"Faux" Gras

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Chief Longwind Of The North

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Foie Gras has been outlawed in many states in the U.S. But here is a recipe that attempt to recreate the rich, buttery texture, and great flavor, without force feeding any foul.

Chicken Liver Pate:
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh chicken livers
Salt
Black pepper
1 tsp. ground Thyme
1/4 cup diced onion
1 stick salted butter
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
Chicken broth

Place the chicken livers into a sauce pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, and cook for about fifteen minutes, or until the chicken livers are just done through.

Saute onion in a little butter until tender. Place into a blender. Remove the livers from the liquid and place into the same blender. Blend while adding just enough chicken broth to get the mixture moving in the blender. Add the butter. Blend until silky smooth. Empty the water from the sauce pan used to cook the livers. Remove the blended chicken lkivers from the blender and place into the sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and thyme and stir in. Let the mixure cook for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, a little at a time. Cook over low heat until most of the moiture has steamed out (about five to ten minutes more). Remove the pate' from the pan and into a bowl with a tite fitting lid. Chill until cold. Serve with crackers or toast points.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Foie Gras has been outlawed in many states in the U.S. But here is a recipe that attempt to recreate the rich, buttery texture, and great flavor, without force feeding any foul.

Chicken Liver Pate:
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh chicken livers
Salt
Black pepper
1 tsp. ground Thyme
1/4 cup diced onion
1 stick salted butter
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
Chicken broth

Place the chicken livers into a sauce pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil, and cook for about fifteen minutes, or until the chicken livers are just done through.

Saute onion in a little butter until tender. Place into a blender. Remove the livers from the liquid and place into the same blender. Blend while adding just enough chicken broth to get the mixture moving in the blender. Add the butter. Blend until silky smooth. Empty the water from the sauce pan used to cook the livers. Remove the blended chicken lkivers from the blender and place into the sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, and thyme and stir in. Let the mixure cook for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, a little at a time. Cook over low heat until most of the moiture has steamed out (about five to ten minutes more). Remove the pate' from the pan and into a bowl with a tite fitting lid. Chill until cold. Serve with crackers or toast points.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

Your recipe sounds pretty darn good, Chief. I love chicen liver pate!

Give me a box of Ritz and a tub of pate and I'm good to go!
 
Foie Gras has been outlawed in many states in the U.S.

It has? I know the California law goes into effect July 1. Where else has it been banned?

This is a very controversial subject. Unfortunately, the ducks and geese cannot talk to tell us that feeding them like that is natural for them...

However, there's nothing wrong with a good chicken liver pate. Or duck liver either, for that matter. Not all duck livers are "foie gras."
 
It has? I know the California law goes into effect July 1. Where else has it been banned?

This is a very controversial subject. Unfortunately, the ducks and geese cannot talk to tell us that feeding them like that is natural for them...

However, there's nothing wrong with a good chicken liver pate. Or duck liver either, for that matter. Not all duck livers are "foie gras."

I believe California is the only state in the USA to ban Foie gras though an act of Law, but other countries have banned it:

United States

State of California: Sections 25980-25984 of the California Health and Safety Code, enacted in 2004 and to become effective July 1, 2012, prohibit the "force feed[ing of] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size" as well as the sale of products that are a result of this process.

City of San Diego: On January 8, 2008, the San Diego City Council unanimously[60] passed a resolution that "commends the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) for raising awareness of the cruel practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie gras, commends the many San Diego restaurants that have stopped selling foie gras before the California statewide ban goes into effect, and encourages San Diegans to avoid supporting this extreme form of animal cruelty." The resolution also cites an independent Zogby poll finding that 85% of San Diegans favor an immediate ban on foie gras.

City of Chicago: On 26 April 2006, the Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006. Breaches of the ban were to be punished with fines of $250–$500. Alderman Joe Moore, who proposed the ban, described the method by which foie gras is produced as "clearly animal cruelty."

In response, several Chicago chefs filed suit and deliberately violated the law by continuing to sell foie gras. Furthermore, a handful of chefs served foie gras without charge, which they considered not to be against the law. Even for establishments that were violating the law, the City issued warning letters but, until February 17, 2007, no citations were given.

On that date, Doug Sohn, owner of a gourmet hot dog shop was charged with a violation. Although the fine could have been as high as $500, Sohn agreed to pay a $250 fine on March 29. Several unusual dishes, including foie gras pizza, have been created in Chicago, in defiance of the City Council's banning of foie gras. 46,000 pounds of foie gras were sold in Chicago in 2006.

In December 2006, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley referred to the ban as "the silliest law" the City Council has ever passed. As a result of the ban, Chicago restaurants Spiaggia and Tru developed dishes designed to simulate the foie gras experience.

Chicago Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel found Tru's "Faux Gras" "close to the real thing", and Spiaggia's "terrina de fagato grasso vegetariano" "undeniably rich and indulgent", but "[lacking] the characteristic foie-gras intensity".

In response to Mayor Daley's objections on the foie gras ban, the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.

[edit] Argentina

Foie gras production is illegal in Argentina as a mistreatment or act of cruelty to animals.

[edit] Israel

In August 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force feeding of geese, effective 31 March 2005. The last appeal was withdrawn in October 2005, but the law was left unenforced until February 2006. Most protest activities were conducted by the Anonymous for Animal Rights organization, which also tracks the enforcement of the ban, and files complaints against farms that conduct illegal force feeding.
 
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Um, yum! I will have to try this as soon as I lose my holiday pounds. Bring on the baguette, wine, and faux gras. Thanks for sharing!
 
I love liver pate....brandy is my favorite liquor to use, but the DH (soon to be ex) doesn't eat organ meats...a friend of mine stocked up on shoes as her therapy, I think eating foods he didn't like might be the perfect therapy...there has to be a silver lining to every closet, oops, cloud!
 
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Longwind, your recipe looks really good and I've filed it away to try soon! Also you did a nice job writing it up. I'm curious, did you develop this recipe personally or if not then where did it come from?

I'm a little frustrated at having law such as this while still having plenty of other cruel practices allowed to continue. For example it seems a bit cruel to me to have a chicken live out its whole life in an area scarcely larger than its body and never seeing natural sunlight. On the other hand I guess this is what we get unless we accept the increased costs of producing free range chicken.
 
I think there is so much cruelty in this world against humans that we better of take care of that first. People had been forth feeding geese for centuries. I am all against cruelty, but how can we define the cruelty. We slaughter millions of animals daily for human consumption. Did those animal rights people who came up with the idea of electrocuting animals ever tried it on themselves? I doubt.
 
I don't want to go too far off topic, but just didn't want anybody to get the wrong idea about me. I think we have too many laws. I'm opposed to the foie gras prohibition. However I think Longwind's recipe is a good effort to address making a similar recipe without using specially fed geese, replacing the fatty force fed goose livers with a lower fat liver and adding butter to restore the fattiness.

Does anybody know how much taste difference there is between livers from geese raised without force feeding vs. ordinary chicken livers?
 
Good reply , I don't mean to offend anyone , but whats wrong with frogs, snails, wild game? Who has the right to tell me what to eat? Not Michelle Oboma or any one else. Mabe this is not the place to make my point , But while I'm still free I'll eat what I want! Point in hand: went to the store today , as I did'nt have time to make cole slaw,I went to Safeway , and got a pound of slaw. Chemicals , junk food , what a mistake. Give me a hunting licsense any day!!!
 
The ducks aren't being mistreated and they don't mind it!
I however mind being shoved into a airline seat where I can't move and can't eat eat for hours.

Another mindless law! As of yesterday I can't get a plastic bag from from the grocery store to take my fois gras home in either. I had to purchase several reusable bags that took ten times the amount of plastic to produce and will break down even slower.I also have to purchase plastic bags now to line my garbage can since I can't re-use the purchased ones regularly.

Maybe we could eliminate a few of the lawmaker jobs and hire back a few of the firefighters and police we lost.

The pate recipe looks great and probably just as satisfying as the real thing but we should have the right to choose for ourselves shouldn't we.

My FIL like to make sandwiches out of pate and they are pretty good.
White bread, mayo (why not at this point),pate,pickle,tomatoe,lettuce and fresh ground pepper. I bet bacon would be good too. I will have to try it.
 
Is FAUX a Califorina word?
I thought it was a "news" channel.
I visited a few F/gras farm in Perigord when driving to the South of France.They all had feeding times up for visitors to view the method.
Rather like cows the birds on hearing the doors of the feeding barn open waddled inside and I kid you not fought to get the tube in them.
Question what do you think happens to the carcasses ?
 
I thought it was a "news" channel.

Nope, that would of course, be "Fox News" Fox and Faux are pronounced the same, but Fox is the cable news station which in 2010, took the top 10 spots for most watched cable news programs in the age 25–54 demographic and the top 12 spots among total cable news programs viewers. It's popular among some less sophisticated people to make fun of those who are at the top, just because they ARE at the top and an easy target. I cringe each time I hear the "Faux News" slur.
 
I'm sorry Timothy, i do not watch FOX news, but what you said is insulting to people eveuywhere. Typical liberal propaganda, which is only liberal when people agree with them.
 
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