So I've had a pot of duck fat sat at the bottom of the freezer for the past 6 months and as it looks like it's never going to end up used for roast potatoes I'm interested in trying it out in some fairly non-standard dishes. The first one that really comes to mind is in a pasta sauce - I've cooked with cured pork cheek for a traditional Italian pasta sauce and it's all about the fat that comes from the cheek. I was thinking of something along the lines of shallots and garlic sautéed in a little duck fat and butter, add a pinch of sage, stir in al-dente pasta, pecorino romano or another hard cheese, fresh basil leaves and black pepper and serve. Or alternatively replacing some of the butter in a ragu alla bolognese with duck fat... Anyone got any ideas?
Duck fat
- Thread starter YetiDave
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Not sure, I grew up eating allot of duck and never cared much for the fat but your original idea did make me salivate.
I have heard of a chocolate soufflé with the duck fat substituting for butter. It would make it smokey, but could be amazing.
make duck confit.
saute veggies in it. I know it's simple, but it adds nice flavor to asparagus and the like. I add bacon fat to my pasta sauces, so duck fat would probably work as well. I'd use it in a lighter red sauce. If you have enough, fry some beignets in duck fat instead of other oils. It's VERY good.
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I actually ended up using asparagus in the dish - freshly made tagliatelle with shaved asparagus, garlic, pecorino romano and pine nuts. Sauté the garlic in duck fat, add al dente pasta and the cheese and stir through with a little pasta water. Then stir in the shaved asparagus and add a squeeze of lemon juice then serve topped with a little chopped parsley, toasted pine nuts and more cheese
Can't go wrong there.
I use duck fat for...pretty much everything. A local restaurant cooks a lot of duck and saves the fat. They end up with too much, so I get about 2 quarts a month. Eggs, potatoes, veggies, you name it. Just substitute any cooking fat for duck fat. Its awesome
Before I noticed this thread was in the Mess Hall, I thought someone had discovered a new variant of Mitchells Wool Fat.
You should read Johannes Mario Simmel's 'It Can’t Always Be Caviar' for some exquisite culinary advices. Some of those include duck fat. Or was it goose fat?
So you guys that get this from the market, is it from domesticated birds? I have only had experience with the wild variety
Use it to pop some popcorn. Bacon fat is another one that works well for that.
Ben
Ben
The stuff I get is from farmed birds since the restaurant buys ducks from a food company. I'm sure you could render fat from wild birds too.
You can use it for a base (instead of oil or butter, etc) in a Moroccan tagine.
I get it from a store-bought duck after butchering or in the tub from the store. I found that Whole Foods is the only place close to me that stocks it, but it's priced fine. You get a tub that is about the size of a smaller margerine tub for about $10. It will last a long time, so I don't mind paying that much. It keeps well in the freezer if you have a large quantity. Just keep it well sealed so it doesn't soak up all those nasty lipid-soluble fridge smells.
Save it up for the fried toikey at Thanksgiving, of course!
I'm pretty sure that we've used it to crisp up the skin of a roast chicken.
This. Your arteries will love you for it(!)
I like to use animal fat to pan fry steaks in. It just adds that kick of luxury flavor.
Found a recipie a few years back for a duck and oyster gumbo. Started by baking the duck then using the fat to make the roux. It turned out great.
