As such, they are nonmigratory. This is important, because it means that, unlike migratory species, they don't ever have the need to gorge themselves to put on extra fat that will carry them through long periods with no food.
They are also an aggressive species; males attack each other with their bills and sharp claws on their feet. Despite this, they are prized for their well-flavored, lean meat. Their robust nature and tolerance of many climates make them quite easy to farm.
Pekin ducks also known as Long Island ducks , on the other hand, were originally bred in China from wild mallards, and thus have many of the characteristics of that migratory species. They are relatively petite birds that are quite gregarious.
They enjoy hanging out in groups and will naturally stand together in very tight quarters, whether or not they have the space to roam around. Years of breeding have shrunk their wings and increased their breast size. Because of their plump stature, they can't jump much higher than your average womp rat and thus no longer migrate which isn't to say they wouldn't waddle south for the winter, given the opportunity , but their inner organs and basic metabolism are still those of a migratory waterfowl.
When you cross a male Muscovy with a female Pekin, you get a Moulard, a hybrid that combines the more desirable behavioral features of the two species. First off, it's larger and more robust than either a Muscovy or a Pekin, much in the way that a mule is bigger and stronger than either the horse or the donkey it was bred from.
Moulards are also sterile, like mules, and are often referred to as "mule ducks. Their most important feature, however—and this is important—is that, like Muscovies, they don't have the urge to migrate, but, like Pekins, they retain all of the interior anatomy necessary for the gorging that migration requires.
This is the real key to the safe and ethical production of foie gras. You see, migration depends upon gorging: the rapid intake and metabolism of large quantities of food in order to store enough energy to fly south for the winter. So, while during the warm summer months a duck may be content paddling around eating weeds, bugs, and the occasional minnow, when the weather starts getting colder, it begins to eat in earnest, stuffing itself more frequently, and with larger prey.
Unlike in humans, where excess fat builds up mostly in large deposits just under the skin, with migratory birds, this excess fat builds up both under the skin and in the liver. Granted, the production of foie gras requires feeding a duck far more than it would naturally consume though, if you believe Dan Barber's fantastic TED talk , there are wild geese who would feed themselves to almost the same degree , but this is true of all farm animals. Cows, pigs, chickens—they all get far fatter from the rich feeds we give them than they'd ever get if left to their own devices.
Does that make it cruel? I'd say no. As long as the animal shows no sign of stress or discomfort—and the ducks we saw today certainly did not—then what harm is a few extra pounds? What about the act of feeding? Surely the duck feels discomfort when a tube is slid down its throat? Tony Bourdain likes to remind us that we see worse things committed against human beings on late-night pay-per-view. And he's right: Humans have a gag reflex. But ducks? Not so. I tried hard to find a good video online of a duck eating fish, but they are all too blurry or too annoying to watch.
The closest I came is this video of a cormorant, another migratory waterfowl. Watch closely as it swallows a spiky fish several times wider than its neck. Incredible, right? And that , folks, is the reason why a duck doesn't struggle when a feeding tube deposits food in its throat. Its body is built for exactly the same type of stress in the wild. Humans chew their food in their mouth until it breaks down into pieces small enough to swallow.
Ducks, on the other hand, have no teeth in their mouths, and they don't chew. Instead, they swallow their food whole, storing it in the bottom of the esophagus in a stretchy pouch known as the crop. Eventually, the solid food works its way into a stomach and a sac-like organ called the gizzard. Throughout the day, a duck will swallow small rocks and pebbles, which get stored in the gizzard.
Once food enters it, the muscular organ uses the pebbles as makeshift teeth, grinding up the food so the duck can digest it.
Because of this, their esophagi are custom-built for stretching. I had Bob send a few of them to the office, where I tied off one end on each and filled it up, water balloon—style, in order to see exactly how much a duck can hold in its crop.
The four we tested stretched out to a little over a quart of liquid apiece, or around grams—far more than the 80 grams of meal they were fed at each serving. Surely they have difficulty breathing with a tube down their throat though, right? Not so fast. Humans have a single passageway leading from their mouths down into their necks. From there, it divides into the esophagus, which leads to the stomach, and the trachea, which leads to the lungs.
Separating these two passages is a little flap of muscle called the epiglottis. Try to force something past the epiglottis, and you trigger a gag reaction. It's intended to make sure that the wrong things don't end up in your stomach. Ducks, on the other hand, have completely independent tracheas and esophagi. Their esophagus goes straight from the mouth to the crop, while the trachea runs from the lungs and out the end of the tongue.
That's right: Ducks breathe through their tongues. The cartilage that surrounds their trachea called the tracheal ring is also a complete circle, as opposed to ours, which is C-shaped.
That makes their tracheas much sturdier and less prone to collapse. What this means is that you can place a feeding tube in a duck's throat, and the duck can sit there indefinitely, neither gagging nor suffocating. So there it is. The evidence is out there, and from what Bob and Herman tell me, they are more than happy to be transparent with their operations, to let people see what goes on inside their farm. They believe they've got nothing to hide, and so do I. So why is it that activists are so zealous about destroying foie gras operations?
I've worked in restaurants that have been picketed by protesters, and they aren't a particularly friendly bunch. Threats have even been made against the lives of chefs and their families for serving it in their restaurants. In large part, it's because foie gras is an easy target. There are only three foie farms in the country, and none of them have the money or government clout to defend themselves the way that the chicken or beef industry does.
It's a food product that is marketed directly at the affluent, and the rich are always an easy target. As an occasional delicacy, it's also a food that's relatively easy for most people to give up. Personally, I find this kind of protesting abhorrent.
If you are going to protest anything, it should be the industrial production of eggs, through which chickens are routinely kept in cages so small that they can't even turn around for an entire year.
The problem, of course, is that you tell people to stop eating cheap eggs, and nobody will listen. The leaders of the anti-foie movement know this and use it to their advantage, using video and photographs taken from the worst of the farms none of the ones in this country, for the record , and making it seem like all foie production is as despicable.
If you are against the confinement, slaughter, and eating of all animals, then that's a different argument to be had at a different time. It also contains mostly anti-inflammatory monounsaturated fat.
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This is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an essential role in eye and immune health. A healthy kitchen depends on your knowledge of how to safely cook and store your food. You will also find goose or duck liver pate, which is made by blending the foie gras with cream and other ingredients into a spread for crackers.
While both duck and goose foie gras are rich and buttery—some say beefy—in flavor, goose foie gras foie gras d'oie is considered the more refined, with a milder taste.
Duck foie gras foie gras de canard can have a somewhat more gamy flavor, though it is slightly less fatty and thus better suited for high-heat cooking. All foie gras is made up of two lobes—one smaller than the other—that together create an oval shape.
Grade A is the best quality, designating a liver that is the largest in size with a firm body, shiny exterior, and smooth texture. The color is consistent and there are no blood spots or blemishes. A Grade A foie gras should have a sweet smell and is used in the simplest of preparations, such as searing and sauteeing. Grade B foie gras has the same rich taste as Grade A but is smaller with visible veining and defects and has a softer texture than Grade A, making it ideal for pates and terrines.
Grade C, the lowest quality foie gras, is not as prevalent as the other two and is used mostly to flavor and thicken sauces. Whether you purchase goose or duck whole foie gras, you have the option to prepare it in a few different ways: searing it whole, processing into a pate, layering in a terrine or pureeing into a mousse. The rich, buttery flavor marries well with fruit like apples, grapes, and figs, as well as balsamic vinegar.
Foie gras is available fresh, whole, raw lobe, or fully cooked medallions or terrines that you can slice and serve. Fresh foie gras can be hard to find in grocery stores, so you will want to check gourmet shops as well as online. Prices vary, depending on where and how the product was made, and the animal used goose is more expensive than duck.
Unopened foie gras will keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator in its original usually vacuum-sealed packaging.
Once opened, fresh products should be eaten within two days. You can freeze fresh foie gras, but use it within a day or two after thawing. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.
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