Foie Gras has long served as a shorthand way for chefs to signal elegance and luxury. What chefs don’t mention is that it’s pretty easy to work with, particularly if you use pre-sliced foie. So an over-the-top blow-out – not just one small course with its own surcharge, but a whole tasting menu that features this rich and indulgent ingredient – is totally achievable at home.

We’ve designed a menu heavy on advanced prep – all you’ll be doing during the party is searing lovely pre-cut and pre-scored slices of foie. And we’ve paced it carefully, with bright and bold flavors throughout, so that your guests aren’t crawling for the couch in a food coma by the third course.

The Menu

#1 Raw Foie
A daring start your tasting menu. Did you know foie can be eaten raw? Grated finely on a microplane or shaved super-thinly with a peeler, it’s both surprising and melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
Wine pairing: Champagne

#2 Foie Gras with Corn Pudding & Blueberries, single recipe x 8
A lovely close to a series of dishes highlighting a variety of preparations and flavor pairings, this modern classic is a gorgeous homage to foie.
Wine pairing: Sauternes

#3 The FLT, double recipe and served with a Foie Gras Aioli
Your diners are already delighted and curious – keep the playful vibe rolling with this play on a BLT that replaces the bacon with an unctuous slab of seared foie.
Wine pairing: Chardonnay

#4 Foie Gras Mousse, double recipe
A classic preparation, and another genius way to use the pieces you don’t sear and serve. We like to serve this with some of the jam used in course #1, pickled cherries or raisins, and toast.
Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon

Prepare the day before:

• If you’re using whole lobes of foie, clean and prep them, as in this video. Portion out at least 16 good-looking slices of foie, around 2 ounces each (I’d prep four extras just in case). Don’t worry if you end up with bits and scraps as you portion out these pretty slices – you’ll use these for the shaved raw foie, the aioli, and the mousse.
• Whether you’ve just portioned whole lobes of foie or you’re using pre-sliced foie, you can save time by scoring them with the classic diamond pattern now. Freezing sliced foie makes it much more forgiving to sear, so keep these prepped slices in the freezer overnight, in a well-sealed container, separated from each other with parchment paper.
• Heat around 8-10 ounces of foie bits and scraps over medium heat, spooning the fat that renders out through a fine mesh strainer – you’ll use 3 ounces in the aioli, and 4 ounces in the mousse.
• Make the foie gras aioli, and hold in the fridge overnight.
• Make the foie gras mousse, let it cool in the fridge, and then top each with a thin layer of the remaining rendered foie fat.

Before the party starts:

• Prepare all the other components of course #3. Wash, dry, and separate lettuce leaves; slice tomatoes; portion and toast brioche squares (or portion and toast just before serving).
• Make the corn pudding for course #2.
• Slice the baguettes and toast crostinis for courses #1 and #4.

Party time:

• With the toasts prepared and the jam at hand, course #1 will come together in a snap. Grate the chilled or frozen foie and serve right away
• Course #4 will similarly be easy and fast to plate.
• For courses #3 and #2, searing the foie gras happens á la minute. Taking sliced foie from the freezer and putting it directly into a searing hot pan (we use cast iron) is my favorite method – you can get a really dark sear and caramelized flavor on the presentation side before it starts to melt. Flip the slices and cook just until done – look at the side of each slice, and you’ll start to see the middle bulge out when it starts to warm, which will mean the slice is cooked through.

Shopping List

What Foie To Use?:

The tasting menu as a whole will use approximately 4 ½ lbs of foie, but you have a few different options when deciding which foie to use:

• Use whole lobes of Grade A foie for the entire menu, cutting lovely planks of it for searing and using the remaining bits and pieces for the other preparations. This is a higher-quality foie than you’d need to use for the aioli and mousse, but I guarantee you that no one will complain.
• Use sliced Grade B foie for the whole tasting menu. This is the most convenient option of the three, and a great choice if you haven’t cleaned and prepared whole lobe foie, or seared foie before (this less fiddly and a lot more forgiving in the pan).
• Use sliced Grade B foie for the two seared preparations, and then a single Grade C lobe for the raw toast, the aioli, and the mousse. This will be the most economical option, and the one that utility-minded restaurant chefs would choose.

Produce:
1 bunch fresh Basil
1 head Butter Lettuce
3 Heirloom Tomatoes
4 ears of Sweet Corn
½ cup fresh Blueberries
1 Lemon
2 Shallots
Garlic, 1 clove

Dairy:
1 Egg
4 cups Whole Milk
½ cup Heavy Cream
Unsalted Butter

Pantry:
1 jar Bow Hill Pickled Blueberries
2 tsp Ras el Hanout spice blend
1 jar best-quality Jam
Pickled Cherries or Raisins
Dijon Mustard
Whole Grain Mustard
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Neutral Oil (Canola, Vegetable, etc.)
Finishing Salt (Fleur de Sel, Jacobsen, etc.)
Salt & Pepper

Bakery:
1 loaf Brioche Bread
2 Baguettes

Equipment:
Microplane or good-quality peeler
8 small jars for individual servings of mousse
A roasting pan that fits all 8, to serve as a water bath