Jacky’s Aged Foie Gras French Toast

Jacky Cheng

Rationale:

Designing a recipe is a one-of-a-kind experience. Having the outcome live up to expectations is satisfying already, but the true pleasure in cooking comes from encountering the rare dish that surpasses even the best attempts to imagine it. The "Aged Foie Gras / French Toast" is one of those dishes.

Inspired by Taiwanese chef André Chang’s beeswax-aged duck foie gras, I modified this dish to instead start with fattier goose foie gras, and aged it directly in truffle honey and tawny port. The honey marinade and rendered foie gras were then used to prepare French toast.

I had expected a simple, powerful dish, with the intense richness of foie gras at the center stage. The end result, however, was much more complex. The foie gras, after aging in truffle honey for 18 days, practically melted in the mouth. The flavor was an illusion of floral aromas - the fattiness of the liver and the tinge of honeyed sweetness combined to release notes of fig and apricot. The finish remained sweet and fragrant, almost like a fine tea.

The French toast, one the other hand, was coated with caramelized notes from honey and port - every bite released mature aromas of smoke and vanilla, almost like a glass of oaked Chardonnay. The tinge of port acidity balanced against the foie gras’ fattiness, while the slightly crispy crust contrasted with the fluffy interior. A deceptively simple recipe has yielded a dish that brings out the best qualities of each ingredient and merges them in a harmonious dish.

"Aged Foie Gras / French Toast" is unquestionably elegant, yet "elegance" cannot fully describe its domineering aura, rarely seen in French cuisine. Combining the best flavors from all kingdoms: foie gras, truffles, honey, and wine; then maturing them over time, has resulted in an intense yet melodic quality.

To be powerful, yet not overwhelming, in my opinion, is one of the hardest balances to achieve. This applies not only to cooking, but to all walks of life – think powerful yet dynamic audio, or the restrained growl of a finely-tuned engine. In this case, the loud yet detailed expression of flavor has created a dish that truly exceeded my expectations.

 Design:

·      Age foie gras – 2+ weeks

·      Sear foie gras and chill

·      Prepare French toast

Materials:

Foie gras                                         1

Truffle honey                           some

Tawny port                               some

Brioche or sourdough            some

Egg                                                   1

Procedure:

Aging foie gras

1.    Mix truffle honey and tawny port to create manageable consistency

2.    Add foie gras to bag, seal and age for 2+ weeks

Sear foie gras

3.    Using a hot knife, cut a thick slice of foie gras. Consider that foie gras collapses in height when seared

4.    Score one side of the foie gras lightly

5.    Sear for 45 seconds on each side. Keep the rendered fat in the skillet

6.    Chill in freezer on a metal tray

Prepare French toast

7.    Cut brioche or sourdough into a strip

8.    Mix an egg and some foie gras marinade

9.    Soak bread in marinade, then sear in the rendered foie gras fat

10. Sear until caramelized spots appear on the bread

11. Serve foie gras cold and brioche hot