Duck fat. What is it good for? I know some of you have voiced experiences with goose and duck

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
fat.

I now have 2 tubs of duck fat that I rendered from the guy on the rotisserie. It's reasonably well filtered. I refrigerated it right away. One tube is 3 weeks old, while the other is 2 days old.

Do I want to do some confit? Is it too much work. Should I use it for someo other purpose? I know nothing.

But thank you, if you have some advice for me.

 
Duck fat is manna from heaven!

Last time I bought some, I used it on all kinds of stuff. Basically I look at it like butter or olive oil...with tons more flavor. So I'd roast a chicken and smear duck fat under the skin, potatoes roasted in duck fat (especially fingerlings or yukon golds) is just divine! Carmelized onions with duck fat, mmm.

This looks good...duck fat braised cabbage:
http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r223.html

Epicurious has several recipes with Duck Fat too...mmm...the garlic confit with duck fat looks amazing:
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=duck%20fat

 
Sauteed or roasted potatoes with duck fat are fantastic, tossed with a little garlic and parsley

at the end. The potatoes are best served with pan-fried or roasted duck confit.

Duck confit is not hard to do. All it requires is duck legs, some refrigerator space, and an afternoon at home so you can check on it now and then while it simmers. I have a recipe for it in my cassoulet recipe. (One Dish Meals.) The beautuful thing is that you end up with more duck fat than you started with.

 
You have enough to make confit, Marg. It is easy and well worthwhile...

Try this recipe from Emeril, using your duck fat instead of olive oil. If you need a suggestion for using the confit, I generally crisp it and serve on a bed of warm lentils/shallots. Goof luck!



Duck Confit
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook Time: 14 hours
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
User Rating:


4 duck leg portions with thighs attached, (about 2 pounds) excess fat trimmed and reserved
1 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon table salt
4 cups olive oil
Lay the leg portions on a platter, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and the black pepper. Place the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme on each of 2 leg portions. Lay the remaining 2 leg portions, flesh to flesh, on top. Put the reserved fat from the ducks in the bottom of a glass or plastic container. Top with the sandwiched leg portions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
Remove the duck from the refrigerator. Remove the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and duck fat and reserve. Rinse the duck with cool water, rubbing off some of the salt and pepper. Pat dry with paper towels.
Put the reserved garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and duck fat in the bottom of an enameled cast iron pot. Sprinkle evenly with the peppercorns and table salt. Lay the duck on top, skin side down. Add the olive oil. Cover and bake for 12 to 14 hours, or until the meat pulls away from the bone.
Remove the duck from the fat. Strain the fat and reserve. To store the duck confit, place the duck leg portions in a container, cover with the reserved cooking fat, and store in the refrigerator. Alternately, pick the meat from the bones and place it in a stoneware container. Cover the meat with a thin layer of some of the strained fat. The duck confit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
The excess oil can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used like butter for cooking. The tinge of duck taste in the oil is wonderful.

 
Oh boy, now I have the duck fat, I need the time. It sounds like solid gold, so will it keep for 2

weeks?

Thank you for the responses. I'd like to try it all. I do have about 4 cups.

 
It will keep for months if it's pure fat--without any residue. You can also freeze it.

 
One of our local chefs used the same method and did a confit with

chicken legs and duck fat. It was absolutely delicious!

 
Thanks Joe. I think I'll do just that. I knew when I was filtering that I should have used cheese-

cloth but I got lazy (again) and just used a fine sieve. And then got concerned about how it would last.

 
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of duck meat, but I do like duck fat. That seemed like a great solution!

 
Sounds good to me too. I've also seen recipes that call for a whole quartered duck, and

goose is traditional. Julia Child has a recipe for goose confit in Mastering II.

 
I've had tougher cases, and they end up licking their plate, then stealing bits of duck skin

from their neighbors.

 
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