Foie Gras Profiteroles with Caramel Sauce and Sea Salt

METHOD:

For the Foie Gras Butter:
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Put the butter and foie gras in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 3 minutes, or until just slightly softened. Pour into a food processor and process until combined and smooth. Put the mixture in a covered container and chill in the refrigerator. This can be prepared up to 5 days in advance.

For the Foie Gras Ice Cream:
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Put the foie gras into a baking dish, cover the dish with foil, and put in the oven until it renders. While the foie gras renders, add the port and sugar to a stainless steel bowl over a simmering bain-marie. When the sugar begins to dissolve, whisk in the egg yolks, forming a thick sabayon. Pour the sabayon into a food processor. While the food processor is on, slowly pour in the rendered foie gras. Add the butter, one piece at a time, and incorporate slowly. Once the butter is incorporated, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Stop the food processor immediately and pour the mixture through a chinois into a bowl set over an ice-bath. Let the strained ice cream base cool for at least 40 minutes. Spin the chilled ice cream base in an ice cream machine.

For the Caramel Sauce:
Combine the sugar and a small amount of water in a stainless steel or copper saucepan. Cook without stirring over a high heat until a dark amber color is reached. Pour in the heavy cream while stirring with a heat-proof spatula. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in 120 grams of the prepared Foie Gras Butter until it melts. Stir the mixture until cool. This can be prepared up to a week in advance. Warm the sauce slightly to a fluid consistency before use.

For Profiteroles:
Put the butter, 3 ounces of Foie Gras Butter, water, sugar, and salt in a medium sized saucepan over a medium to high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Using a wooden spoon, stir in all the flour until it is fully incorporated and a film begins to form on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the dough to a standing mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium to low speed until the bowl is cool and no steam can be seen rising from the bowl. Reduce to low speed, and slowly add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be incorporated before adding the next. (The last egg may not be needed.) Test the dough by pinching a small amount between thumb and forefinger and pulling it apart to make a thread. If it does not break, the dough is ready. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag. Pipe 36 mounds roughly the diameter of a quarter and 1-inch high onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. These can be prepared and frozen up to a week in advance. If you freeze them, thaw them to room temperature before baking, and preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake the profiteroles for 15 minutes in the oven, rotate the tray, and bake at 375°F for an additional 15 minutes. Profiteroles should be golden, light, and mostly hollow on the inside.

To Assemble and Serve:
For each serving, cut 3 Profiteroles horizontally. Put a small scoop of Foie Gras Ice Cream inside each bottom half. Set the top half of the Profiterole on top of the Foie Gras Ice Cream. Garnish each Profiterole with a small amount of Caramel Sauce, shaved chocolate, and sea salt.