Chicago Foie Gras Faux Pas

[SmoovD]

The only thing better than foie gras is...foie gras made from baby duck. You know, like baby cow or baby goat but from a duck.

 

[ouch]

I've decided to devout my life to the cause of the ortolan.

For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets has been the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.

– The Wine Spectator

The eating of the ortolan has ethical eating groups baying for blood. First, it is caught with a net in the forest. Taken alive, its eyes are poked out and the bird is put in a small cage. It's then force-fed oats, millet and figs until it has swollen to four times its normal size. Then the bird is drowned alive in fine cognac. Then, it's roasted whole, in an oven at high heat, for six to eight minutes. Once it reaches the table, a napkin is placed over the eater's head. The technique of eating the ortolan is to put the whole bird into the mouth, with only the beak protruding. Here sadism mingles with masochism. The first taste as you crunch on the bird is the brandied flesh and fat. Then, the bitterness of the guts follow and finally, as the tiny, delicate bones are being chewed on, they will lacerate the diner's gums, with the salty taste of the bleeding gums mingling with the richness of the fat and the bitterness of the organs. Chewing the ortolan takes approximately 15 minutes.

– The Connoisseur's Series, The Global Gourmet

Yeech.

 

[MTgrayling]

I've decided to devout my life to the cause of the ortolan.





Yeech.

Oh come on Ouch, I bet it tastes just like foi gras, just a little crunchier.

 

[ouch]

I can't imagine eating a bird that hasn't been gutted, no matter how much armagnac they soak it in.

 

[Confuzius]

I've never actually tried Fois Gras, although I'm glad for the people of Chicago that the ban is lifted.

I was raised as a Vegetarian for moral reasons. I started eating meat when I was around 13 or so. At that time I decided that if I was going to eat meat that I would do so with no exceptions. I'll try anything at least once, and will not avoid something due to perceived cruelty, wether or not it's true.

Also if I get the opportunity to go hunting for food I will. I'd rather appreciate that an animal died to that I could eat its tasty flesh than ignore it. I am thankful to the cow for my steak and will not pretend that it's just a piece of meat and nothing more, it was at one point a living breathing thing. And I'm OK with that.

Is it possible to get decent foie gras at a market or is it a restraunt only affair?

 

[boboakalfb]

MMMMM...Foie Gras.

 

[El Yanqui]

Isn't foie gras made from goose rather than duck?

The first time I had it was in Paris about two years ago. I wasn't particularly keen to try it as I'd heard it is cruel, but I have to say it was amazingly delicious. The last time I had it was as an appetizer in Amsterdam two weeks ago where the foie gras was marbled with bitter chocolate. Even more delicious.

I won't pretend it's ethical, and perhaps that reflects poorly on my values, but in the handful of times that I've had it, it has been a fantastic dish. My wife, being Spanish, has no such problems. She could order foie gras followed by veal without batting an eye. I still don't eat veal.

 

[Mr. Gillette]

Isn't foie gras made from goose rather than duck?

The first time I had it was in Paris about two years ago. I wasn't particularly keen to try it as I'd heard it is cruel, but I have to say it was amazingly delicious. The last time I had it was as an appetizer in Amsterdam two weeks ago where the foie gras was marbled with bitter chocolate. Even more delicious.

I won't pretend it's ethical, and perhaps that reflects poorly on my values, but in the handful of times that I've had it, it has been a fantastic dish. My wife, being Spanish, has no such problems. She could order foie gras followed by veal without batting an eye. I still don't eat veal.

"Duuuck....Duuuck....Duuuck...Duck...........GOOSE!!!!!"

 

[Shane]

If we knew the plain truth about the origins of what we eat from day to day, I fear that the bulk of us would starve to death.

 

[Mr. Gillette]

If we knew the plain truth about the origins of what we eat from day to day, I fear that the bulk of us would starve to death.

I just picked up 10 baby chickens yesterday. The plain truth is, I expect 2-4 of them to die within the first week. By mid summer, I expect the remaining 6-8 to eat the grubs out of my lawn/their food, etc...I expect them to grow. By Fall, I'll have some eggs...along the way I'll have a few Chicken Dinners, or Rock Cornish Game Hens.

I won't particularly enjoy the moment of killing them, but I will savor their freshness, and I will eat every tasty morsel of them.

The few who are left to lay eggs will be stew next Spring. That's what I bought them for.

They're cute-- they're in a big box in my basement with a heat lamp, and classical music playing for them. They will live a good life...to the extent that chickens live a good life. Then they will produce and become food. And I will enjoy it.

Foie Gras sounds like a good plan...

 

[Shane]

I just picked up 10 baby chickens yesterday. The plain truth is, I expect 2-4 of them to die within the first week. By mid summer, I expect the remaining 6-8 to eat the grubs out of my lawn/their food, etc...I expect them to grow. By Fall, I'll have some eggs...along the way I'll have a few Chicken Dinners, or Rock Cornish Game Hens.

I won't particularly enjoy the moment of killing them, but I will savor their freshness, and I will eat every tasty morsel of them.

The few who are left to lay eggs will be stew next Spring. That's what I bought them for.

They're cute-- they're in a big box in my basement with a heat lamp, and classical music playing for them. They will live a good life...to the extent that chickens live a good life. Then they will produce and become food. And I will enjoy it.

Foie Gras sounds like a good plan...

You highlight my point. I know this might make me sound callous, but I enjoy food entirely too much to go pining away about its origins. I mean sure, If there's a reason for a recall due to contamination, feel free to let me know. However, when it comes to meat especially, we're talking about procedures that involve captive bolt pistols and the slitting of throats. If someone takes a moral stance to how foie gras is prepared, surely there is a case for taking a stance against how all meats are prepared.

 

[MTgrayling]

If someone takes a moral stance to how foie gras is prepared, surely there is a case for taking a stance against how all meats are prepared.

I really don't see the connection you are trying to make. Even Ouch claimed a limit, Ortolon. We all have our personal boundaries. I doubt even the guy that claimed to want to try everything once actually would, Fear Factor comes to mind. Rotten squid anyone?

Excuse me for a few minutes while I go down to the river and humanely kill me a fresh Trout to have tonight with the wild Asparagus I picked a few minutes ago.

 

[kongjie]

If someone takes a moral stance to how foie gras is prepared, surely there is a case for taking a stance against how all meats are prepared.

Certainly there are a couple of schools of thought on this subject. Some people see foie gras as the most egregious example of the unethical nature of meat-eating.

Other people are comfortable with the belief that as omnivores there is nothing ethically problematic with the consumption of meat per se. However, even once we accept that animals are being raised for slaughter, there should be standards for the humane raising and slaughter of these animals.

I am more or less in this latter group--I don't eat much meat but when I do, I'm comfortable with the action. I am against factory farming and the misery that is intrinsic to the concept. I don't believe we should allow market pressure for low meat prices to degrade the day-to-day life of these animals.

I try to vote with my wallet as well as encouraging legislation that would require certain standards.

I'm not sure what you precisely mean by your statement because of the word "prepare" you use. I took what you said to mean that if someone has a problem with foie gras, they should have a problem with eating any meat.

 

[Shane]

My angle is that any way you slice it, the methods used to kill animals for food is violent.

 

[Zeni]

When Mr. Gillette is ready to slaughter his chickens I want to help, I'm not to far away. We could put on youtube.

 

[OldSaw]

If someone has a problem with foie gras they should avoid eating it or take it up with the producers if they think their methods are cruel. To make a political debacle out of it doesn't help anything. In this case it only made Chicago look like a bunch of dodos for a couple of years.

I have family members that raise veal and I occasionally defend the veal producers. Every one of the veal opponents I have talked with have never been in a veal barn. I don't care what kind of lies PETA may have video of, the bottom line is the producer wants as many calves to make it to market as possible. This means keeping them in top health and monitoring their status several times a day. Any veal producer that neglects his calves will not last in the business, the margins are too close to have high attrition.

I would go even so far as to say nearly every example that PETA uses is an anomaly or an outright lie paid for by PETA.

 

[Silb3r]

I see a visit to Charlie Trotter's in the near future...

EDIT: I'm reminded of the fellow who accompanied some friends to dinner one evening. He was shocked but curious to see the special listed as "Sautéed West Indian Manatee". Out of curiosity the gentleman asked: "What's the Manatee like?" His friends replied, "Oh it's a delectable dish, its consistency mimics that of the braised Bald Eagle and its aroma is suggestive of the flambéed Florida Panther".

 

[perry]

I don't know the first thing about how foie gras is produced (aside from what I've read in this thread), but the idea of eating any liver just doesn't sound very good.

 

[ouch]

Even Ouch claimed a limit, Ortolon. We all have our personal boundaries.

In this particular case, it's because I find the notion disgusting. This, of course, is as personal a statement as one's choice of cologne. I don't have a problem with eating a bird, but I can live with out the bones and viscera.

 

[MTgrayling]

I try to vote with my wallet as well as encouraging legislation that would require certain standards.

Well said. I choose to vote with my wallet as well. I'm proud of the fact that I haven't bought or eaten Beef in 5 years and 2 months.

Before:

After:

I have no misgivings about killing another animal today. I honor it by dispatching it quickly and with as little pain as possible and ate it with the full knowledge that it had to die to give me a meal fit for a king. There are, however, many things that I will not eat and I'm fine with that. The idea that if you eat any meat you cannot criticize less humane meat production doesn't make sense to me.