Potato Stuffed with Pig’s Feet and Foie Gras, Truffles, and Mushrooms

To prepare the trotters: Tie the trotters together in twos with butchers twine and place in a large stockpot. Add cold salted water to cover. Let soak for 3 hours. Drain the water and rinse the trotters well under running water. Put the trotters back into the pot, cover with lightly salted cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam which rises. Add the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove from heat and drain, reserving about 1 cup of cooking liquid. Let cool enough to handle. Take the meat off the bone, trimming excess fat. Pass the meat through a meat grinder fitted with a coarse disc. Put the meat in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and gently beat in the reserved cooking liquid.

To prepare the potatoes: Place the goose fat in a large pot and put over medium heat. When the fat has melted, add the whole potatoes. Keep the fat about 170 F, simmering but not boiling; it may be necessary to reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain the proper temperature. Cook until the potatoes are just softened and can be pierced with a toothpick, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove from heat and let cool enough to handle; remove the potatoes and drain on paper towels.

Heat a small non-stick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Working rapidly, fry 8 of the slices of foie gras: use the smallest slices of foie gras for this. Place slices, not touching one another, in the hot pan and let cook for 10 seconds; turn and sizzle on the second side for 10 seconds. Remove; drain on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Reserve 8 parsley leaves for garnish; mince the remainder. Cut the top third cleanly off the potatoes and set these lids aside. Gently scoop out the meat of the potatoes and mix it with the ground pork. Refill the potatoes half way with this mixture, then place a slice of the cooked foie gras and a slice of truffle in each. Fill the rest of the way with the meat mixture, forming a dome. Gently press a reserved lid on each. Place in a roasting pan and baste with chicken stock. Bake 30 minutes, basting with more chicken stock from time to time.

To make the sauce: Put the 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a medium saute pan and heat over medium heat until reduced by two-thirds in volume. Add one fourth of the butter and whisk rapidly to combine it with the stock as it melts. Continue to add the butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking between each addition. Do not allow the sauce to become too hot: move the sauce on and off the heat to control the temperature so that the butter does not liquify in the developing sauce.
When all the butter has been incorporated, set the sauce aside over barely warm water or in an insulated container until ready to use.

To finish the dish: Place the veal demi-glace in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until it is liquified. Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the mushrooms, shaking the pan or gently stirring the mushrooms to sear all sides. Remove and set aside to drain on paper towels. Heat a small non-stick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Working rapidly, fry the remaining slices of foie gras: place slices, not touching one another, in the hot pan and let cook for 10 seconds; turn and sizzle on the second side for 10 seconds, and remove; drain on paper towels. Stir the truffle juice into the warm butter sauce.

To serve: Sprinkle the plates with minced parsley. Spoon sauce into the bottom of the warmed plates. Place a stuffed potato on the left side of each plate, and place a mound of mushrooms on the right. Lean a slice of foie gras against the mushrooms on each plate. Tuck one of the reserved parsley leaves under the lid of each potato, pressing it into the stuffing to hold it in place but letting it peep out from under the lid. Make a small slit in the top of each potato lid and stand one of the remaining truffle slices in each. Put the warmed demi-glace in a small squeeze bottle and draw a ribbon of demi-glace through the sauce on each plate.