; they will sink during cooking. If your livers are small, they may not reach the top, but this is fine; it will simply result in a thinner finished terrine. Cover the terrine with its lid or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250°F / 120°C. Clip a kitchen thermometer to the side of the pot with the measured water. Bring the water to exactly 176°F / 80°C over medium-high heat. Put some ice cubes in a bowl and remove the terrine from the refrigerator.

Place the covered terrine in the ovenproof pan and carefully add the hot water to the pan. Using the kitchen thermometer, check the temperature of the water again; it should drop to 158°F / 70°C. Add a couple of ice cubes if it has not dropped enough. When the temperature is correct, place the pan with the covered terrine in the oven and cook for exactly 25 minutes per 1 pound / 450 g. The cooking time and temperature is crucial. Too hot or too long and the liver will melt; too cold or short and it will not be cooked. The internal temperature of the cooked terrine should be 120°F / 48°C.

Remove the cooked terrine from the pan, uncover, and let cool slightly. The livers will be floating in a bath of golden fat. Place the plastic-wrapped cardboard template on top of the terrine and, using it to hold the livers in place, carefully pour off the fat that has been released from the livers into a large measuring cup. Let the fat stand for about 10 minutes so the cooking juices sink to the bottom, then pour enough of the fat back over the livers so that they are barely covered. Discard any cooking juices at the bottom of the measuring cup, but reserve any extra fat for another use (see page 71).

Let the terrine cool on a wire rack until cool, 2 to 3 hours, and refrigerate until the fat is just fi rm, 1 hour. Place the plastic-wrapped cardboard on top of the terrine and weight it down with 2 cans of beans or something of a similar size and weight. Refrigerate the weighted terrine for 24 hours.

Remove the weights and the cardboard and cover the terrine with the lid or aluminum foil. Leave to mature in the refrigerator for at least 2 days, and preferably 4 days.

You can slice the terrine directly in the dish, but you will get better slices if you turn it out. To unmold the terrine, dip the dish in hot water for about 30 seconds and then loosen the edges with a small, hot palette knife. Turn the terrine out onto a cutting board and then invert it so that the fat is on top. Using a hot knife, cut the terrine into slices. As you slice, have a pair of tweezers handy to pull out any missed veins.

Lay each slice on a plate, covering each slice with a square of plastic wrap and pressing it fi rmly onto the surface. Leave the slices at room temperature and serve just when the layer of fat is beginning to melt.

Once the terrine is cut, it should be eaten within 10 days. Keep it wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

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Excerpted from Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes by Jennifer McLagan. Copyright © 2008 by Jennifer McLagan. Excerpted by permission of McClelland & Stewart Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher."