Roast Duck Illustration from Mrs Beeton's Cookbook - Public Domain
Having all but exhausted the parts of a bird that naturally fit into this topic, this is probably the last instalment.
Brains are a popular protein but there is a reason why we talk of people being ‘bird brains’. They are tiny. But then so are the brains of shrimp, but they are delicious. I think there is an accessibility problem. Biting into the shrimps’ heads is the best part for me; biting into a chicken’s head holds no appeal. No, when it comes to brains, I’ll stick with pig.
The other popular and delicious offal I think of is bone marrow. While chicken and duck carcasses make excellent stocks, they aren’t exactly rich in marrow. But turkeys are, yet 90% of turkey marrow goes to dog food. A bone broth made from the turkey remains should be compulsory; after all the bird is worthless! I’m convinced the only reason they are popular at Christmas or Thanksgiving is that they are big enough to feed a large gathering. No one, surely, eats turkey for its great flavour and moist meat! Anyway, turkeys are rarer than hen’s teeth here.
Goose, on the other hand, is delicious beyond belief, but its yield is low. 香港烤鹅 (xiāng gǎng kǎo é), Hong Kong roast goose is a thing of deep joy. But I don’t remember anyone making broth from the carcass. From the giblets including neck, yes.
So, that leaves me only one thing, not usually considered viscera or offal or giblets, but definitely from inside the birds. I’m talking fat. And you've never heard of anyone rendering turkey fat for its gourmet value, have you?
Most modern supermarket chickens have been bred to be fat free and their lifestyle and early death gives them no time to develop much, anyway. Get a fat old layer and you’ve got a different story. The 鸡油 (jī yóu)， chicken fat can be rendered as schmaltz and used to great effect in many dishes, or simply used to fry some bread. Delicious with a sprinkling of sea salt.
But it is 鸭油 (yā yóu), duck fat that is the prince, while 鹅油 (é yóu), goose fat is surely king. I am meticulous about rendering any duck fat that passes my way. It has a high smoke point of around 190 ℃ / 375℉ (as does goose fat) and lasts for months in the fridge or at least it would if I didn’t use it so often!
Rendering duck fat from collected scraps
Newly rendered duck fat
Chilled duck fat from my fridge
Obviously, you will need duck fat to make your confit duck, but is there a better way to fry potatoes or make roast potatoes (I refuse to call them roasties – I’m an adult!) than using duck fat? Well, yes there is, but using duck fat is second best, heir-to-throne stuff. (Come to think of it, you could also use it to make Yorkies! If you are going to be so non-traditional not to call them by their proper name, why not go the whole hog and do them in duck fat rather than the beef fat used in Yorkshire?).
Pork tenderloin steak with duck fat sautéed mushrooms and duck fat roast potatoes
Mushrooms taste richer sautéed in duck or goose fat as do Brussels sprouts. In fact, most vegetables do. A grilled cheese sandwich is raised to another level if the bread is spread with duck or goose fat before grilling. Egg fried rice fried in duck fat is also a wonder to taste. Be sure to use duck eggs, while you are there! Or use goose fat and goose eggs if you have a lot of mouths to feed.
Goose fat fried rice with goose liver
I’m told that duck fat is good for popping popc⊘rn, but obviously I don’t go there!
Goose fat, whether you render it yourself (you should if you have a passing goose) or bought in the pots sometimes available in supermarkets, can be used just like butter and is an ideal and healthy frying medium. My French grandmother used little else in her kitchen.
