The holidays are not only a time for giving, but for indulging! It’s the time of year when gourmet items like caviar and foie gras are passed around the table followed by the clinking of champagne flutes. Dress up your table this year à la francaise with speciality treats from La Comtesse du Barry, our Dans le coin December feature.
This exceptional maison de qualité specializes in the finer things in life- foie gras, truffle, and caviar. Not to mention, their selection of humble pâtés, rilletes and terrines strike the perfect balance between rustic and refined. The history of La Comtesse takes us back over a 100 years to a town in Gascony renowned for its south-west French cuisine, where a tin-smith and a female butcher fell in love and decided to create the finest foie gras.
The brand is appropriately named after the beautiful La Comtesse du Barry, Louis XV’s favorite and official mistress who he showered in diamonds and pure luxury.
Although their manufacturing has modernized, their techniques remain the same, still hand feeding their ducks and geese and only using strictly artisan methods. They’ve been able to achieve a rare level of excellence that any gourmet buff would truly appreciate. Whether you’re looking to add a French touch to your holiday spread or are on the hunt for the perfect gift, you’re sure to find something to tempt.
For our La Cuisine Family, La Comtesse is offering a special gift of rilletes de canard for every purchase over 20€ for the month of December. Dress up your holidays and treat yourself as well!
Now, more about foie gras. Directly translated, foie gras means fatty liver and the distinguishable taste ! Here’s everything you need to know about on how to purchase and serve foie gras:
- Goose or Duck?
- Oie- goose foie gras has a more subtle taste with a creamier texture whereas the canard-duck is richer and more flavorful. Generally speaking, duck foie gras is more easily available and the goose variety is significantly pricier due to the demanding nature of the labor to raise geese. Traditionally, goose used to be the foie gras of choice but duck popularity has risen in the past half decade. But it comes down to personal preference so, try both and decide yourself!
- The many forms of Foie G
ras- Cru – raw liver, found vacuum-sealed and refrigerated for foie gras or terrine preparation
- Mi cuit – semi cooked foie gras that generally comes packaged in glass jars or vacuum-sealed, must remain refrigerated.
- Block – fully cooked foie gras found on the shelf in tins or glass jars. Made of several smaller pieces of liver compacted together.
- Block and Entier are both pasteurized, do not have to be refrigerated and have a long shelf life. Both are great options when traveling.
- Serve with – good bread of toast with a sprinkle of coarse salt and cracked pepper. Due to its rich nature, foie gras goes perfectly with something sweet to cut the fattiness and to elevate all the flavors in singing harmony! Try it with a fig chutney or caramelized onions. For the ultimate experience, try foie gras with some truffle salt and what else but some champagne!
