Foielly Pops (Foie Gras Lollipops)

Chef Phillip Lopez, Rambla, New Orleans

10 paper or wooden lollipop sticks
10 Foie Gras Torchon medallions (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon strawberry-flavored Pop Rocks candy
5 cups Foie Gras Cotton Candy (recipe below, though any flavor of commercially available cotton candy may be substituted)

Insert lollipop sticks into Foie Gras Torchon medallions. Dust the medallions with strawberry Pop Rocks candy. For each serving, drape 1/2 cup spun Foie Gras Cotton Candy around medallion. Serve to astonished guests.

Note: Paper or wooden lollipop sticks are available in the candy-making section of party supply and craft stores (michaels.com).

Foie Gras Torchon:
1 800-gram lobe grade A Foie Gras (grade A), at room temperature
8 grams orange juice
8 grams white port wine
14 grams kosher salt
4 grams aged sherry wine (preferably Pedro Ximénez)
4 grams raw sugar
2 grams Insta Cure No. 1 (pink salt/sodium nitrite)
11-inch wide, 8-inch long piece synthetic sausage casing

Butterfly foie gras and carefully remove any blood vessels and stringy veins. Set aside in a cool place. In a large bowl, blend orange juice, white port, salt, sherry, sugar, and Insta Cure to form brine. Add foie gras and brine in a boil-safe vacuum bag. Vacuum seal bag. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

Cook cured foie gras in a circulating water bath set at 133°F until internal temperature reaches about 131°F, about 20 minutes. Remove from bag. Cool to room temperature for 10 minutes or until fat begins to congeal. Drain 50 grams of foie gras from bag and reserve for Foie Gras Cotton Candy (recipe follows).

Purée foie gras in food processor or blender. Pour into synthetic sausage casings; tie each end of casing using butcher’s twine. Refrigerate for at least 3 days to age. Once aged, slice into 1/4” thick medallions and reserve cold for lollipop use.


1. The use of a gram scale is necessary to achieve accuracy in this advanced technique (available at globalindustrial.com);
2. Insta Cure No. 1 and synthetic sausage casings available at sausagemaker.com;
3. Circulating water baths (sous vide) and vacuum sealers available at polyscience.com.

Foie Gras Cotton Candy:
100 grams Isomalt sugar
25 grams glucose or light corn syrup
3 grams Sucro (Texturas brand)
2 grams kosher salt
45 grams foie gras (reserved from making Foie Gras Torchon)
3 grams Glice (Texturas brand)
4 grams Moroccan spice (recipe below)

Combine Isomalt, glucose, Sucro, and salt in a sauce pot and cook over high heat to 320°F, using a candy thermometer. Add foie gras and Glice to a sauce pot set over medium heat. Cook to 122°F. Use a probe thermometer to track desired temperature.

When both liquids have reached their desired temperatures, whisk fat mixture slowly into sugar mixture. Take care, as sputtering of sugar will occur. Add Moroccan spice to mixture, whisking constantly to emulsify. The result is a foie gras caramel. Pour mixture onto a sheet pan lined with a nonstick silicone sheet. Cool to harden.

Break into small pieces and grind into a powder using a clean spice or coffee grinder. The result is a foie gras cotton candy sugar. Following manufacturer’s instructions, spin the sugar into cotton candy using a household cotton candy machine.

Notes:
1. Isomalt sugar available at makeyourownmolds.com;
2. Glucose available at thebakerskitchen.com;
3. Texturas brand Sucro and Glice available at latienda.com;
4. Household cotton candy makers available at cottoncandyexpress.com.

Moroccan Spice Blend:
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly ground star anise
2 tablespoons freshly ground cardamom
3/4 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Grind pepper, star anise, and cinnamon, each separately, in a clean spice or coffee grinder. Add cinnamon and sugar and blend thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.