How to Stuff a Duck

I have always hated the taste of liver. Calf’s liver, chicken liver, liverwurst, any kind of pâté that contains even a small amount of liver—for me, the taste is repulsive. I was once served a rabbit’s liver at a family meal in Italy, the prize morsel that is offered to guests; I choked it down with an unconvincing “Grazie.” I never imagined I would come to like a specific kind of liver enough to prepare it myself at home, much less to spend six weeks with an artisan foie gras producer in Southwestern France learning how to produce it from scratch, starting with a live duck.My journey to the foie gras farm began years earlier with magret de canard, a dish I ordered from the menu du jour in a Parisian restaurant in 2008 without knowing what it was. It was the first week of my first time in France and I felt a bit lost. The magret was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. It looked and tasted like a steak, cooked medium rare, seared brown on the outside, reddish pink on the inside. It was tender and succulent, and best of all, there was a layer of crispy fat on the top, so each slice was like eating a filet mignon with a thin strip of melt-in-your-mouth unsmoked bacon along one edge. It was heavenly. I eventually prepared magret for my father, a third-generation dairy farmer and nonadventurous eater whose favorite food is prime rib, followed closely by steak with butter. Years later he still talks about that magret as one of the best things he’s ever eaten.Even after eating it, I still didn’t know what magret de canard actually was. It never crossed my mind that it could be poultry. Magret de canard (usually shortened to just magret) is the phrase used in French for the breast of a duck that has been fattened for foie gras. A single magret (one half of the breast) weighs one pound (.45 kg) on average; it is about an inch (2.54 cm) thick and deep red in color. Both raw and cooked, it looks more like red meat than like poultry.Delicious though it is, magret is an agricultural byproduct. The magret comes from a fattened duck, but there would be no fattened ducks without the demand for foie gras. In monetary terms, the foie is half of the value of the slaughtered duck. In terms of value for labor, fattening ducks is not worth the work involved unless you can sell the foie. This is why it is so difficult to find magret in the United States: Americans do not eat much foie gras.Foie gras is controversial in the United States, and has been targeted several times for local and state-level bans.1 The focus is on animal cruelty, specifically the idea of force-feeding the ducks: putting a metal tube down their throats and filling their crops with more corn than a duck would normally eat. And it is true that this is part of the process, but the language used is more positive in French, more associated with something tasty or pleasurable than the grim American translation of force-feeding. The direct French translation of force-feeding is alimentation forcée, and as in English this term is used in discussions about the ethics of imposing it on people who refuse to eat. The verb gaver is used for tube feeding (ducks or kittens), but more commonly it means to stuff (yourself or someone else) with something, or to binge on. It is common to hear people talking about gavage (stuffing) in relation to desserts, or to describe what happens at your mother’s house when she puts more food onto your plate. A French bus driver once told me that it is ironic that Americans criticize the gavage (stuffing) of ducks, when Americans are the champions of self-stuffing, fattening themselves with chips and pizza and Coca-Cola. It’s healthier for everyone, he said, to fatten the ducks.I fell in love with magret and wanted to keep eating it, but I felt an ethical responsibility to find out firsthand what is really involved in the process of its production. In 2015, I spent six weeks in the Southwest of France with a foie gras producer who I will call Philippe. I participated in the gavage (stuffing or tube feeding), in the slaughtering, the butchering, the preparation of dozens of products for market, and in selling the things I had helped produce. I spent time with four other producers in the same region, each of whom did things slightly differently, to make sure that I was getting a full picture. Eighteen months later, I visited the only foie gras producer in Minnesota, and I finished my learning process at the consumer end, buying an entire fattened duck (including the foie) and preparing it in my own kitchen at home.***My first encounter with foie gras in France occurred at a Christmas party in 2008, at a small private school in Cannes where my American students were taking classes. This was four months after my first experience with magret, and although I was now buying and cooking it regularly in my apartment, I still didn’t know that it came exclusively from a duck raised for foie gras. The party was organized buffet style, with rare roast beef, roasted chicken, and fancy desserts; but most of the French faculty and staff were focused on one table, making frequent trips to it, some of them just stationing themselves there and refilling their small plates. At the center of this table was a 1-kilogram (2.2 lb) block of foie gras.I am an adventurous eater and wanted to try it, but I was not expecting to like it. Foie gras translates literally to “fat liver,” and liver was number two on my short list of most hated foods, right after kidneys. But foie gras doesn’t taste like liver, at least not like liver in its other forms. The color (beige), texture (solid when refrigerated), and flavor of foie gras bear no resemblance to regular liver. Foie gras is delicate in flavor, tasting like a cross between an unsmoked bacon and a really good butter. It is smooth, creamy, and rich. Eating it for the first time, I found it not as amazingly good as others seemed to find it, but definitely tasty.For the French, the gustatory pleasure of eating foie gras is further enriched by tradition. It is associated with celebration and indulgence—much like champagne. Foie gras is a holiday food: most of the foie gras in France is sold and consumed between mid-November and early January. During these months there are foie gras fairs, special markets where dozens of producers convene to sell to an eager public. The lines are long, the pace of commerce is furious, and small-scale foie gras producers earn a significant portion of their annual income in the space of several weeks. Many producers from the Southwest make the long trek to Paris during the holiday season to sell directly to a wealthier clientele.The closest analogy I can provide is to say that a Christmas season without foie gras would be almost as unusual to the French as a Thanksgiving without a turkey would be for an American. Not everyone will eat it, but most people will, and its absence would be conspicuous. In recognition of its cultural importance, the French National Assembly unanimously recognized foie gras as a protected part of France’s cultural and gastronomic patrimony in 2005 (Durand 2016).The winter seasonality of foie gras stems from its origin from wild geese in ancient Egypt, where people noticed geese stuffing themselves with extra food before migrating, and the fact that the geese and their livers were extra tasty if hunted during this time. From there it was an easy step to keep domestic geese, and to provide them with all the grain they could eat during the fall season when their instinct is to overeat anyway. Both the Ancient Greeks and the Romans fed geese figs to fatten them, and the Romans were the first to leave specific written instructions for an intensive period of fattening in order to produce foie gras (Mouret and Taillefer 2005).The Romans brought foie gras production to the south of France, where it has remained to this day. Until the middle of the twentieth century, most farming families in southwestern France continued to fatten some geese every fall (Techoueyres 2006). In the 1960s, the move toward intensive agriculture in France created a shift to ducks as the main source of foie gras. Ducks are smaller than geese, and the gavage period is shorter, 10 to 14 days instead of 21 to 30 days. Ducks are fed twice per day, while geese require three feedings each day. Finally, the farmers I worked with explained that geese are more fragile—their necks are longer, their esophagi and their crops are more delicate, and it’s easier to overfeed them, resulting in a higher mortality rate. All of these factors contribute to the fact that foie gras d’oie (from geese) is twice as expensive as foie gras de canard, and tastes very similar. In France today, foie gras production is 90 percent from ducks, 10 percent from geese.I arrived at Philippe’s farm in the Tarn region in July of 2015. The Tarn is a particularly beautiful part of the Southwest, composed of rolling hills planted in wheat, corn, and sunflowers, bordered by the Montagne Noire on the southern edge, and bathed in that particularly golden light that is characteristic of southern France.The rhythm of the life of a foie gras producer reminds me of the dairy farming life my father led. The most important task (gavage or milking) is first thing in the at and In between and the the farmer all of the other farming In Philippe’s these production for the ducks, and for per week in the twice per week in the winter the preparation of dozens of products for and direct to at four my father when he was 14 to every day. who on the from ducks to to 10 per day, two to three cooking and at are small-scale producers who would the artisan in fattening and selling ducks per ducks per week in the and and to per week in the winter season between mid-November and the first week of January. and is in a small by and three This is France, and I no English during my Philippe’s first language was he still with he French with a very foie gras du gras duck from the is a specific that is in France an is to an a to products from specific who produce ducks and foie gras in the Southwest region can their products with this by the of the The ducks be as the duck in or cross between a and a common duck or The of producers are in ducks have in their livers that are more difficult to and they are more difficult to are more This means that of are each and is one of the used by gras of the are used in along with language like you be while small or to to 30 are each in this is it in to the of each in the same are of to and are for in the are on for days of their could the of The same could this for ducks as are raised in for the first to on they a of days farmers at least three and during the the farmer in order to the to more The is a in the of that as a kind of for of the ducks with per day, but only them to food for a half in the and half in the the food the ducks to them and stuff each other for that they to eat as much as they can to the this several weeks the of the preparing it for foie gras producers their own ducks, them at 14 weeks of the gavage ducks from at the where gavage is to the gavage means that life is for the move in where they will spend their 10 to 14 days. The at least 10 days of and that at least percent of the be corn raised in the same Southwest of the of foie gras stems from this part of the process, the days that the ducks spend in corn or corn The ethical that be is how is it for the they more than other raised for I was there to find out for my day, I with to a farm the to a of ducks to be the I was first by the the to an agricultural or I something to what happens with in the United The that have to the but when a with it is after the first several weeks of their in a the do not out the in their and are so full that by the time they there is no space a of these ducks were on no was just a the feeding Ducks like to to each and the less than percent of the The were with and with small for It looked like a kind of duck are not The ducks six are in but in very of and on during the day, at was no in the I visited that of like a chicken in the United States, where the of is enough to or even thing that me was the for this farm in 2015, they were the that for all producers in France in The are with a of three ducks per on this farm there were in each The that the ducks have enough in the to their and to at full be to a that the to their with and with the to on their without so they can keep themselves The ducks I in these were very and came to each for the he a that the of the each duck to one of the in the to This their enough to be and and the of the is once to its full own was still the during my time with in the of 2015, though he has to the In this each duck was in its The were about the of a small for the duck to with an at the for the long and The are and were much than I they would be after the It a bit to do the gavage in the but all of the producers I that the are for the have to during in that along the of their with the several times per day. are fed twice each day, and The feeding tube is about a half inch cm) in and cm) The farmer one at the of the with the and to the on of the just the at the a of the feeding tube about cm) the and down the the of the The a a amount of from the The feeding corn filling the less than three The entire process, from first the duck to it, only for an as a was it me more than one to my for the and I was at the for the tube to the days of I was to that it was taking me only 10 per duck to the I would not have that I did it that but I have I was taking my time and the task and but I fed ducks in is and The amount of corn at each feeding is from on the first to lb) on the During the to 14 days of the liver, out at the of a to six times its the ducks are fed more in the and corn than their can process, and they the in the liver as The liver is no at all, but a very fat in this is to ducks and geese, an to that do not fat in their between ducks and that be about to the process of ducks and geese do not have in their are and and they do not have a their still by a but they the tube down their throats the that a they their necks a times to the corn move all the down and but there is no or or as there would be if did a thing to the gavage of my I ducks and fed them myself at least once each day. The most part of this experience was the ducks each time I came to raised their and looked at me their and did not to me I actually out my to their I am that they had no of what I had to them the or in a only A 2008 by found that gavage not or in geese gavage is the livers of ducks and geese will the fat and to participated three times in the was after of American the United States, the has for that are and with and the foie on after the and were to the of the duck. did by that were every half the foie the and for and raw foie gras in the winter and cooking the in one of two cooked at for the two or cooked and for the the liver was the of the duck for magret, and every of fat and fat is for making where duck or other are cooked in but it is used for cooking and other and it is for of the Southwest as sold of fat at the as as the small of crispy that from the fat and are the southern French of bacon used on after I worked with making a of products for the and in and sold by the slice at the and when time finished products as and favorite was the of the long were the to and a of eager was in was a of for the first always with a The most part of at the was selling products that I had participated in the of my own for A ordered a magret, and I that I had it from the duck and it. for a slice of the pâté that and I had the I found that I was of and I that I had my main I could to eat magret and foie gras. it is raised this the for me is gavage the ducks I that they in to other that for The gavage 10 to 14 and the feeding process for each duck less than 30 per that are like the of in the United States, who in the live in small to on of each with their and with the on per day. in the United live in and to the ducks raised for foie gras. And for other are for who are much more than poultry. these it is very difficult to the ethical of they are about the of why not focus their where there is the most for the and in is that in the United States, foie gras an easy it is a that is not very and with consumed by the in fancy foie gras has animal can actually on the by or by in the United States, on the other would be an and ducks less than other that for but they are a more The for ducks, even taking their higher food during the gavage them a more of than or or ducks are not a significant source of a But the most important is the fact that the entire animal is The foie is the most but every of meat is as is the the the and even the cooked as and always sold out of at the The and down are and sold as do a in the United of most of the animal when it comes to and to the American for do a with poultry. Americans to eat breast meat and of of and to be to other with of it at and are used for In France, raw in about per and sold them all at the markets every are to for it more ethical and to every kind of is easier in France, where ducks have been fattened for foie gras Americans could of the magret, I the will ever a of foie gras production in the United more about the American market, I visited the only foie gras producer in my of in months after my experience in is French, to an and is one of only three foie gras producers in the United the other two are in the is a small-scale ducks per to 30 weeks per The ducks are slaughtered and on the in a small to that and one per and they do the as have a on for and a of about per they the time with other small in the the have own and and that process to per have to the same one on with a and and ducks are I visited in they were their time in the even on a were while others were their and or in the small that had from The ducks for are in the but not in the for The has a of long, three by to ducks, and they have of for their and so it is time for the is and the ducks can and the ducks to at one he on a to the of the with by he puts each duck between and the from a to the of The duck is to the other part of the corn and for to than a and for gavage is much and less than the I used in The time for gavage per duck is ducks I in France did not to during and ducks didn’t talks to them, always when he the them that it’s time, and so on. (from the when they are two days they have and all their as the of food and the who them out in the and them the at explained to me that he always the same red for so the ducks know that it’s know what to and are not for them is so much so that he to has to do is enough of a for duck in the that is to sell the meat the and the All of these regularly on local restaurant and are to the at a The for foie gras is a more difficult and with more than he can Foie gras is not a part of the as it is in Americans do not foie gras with family and the are and animal It’s a difficult a duck from foie and all, and it for I cooked one magret that for with my and the other one in the to I the and it myself as an while I was making I every bit of the and the it and with the the the and the I with two of beautiful duck I used the several months very in the for and I a and delicious out of the the I as the meat from the and did two things with the foie. told me that favorite to eat it is when it is from the duck the before and I was but I wanted to try it, and not I a who is by and who on my home, between farm and my and were about my so I and a on the to their and of the while I thin from one of the each one on a of and with a small amount of du It was the best thing I have ever eaten. But like all foie a were I the and foie gras I the and it a with and it for first came out all things is no that foie gras is most in its in France, and percent of the foie gras. It is that production will ever a in the United But there is no to it, or to who or eat it. I am to live in where I have easy to Magret my favorite thing to and that I have to to France to it

Art · Art history · Biology · Citation · Icon · Library science · Taste · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Food Science

• Care and the Environmental Politics of Animals as More-Than-Food

  Open Access•Felix Clarke, Guillem Rubio-Ramon•Progress in Environmental Geography•2026

  Add to list