Treating foie gras delicately

Rougie culinary advisor Jocelyn Deumie checks the temperature of foie gras during the cooking demonstration. JP/Indah SetiawatiFrench fine dining restaurants in Jakarta are expected to have this item on their list, or their “Frenchness” will come into question. Yes, we are talking about foie gras.

Emilie, the French restaurant on Jl. Senopati in South Jakarta, recently hosted a foie gras cooking demo, featuring Jocelyn Deumie, a culinary advisor for foie gras and gastronomy company Rougie.

A handful of employees and journalists stood around the kitchen set, curiously watching the skillful hands of Deumie, who was explaining several techniques for cooking foie gras slices, from pan frying to poaching to vacuum cooking.

Talking in English with a heavy French accent, he showed the step-by-step preparation of de-veining the duck liver and generously shared his tips. One of the interesting things from his cooking demo was how he used his hand to turn around the foie gras. We wondered whether his hand would burn, but he looked perfectly comfortable.

“I can feel the texture better with my hand,” he explained.

He showed the preparation technique before cooking the foie gras. De-veining the duck liver is tricky, and takes a little patience. A cook will have to use his or her hand to pull the vein out gently and softly while following the vein. An important tip for preparing duck liver is to touch the foie gras as little as possible because touching it too much can raise the temperature and lower its profitability.

Deumie later showed off two pan frying techniques. The first technique, he said, would be useful when many slices were being cooked at once. He fried several slices of foie gras for around one minute, then put them on wire tray to finish defrosting. He later put them in the oven at 140 degrees Celsius for about five minutes.

The other pan frying technique requires more time, as it the liver is slowly cooked. Deumie used a cold pan and put the frozen slices inside over a small flame. He turned them regularly while speaking to the Emilie employees.

“I know Indonesians like it well done, but no, you just make it warm,” he said. He poked the slices with a thin stick and wiped the stick on his lower lip to feel the heat.

The seasoning can be done in two ways, either by putting some salt and pepper directly into the pan or by sprinkling flavored salt on the slices after cooking. Deumie put his homemade red flavored salt on the slices of foie gras that had been cut in small pieces for us to taste.

The foie gras that was pan fried and put on oven had a more solid texture than the one that was cooked over the small flame. Deumie and most of the restaurant staff said they preferred the foie gras cooked with the first technique, but I loved the second one, which was slow-cooked.

The second technique, poaching, resulted in a moister texture, but I wish it had a more appealing color and stronger taste.

To me, the champion of the cooking demo was vacuum cooked foie gras. The foie gras was put in a vacuum bag with spices including porto wine and liqueurs. It was vacuumed 100 percent and it could be put back in the freezer for later use. The cooking was done in a steam oven for around eight minutes before it was opened to be quickly pan fried.

The result was awesome. It had a juicy texture and rich flavor, which tamed the particular fat flavor of the foie gras.

Mikael Robin, the chef of Emilie restaurant, said the pan fried foie gras was the best-selling item in the restaurant, concluding that Indonesians like it better than the poached one.

Deumie, who lives in Japan with his Japanese wife and has picked up some influence from the local cuisine, also showed off his creation — Foie Gras Terrine Nori and Green Lemon. It was beautifully presented with green colors, thanks to the Nori and grated lemon skin.

Bon appetite!