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PGI — Aquitaine
From the golden maize of the Landes to the confit of the lands of Chalosse, foie gras du Sud-Ouest perpetuates a four-century-old art of gavage — ever since Christopher Columbus gave maize to Gascon farmwives.
Charcuterie speciality from Aquitaine, PGI (IGP) since 2000.
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The history of foie gras in the Sud-Ouest is inseparable from the introduction of maize to Europe. Having become the cradle of canard à foie gras as early as the 16th century thanks to the introduction of maize by Christopher Columbus, the Sud-Ouest found in it the ideal feed for fattening waterfowl, progressively replacing older grains for the gavage of geese, and subsequently ducks. The practice of gavage itself is far older: more than 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians had already established a link between the diet of waterfowl and the quality of their meat. It was indeed maize, combined with the local invention of confisage and later appertisation in the 19th century, that gave foie gras du Sud-Ouest its quality and reputation.
The traditional peasant economy was based on the principle that "every part of the duck is good": foie gras for feast days, confit of legs and manchons — a cooking and preservation technique invented in the Sud-Ouest —, fat for everyday cooking, gésiers for salads, and magret for the Sunday meal.
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The Canard à foie gras du Sud-Ouest PGI distinguishes six historical terroirs, each with its own identity: Chalosse (Landes); Périgord (Dordogne), land of old-style confit; the Gers, home to the historic marchés au gras of Samatan, Gimont, Seissan and Eauze; the Landes, the leading producing department, accounting for a quarter of national volumes; Quercy (Lot, Tarn-et-Garonne); and Gascogne as a whole. Fourteen departments of the Sud-Ouest take part in production, across a territory largely mirroring the Garonne basin, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrénées.
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The marchés au gras of the Gers — Samatan, Gimont, Seissan, Eauze — are institutions where farmhouse producers and buyers negotiate raw foies, confits and magrets right in the covered market halls, every week of the season. The PGI, granted in 2000, now brings together around 1,800 producers and 175 businesses, from small farmhouse canning workshops to renowned houses. As the leading producing department, the Landes alone accounts for around 800 waterfowl farms, supporting an industry that represents 7,300 direct jobs there.
Appearance
Raw foie gras: pale pink to ivory, smooth and firm to the touch. In a terrine: pale gold to pinkish, homogeneous texture
Aroma
Subtle, delicate, characteristic of maize and melted butter
Taste
Rich, unctuous, slightly sweet, melting; buttery and hazelnut notes for goose foies, fuller-bodied and fruitier for duck foies
Texture
Melting, creamy, dissolves on the palate without leaving a greasy sensation
Made up of a whole foie gras or whole lobes. The noblest form, prepared as a mi-cuit terrine or preserved.
Reconstituted from emulsified pieces of foie gras. Uniform texture, clean slicing, ideal on toast.
Breast fillet from a gavage-fed duck. Dried, smoked or fresh, it is the emblematic cut of meat of the Sud-Ouest.
Legs, manchons or wings cooked slowly in duck fat. Traditional method of preservation.
Served warm in salads with dried magret, a classic of Sud-Ouest bistros.
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Whole mi-cuit foie gras is kept in the refrigerator, but is best enjoyed taken out 30 to 50 minutes before serving, at room temperature, to regain all its melting texture and aromas. It is sliced with a knife dipped in hot water, onto lightly toasted pain de campagne, brioche or even simple toasted sandwich bread — all recommended by the sector. The classic pairing is a sweet Jurançon or Sauternes, but a Champagne as an aperitif or a Monbazillac also pair magnificently. Fresh magret is grilled skin-side down first in a frying pan or on the barbecue, rare to medium-rare. Confit is gently reheated in its own fat and served with pommes de terre sarladaises.
Since: 2000
Area covered: 14 departments of the Sud-Ouest (Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Gers, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Aveyron, Corrèze)
Key requirements: Male Mulard or Barbarie ducks; access to open-air runs from the 43rd day; gavage begins at 81 days of age (Mulard); gavage with Sud-Ouest maize for a minimum of 10 days; all stages within the PGI area
Association under the 1901 Act (ODG)
Cooperative
Farm
Major house
Major house
Artisan
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Maison Biraben presents itself as a company founded in 1946 by Odette and Joseph Biraben, who married that year; at the time, they travelled around the markets of Béarn by bicycle to choose their ducks. In 2026, the company celebrates its 80th anniversary.
It offers PGI (IGP) Sud-Ouest duck foie gras in several forms — raw, whole preserved, mi-cuit, in terrines — as well as confits, rillettes, pâtés and ready meals from the Sud-Ouest (garbure, axoa, cassoulet). It reports having won six medals at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris in 2026.
| Address | Rue des Cerisiers, Bureau et Livraison, 63 Rue de la Ribère, 64800 Beuste, France |
| +33 5 59 61 01 08 | |
| biraben@biraben.fr | |
| maisonbiraben.fr | |
| @birabenfoiegras | |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2017. |
