Chicken & Rabbit Liver Mousse Brûlée with Pickled Apple
Makes 18 Servings
 |
DRINK PAIRING | |
|---|---|---|
| Champagne (blanc de blanc) | ||
Rich and creamy with additional layers of sweet & sour from the toppings, this mousse would make an excellent hors d’oeuvre for a dinner made with whole rabbits (they include the livers, why not make use of them?).
INGREDIENTS
- Liver Mousse:
- 1/2lb Chicken & Rabbit Livers (the more rabbit livers the better. We got ours from whole rabbits)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ½ sticks of Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp minced Fresh Thyme
- 1/8 cup Ruby Port
- ¼ cup + 2 tsp Heavy Cream
- Chevre Topping:
- ½ cup Chevre Goat Cheese
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
- Pickled Apple & Celery:
- ½ cup Granny Smith Apple, skin on, very finely minced
- 2 tbsp Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Tender Celery Leaves
- Thinly Sliced Toasted Rye Bread Crostini
- Granulated Sugar
DIRECTIONS
1
Cut any connective tissue off of the livers.
2
Preheat your oven to 230°F.
3
Poach the Mousse Ingredients: Preheat a sous vide machine (ideally) or a pot of water on the stove (in a pinch) to 122°F.
4
Put the eggs and livers in a sous vide bag or zip-top bag with as much air pressed out as possible. Put the bag in the water bath and either leave the machine running or remove the pan from the heat (depending on which method you’re using). Leave the bag submerged in the water for ten minutes.
5
Melt the butter on the stove or in the microwave.
- Make the Mousse:
6
Combine the bag’s contents with the salt, port, and thyme leaves in a blender. Blend until the mixture liquefies. Slowly pour in the melted butter, while continuing to blend, until the mixture becomes a smooth emulsion. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve twice and then mix in the heavy cream.
7
Pour the mousse mixture into ramekins – filling them by 2/3rds. Place the ramekins in a baking dish with room between them. Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil.
8
Put the baking dish in the oven, and use a pitcher to fill it with hot water until the water line is about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake, checking the temperature occasionally, until the internal temperature of the mousse reaches 143°F. This could take around 45 minutes.
9
Remove the dish from the oven, then the ramekins from the dish, and let them cool to room temperature.
10
Move the mousse to the refrigerator & chill thoroughly, ideally overnight.
- Make the Pickled Apple:
11
Combine the apple pieces, rice wine vinegar & celery leaves in a small bowl. Toss thoroughly to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes before use.
- Make the Chevre Topping:
12
Mash the chevre together with the 2 tbsp of heavy cream in a small bowl until combined.
13
Use an offset spatula to gently spread the chevre evenly across the surface of the mousse, using an equal amount for each ramekin.
14
Before serving, sprinkle plenty of granulated sugar on the top of each mousse, then use a culinary torch to brulee it into a thin, caramelized covering.
15
Once the sugar has cooled enough to set like glass (if it doesn’t, add more sugar & re-brulee), top it with some of the apple/parsley pickle.
16
Serve with rye crostini on the side.