Duck Fat Candle

[nonkeyman]

Where do Chefs get most of their ideas from(besides Sunday night projects!)? Honestly, a combination of books and leftover products. Duck fat is either in over supply or high demand in most kitchens. It depends on how many ducks you have broken down, how much time you spend rendering fat and if you are currently doing duck fat potatoes on your menu. When I worked at the Herbfarm, we would often have large vats of duck fat and pork fat.

 

 

 

This brought about the question. What do we do with all this duck fat/pork fat? Well, you can confit everything in duck and pork fat. It tastes great. However, we were the Herbfarm. We had to try to add a twist. Now this dish may have come from Heston Blumenthal originally, I can't recall. To me, in a kitchen, what's new is old and what is old is new. Or as King Solomon said "There is nothing new under the sun" (ironically, I am sure he stole that from someone). So this dish is simple and really requires very little prep, minus the cracklins.

 

What you will need:

 8 oz of Duck/Pork Fat

2 Bunchs of Chives, slice extra thin(make sure you have a sharp knife!)

Salt to taste

Any leftover duck skin from rendering

If you don't have that 1-2 oz of crisped and crumbed bacon will work

 

Equipment:

Cube shaped molds 

Butchers Twine

Piping bag

 

Whipped Version - BETTER Tasting:

Now there are two ways to approach this "dish", not really a dish, product. I prefer the whipped version. It just tastes so airy. It is like whipped cream vs. cream.

 

Let you duck or pork fat soften at room temperature. You don't want to break your kitchen aid.

 

Once it has tempered, place all 8 oz in a mixer and beat on high for a few minutes with a few good pinches of salt.

 

You should see the color start to brighten up. After that, let it beat for another 2-3 minutes. Then when it looks very airy, use a spatula to fold in the chives and crispy skin or back.

 

Now make sure you have the butchers twine cut into several inch pieces. It is ok if they are too long, you can cut them later.

 

Place the whipped fat in a piping bag.

 

Now here is the only reason I don't like the whipped method. It produces a better product by far!

However, it can be a little messier. I usually put the twine in and pull one end to a corner.

 

Pipe the fat into the cube mold till it fills it slightly above the top.

 

Pull the string towards the middle, and flatten the top using an offset spatula.

 

Once all your molds are filled and wicked, place into the fridge until you need it.

 

Then pop it out!

 

Melted Version:

 

Alright, this is not my preference, but it is way faster and easier but the chives and cracklins tend to settle at the bottom.

 

Lightly warm your duck or pork fat. No need to bring it to anything above 150 degrees.

 

Let it cool if it gets too hot

 

Then while it is still fluid, mix in the chives and cracklins.

 

Now using the cube molds and the wicks, put the wick in first. It will be easier, trust me!

 

Same idea, pull the wick to the side and then pour in the fat. Obviously, way easier and cleaner than piping, but again, think whipped cream vs cream.

 

Now once they are all wicked, place in fridge till firm.

 

Serve with a nice slice of Rye Sour dough bread! Or maybe another bread from Tartine's Bread Book!

[blue_dolphin]

Funny you should mention this as I just saw a little video how-to for using brown butter candles to sauce food at the table.

Sounds a bit messy to me! 

[nonkeyman]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

Funny you should mention this as I just saw a little video how-to for using brown butter candles to sauce food at the table.

Sounds a bit messy to me! 

The idea isn't new. In fact we did the same thing 2 years ago. We would light the candles all around the room before dessert. Then the servers would walk around with a little candle and extra brown butter.

 

There are no real new ideas in the culinary world. I once came up with the idea to use coffee beans to make chocolate. It worked great! 8 months later, Chefsteps posts a video and say they invented it(I don't even think I invented it...we all just copy each other). So what is new is old and old is new!