Duck fat and Resolutions

New Year's is barely a month away and I'm already finding myself cheating on those promises I made (to myself). Cheating---not dropping---my resolve to maintain the weight loss I accomplished and hopefully, to loose a bit more.

Loosing resolve happens too easily when you cook for a living and it happens too easily when you love to eat. And it happens when I find myself with a pile of duck fat that is begging for rendering and potatoes longing for frying in hot oil.

What to do, what to do. You know the answer and so do I. Render that fat, enjoy the cracklins, fry the potatoes and eat! I did....without a bit of remorse.

Step #1---How to render duck fat:

Put the duck skin and fat in a deep heavy pot. Pour in enough cold water to just cover the fat and skin. Bring to a gentle boil and just let it go. No stirring needed. 

After one hour, the mess you started with will have turned into golden bits of crispy duck skin cracklins and a luscious deep amber liquid. Strain the liquid through a couple of layers of cheese cloth and drain the remaining cracklins on paper towel. Sprinkle them with a little salt while they're still warm. The duck fat----if it lasts that long----can be held (refrigerated---not frozen) for up to one year. 

In the beginning, an unappealing pot of raw skin, fat and water

About 20 minutes later, not looking much better...just let it keep going

After one hour, golden goodies. Sprinkle with a little salt and enjoy your cracklins.

The final reward. A few cups of amber goodness. The duck fat!

Step #2, Frying potatoes in duck fat:

serves 4 generously

• 4 Idaho potatoes, scrubbed, skin left on and cut into thick fries
• 1 cup of rendered duck fat
• Maldon salt (or any other good finishing salt)
• optional: 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary.

Soak the potatoes for about 30 minutes in cold water, rinse and pat dry.

Heat the oil to medium (350 degrees) and add the potatoes. Fry them for 5-6 minutes until they just begin to turn opaque. Remove to paper towels and let drain. Do this in batches if necessary. Don't crowd the pan. 

After all the potatoes have had their first fry, return them to the pan, in batches if necessary, with the optional spring of rosemary. Fry until golden, drain on paper towels, sprinkle with the salt and eat!

Strain the used duck fat through 2 layers of cheesecloth, cool and refrigerate. This used duck fat is good for 1 month.

Crispy duck fat fries.

Credits to others: My camera malfunctioned and I lost my own photos. I have shamelessly used pics I found on line and offer thanks to those who have generously made their own work available.

My 1st Confit

Recently my friend mentioned she wanted to learn to make confit, duck confit and I blustered, "I can show you" knowing full well I'd never confited duck much less watched someone else.

For rescue, I turned to my Julia books, the last words (for me) on classic French cooking. I found a recipe covering both sides of two pages with notes directing the cook to an additional recipe taking up both sides of another page. The combined directions detailed a time consuming process that called for, among other things, pounds of melted duck fat, esoteric equipment and herbs (that despite my extensive collection) I had never heard of.

Not easily dissuaded, I also searched the web, my faithful Larousse , a 40 year old NY Times Cookbook written by Craig Claiborne (no mention there of confit) and an even older book written in French (I used WordMonkey to translate).

What follows is an amalgam of ingredients and procedures and pictures of some of the steps. And my reactions to this first attempt at making duck confit? Not bad. Would I do it again? Yes! in exactly the same way. I enjoyed the challenge; it was fun (and it didn't taste half bad).

DUCK CONFIT

• 2 fresh duck legs with thigh attached
• 4 juniper berries
• 6 pepper corns
• 4 whole cloves
• ¼ tsp dried thyme or 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch allspice
• 4 TBS Kosher salt
• 1 TBS sugar
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled, left whole 
• Optional additional seasonings: pinches of fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, dried ginger
• Regular olive oil to cover the duck legs by 2”. I used almost all of a 34-ounce bottle

Method:

• Using a mortal and pestle, lightly crush the juniper berries, clove and peppercorns together.

 

• Crumble in the bay leaf, dried thyme, all spice, salt and sugar and mix everything together. If you are using fresh thyme, do not add it yet.
• Select a porcelain or glass dish (with sides) that will hold the legs snugly.
• Spread half the mix on the bottom of your dish along with 2 sprigs fresh thyme (if you are using fresh).
• Put the duck legs in the dish, skin side up and spread the remaining mix over the skin side of the duck. Put one sprig of fresh thyme (if you are using fresh) over the top of each leg.  

 

• Cover tightly and refrigerate undisturbed for 48 hours.

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• Preheat over to 225°
• Remove the duck legs from the cure and brush off as much of the mix as you can.
• Return the ducks to a high sided oven proof container and cover them with the olive oil. The oil should come over the legs by about 2”
• Float in the two cloves of garlic.
• Slowly poach the duck, uncovered, for 3 hours or until the duck starts coming off the bone.

 

• Do not let the oil bubble. It should cook very slowly and have little or no bubbling.
• After the duck is cooked, remove it from the oil and put it into a clean glass or porcelain container large enough to hold the legs and all the oil.
• Remove the garlic cloves and save them for slathering on a crusty piece of bread: cook's treat!
• Strain the oil and pour it over the duck legs. Be sure the cooked duck is fully submerged in oil. Leave the duck to cool and then cover tightly and refrigerate. It will keep up to 3 months.