普羅旺斯的天空下 Living in Provence

這鴨肝醬是為聖誕節所準備的其中一道配菜。 其實鴨肝醬、鵝肝醬在法國隨時都買的到, 特別是在聖誕節這段期間, 各大超市皆可看見'成山成堆' 的鴨、鵝肝醬產品, 價格也都還算合理。之所以想自己做鴨肝醬是因為畢竟現住在法國, 覺的總該試一試這法國的傳統菜餚。若真是要算食材成本, 其實還是買現成的較划的來, 但自己做的好處是可以依自己的喜好調味...還有, 我對自己第一次的成品, '味道上'非常滿意, 鴨肝醬鮮美無腥味; 但'技術上'則還需加強。

我收尋了多份不同的食譜, 自己訂出以下的材料:

 
- 1 份新鮮生鴨肝, 重約 660公克 (我選用的是法國西南有產地證明的鴨肝)
- 7.1公克 鹽之花
- 2 公克 粉紅胡椒
(* Rose / pink peppercorn: 它其實不是胡椒, 而是胡椒種的灌木類植物的莓果。之所以用此香料是因為它的味道柔和, 不會壓過鴨肝本身反而帶著一絲的甜味。此香料也很適合用在雞肉或白色魚類的調味。)
- 1 小搓五香粉
- 2 匙 Armagnac (法國西南產的蒸餾酒, 由葡萄酒再次蒸餾而成, 同白蘭地。可醃製鴨肝的酒:  Armagnac, Brandy, Port or Sauternes。)
少許現磨荳蔻

新鮮鴨肝的準備:
(請把鴨肝想像成一大塊奶油)

鴨肝於冰箱取出, 放於室溫2小時; 鴨肝一定要放軟後才能進行下一步, 也是最重要的步驟: 去除血脈 *(我個人認為此步驟...有點令人反胃; 決定要自製鴨肝醬時, 我對老公說, 我有可能會因為對處理生鴨肝反胃然後變成惡夢...重此向鴨肝醬告別...但我真的要說, 自己第一次的鴨肝醬真的很鮮美好吃!)

鴨肝放軟後, 小心的將它(臟葉)扳開 (一份完整的鴨肝帶著2個臟葉), 臟葉之間有許多血脈連結。用一小刀的刀鋒將血脈頭挑起, 然後慢慢的朝著你的方向拉起, 重複此動做直到所有能見的血脈清除完畢。

 

可以在手邊放一小碗溫水, 不時沖洗指間的油膩, 但要把手擦乾才能碰觸鴨肝

我的製作心得:  第一次去除血脈犯下的大錯就是, 到最後有點不耐煩了便將一部份的鴨肝撥成小塊來除小血脈...得到的懲罰便是, 鴨肝烹煮時, 小塊的鴨肝便先化為鴨油...寶貴的鴨肝變成上等鴨油...雖然'上等鴨油' 可以再利用, 但這不是製作鴨肝醬的目地...鴨油用鴨皮煉就可以了。

調味:

- 鴨肝處理好後, 放入一烤皿(或任一平底微有深度的瓷或玻璃皿)。
- 將所有乾的調味料混合均勻, 先將一半的量灑在鴨肝的一面並淋上一匙Armagnac; 鴨肝翻面, 用另一半的調味料及Armagnac調味鴨肝的另一面。
- 用保鮮膜將鴨肝覆蓋, 放入冰箱醃24小時。

烹煮:

- 鴨肝於冰箱取出, 放於室溫2小時。
- 將鴨肝分裝於1長條型陶皿 (terrine dish) 或殺菌過的玻璃罐 (法國超市有賣不同尺寸的可真空玻璃罐); 請將鴨肝填滿因為鴨肝煮後會縮, 用廚房紙巾將玻璃罐邊緣 (或長條型陶皿)擦乾淨, 預防沾黏的小鴨肝塊在烹煮中焦化。

(註: terrine dish 長條型陶皿是典型的裝置鴨、鵝肝醬容器, 特別是自製的鴨、鵝肝醬, 但對於只有2個人的小家庭, 我們無法在3-4天內將一條500-550公克的鴨肝醬吃完, 所以我用了3個各200公克的可真空玻璃罐。雖說鴨肝醬會用鴨油封住, 但長條型陶皿通常只用一陶蓋蓋住保存, 加上條狀的鴨、鵝肝醬切口面大, 與空氣的接觸面也就大, 相對的保存期現也較短。)

烤箱預熱至150C
(此鴨肝醬需隔水烤)

 

1.  將熱水 (70度C)倒入一有深度的烤盤, 水位需達長條型陶皿 (terrine dish) 或玻璃罐瓶身的一半
2.  熱水需達70度C才可將填滿鴨肝的玻璃罐放上烤盤進烤箱烤 (*此時一數位溫度計會很實用)
3.  進烤箱後, 烤45-50分鐘; 烤的途中需測試水溫是否為70度C; 溫度過低則加入些熱水, 溫度過高則加入冷水
4.  烤好後請小心取出 (*此時會見到許多鴨油...這是正常的)放涼

 
(*所以前面有提到'請把鴨肝想像成一大塊奶油'。我聽說品質越好的鴨、鵝肝化的油越少, 這點我還無法確認, 畢竟這是我第一次做而鴨肝的部份我也選購了可以算是上選的產品。知道自己犯的錯是將一部份的鴨肝撥成小塊來除小血脈導致小塊的鴨肝便先化為鴨油...所以若有興趣試做鴨肝醬的讀者請儘可能保持鴨肝的完整性)

- 當鴨肝稍涼時, 現在需要將 '乾淨的'鴨油和 '渾濁的'肉汁分別取出
- 在工作台上放 2 個碗, 將 '金黃色' (也就是乾淨的鴨油)倒於一碗, 當看見 '肉色或血色' (渾濁的肉汁)時便倒入另一碗中
- 渾濁的肉汁可以丟棄。 乾淨的鴨油拿來封住鴨肝醬, 待鴨肝醬完全放涼後 (鴨油凝固), 放入冰箱冷藏 2 天, 待味道更為濃郁便可開封享用

* 享用鴨、鵝肝醬時, 請於30-40分鐘前於冰箱取出

-  法國傳統的吃法是將鴨、鵝肝醬配上 brioche 小土司 (略帶甜味)、洋蔥或無花果醬 - 鹹甜的味蕾
-  我家的的吃法是將鴨、鵝肝醬配上自製有機無花果麵包 - 也是鹹甜的味蕾
(去年的聖誕節, 我做了洋蔥塔配上鴨肝醬, 今年應該也會再炒些焦化洋蔥做成一口塔配上自製鴨肝醬)

最後, 祝大家聖誕快樂!!


English Version:

Terrine de foie gras - first try

This is one of the dishes I prepared for our Christmas / holiday meals.  You would see tons of terrine de foie gras or other forms of foie gras products in France during Christmas, and they are usually reasonably priced.  I figured that I should try making my own terrine de foie gras at least once since I am now living in France.  Although it probably ends up costing more to make your own terrine de foie gras, it always tastes better when it is homemade and you get to season the foie gras to your taste.

I have read a few different recipes and this is what I did for my terrine de foie gras:

- 1 raw foie gras, around 660g
(The foie gras I bought was AOC'd duck liver from the south-west of France)
- 7.1g of fleur de sel
- 2g of rose peppercons (berries of the Baies rose)
- 1 tiny pinch of five spice powder
- 2 tablespoons of Armagnac
some freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation:

Remove the liver from the fridge at least 2 hours ahead.  You want the liver to be soft enough to handle so that you can remove as many veins as possible.

There are two lobes in each liver, spread the two lobes and try to remove all the veins.  Use the tip of a knife to pick and lift the veins, pull them carefully towards you.  It is hard to remove a vein without breaking it.  However, you should try to keep the liver intact, try not breaking it into too many smaller pieces - this is the first mistake I made (as the smaller pieces will melt during the cooking process).

I also had a small bowl of clean warm water next to me, so that I can keep my fingers less greasy.

Seasoning:

Place the liver in a baking dish.
Mix all the dry seasonings and sprinkle half of this mix on one side of the liver.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Armagnac.  Turn the liver over and repeat with the remaining spice mix and Armagnac.  Cover with plastic film and put the liver in the fridge for 24 hours.

To cook the liver:

Remove the liver from the fridge 2 hours prior to cooking.

Place the liver into a terrine dish (or small preserving jars).  As the liver will reduce during cooking, so try to top up your terrine dish or jars with the liver.  Use a kitchen paper to wipe clean the edge of the dish to prevent any small scraps of liver from burning during the cooking.

Preheat the oven to 150C

1.  Pull some hot water into a baking dish that is big enough to hold your terrine dish or jars.  (The water level should be halfway up the sides of the preserving jars.
2.  Check the temperature of the water, it should be at 70C (if it is not hot enough, place it in the preheated oven until it reaches the ideal temperature.)
3.  Once the temperature is right, place the terrine dish or preserving jars in the baking dish and cook for 45-50 minutes.  (During the cooking, you need to check the water temperature to make sure it stays at 70C.  I strongly recommend a digital thermometer so you can monitor the temperature to prevent it gets to hot.  Add some cold water when it gets too hot; some hot water if it is not hot enough.)
4.  Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool.
(You will see a large amount of duck fat / oil, but it is normal.)

When it is cool enough to handle, it is time to separate the clean fat and liver juice.  Prepare two bowls in front of you, pull out the clean (golden) fat into one bowl, and stop pulling when you see the brown / meat juice;  put the brown / meat juice into the other bowl.

Discard the brown juice, and now preserve your liver with the clean fat.  Allow it to cool completely, and then store in the fridge for 2 days for the flavour to enhance further before tasting.

Tips for savouring terrine de foie gras:

Remove the terrine de foie gras from the fridge 30-40 minutes before serving.  

Traditional way of eating:  Spread the foie gras over a special brioche toast and serve with some onion or fig jams.  
My way of eating:  Spread the foie gras over homemade organic fig bread.  
Last year, I made some little red onion tarts top with a piece of terrine de foie gras - this is another delicious way of indulging the terrine de foie gras.

Merry Christmas to you all and Happy Holidays!!