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Storing Duck Fat


maggiethecat

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Duck was on sale a few weeks ago (99 cents a pound "some pieces may be missing") and I roasted most of them for that Fabulous Fat.

We've done comfit duck legs. Chicken legs too. There's still lots of succulent fat. The flavour's even better.

Can I just boil it up, freeze it, and carry on indefinitely? Or should I simply fry everything I can think of in it, add it to mashed potatoes, and wait for ducks to go on sale ?

Margaret McArthur

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Duck was on sale a few weeks ago (99 cents a pound "some pieces may be missing") and I roasted most of them for that Fabulous Fat.

We've done comfit duck legs.  Chicken legs too.  There's still lots of succulent fat.  The flavour's even better.

Can I just boil it up, freeze it, and carry on indefinitely?  Or should I simply fry everything I can think of in it, add it to mashed potatoes, and wait for ducks to go on sale ?

We meet again. Duck fat has a longer half-life than a pile of fossil crusted nuclear waste. It's like shortening. That fat'll still be usable long after your desire to use it has expired. Keep it refridgerated and you should be golden for at least a couple of years. Fuck Emeril, Duck Fat Rules.....

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I would amend that. In and out of the refrigerator it can turn rancid. Keep it in your freezer and it will live forever.

Ruth Friedman

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I pour mine into the ice cube trays. Each cube ends up being two tablespoons. After they freeze throw them into a ziplock bag. Pull out individual cubes as you need them.

Use them as the fat in any dishes that goes with duck. Apples, cherries, figs, mushrooms, potatoes...

Drink!

I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward. --John Mortimera

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  • 6 months later...

Good heavens... all I wanted to do was make duck confit, but the fat alone could cost a small fortune! I need to make 12 legs, and while my Asian market has legs for $2.59/lb, they don't have just the fat. Only grocery store in the area has it for $15.29/lb, and I know I need a lot to cover the legs. For that price, should I just buy some whole ducks at the Asian market, too, to render the fat and at least get more meat out of the bargain? (And how many would I need to provide enough fat?) Or does anyone have any more economical ideas?

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I, too, am on the hunt for duck fat for confit. I am about to decide to get some ducks and have the meat as a bonus, soooo... If someone could answer the "How many ducks?" question, I would be most grateful. On average, how much fat do you get out of a duck? What is the best way to render it out?

Here is my current thinking:

Take off the breasts for another use another time.

Take off the legs for the confit.

Put all the rest in a stock pot and go for the slow simmer. Mirepoix or no? (Could add that later to finish the stock.)

Put the stock and fat in the fridge to chill.

Take the fat off and proceed with the confit.

Critique please... I am making this up as I go along. I don't know a lot about ducks. :biggrin:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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I've used the Whole Duck approach and found that each duck provides just the right amount of fat to make 2 confit thighs/legs. Amazing, no?

I did 3 ducks at one time. For each duck, I first removed the breasts and removed the fat from the breasts, leaving a small patch behind -- say 1 1/2 x 3". These I froze for later use as...sautéed duck breast. Then I removed the 2 leg/thigh pieces from which I trimmed the extraneous fat. Then I proceeded to trim whatever remaining fat I could from the carcasses. All the fat I placed in a large skillet, which I tucked into the oven at 300°F for a few hours to render. I later roasted the carcasses with some vegetables and used them to make stock, from which I made a duck "demi-glace" to sauce those sautéed duck breasts. I used the leg/thigh pieces and the fat to make confit.

Now I have a really sick confession to make. I did this nearly 4 years ago, and the confit is still packed in its fat in a large rubber-ring sealed Luminarc jar in my fridge. And I don't know whether it's still good. Several French pals have smirkingly suggested that it's just starting to get good. It hasn't grown anything, and if I open the seal, the jar neither sucks air in nor blows it out, and it doesn't have any wierd smell. I suppose I just have to dig out a leg and go for it. :hmmm:

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I've used the Whole Duck approach and found that each duck provides just the right amount of fat to make 2 confit thighs/legs. Amazing, no?

I'm going to go back on my word here. Since I did 3 ducks, I only know that 3 ducks render enough fat to make 6 confit legs/thighs. I can't rightfully infer that one duck makes enough fat for 2 portions.

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Now I have a really sick confession to make. I did this nearly 4 years ago, and the confit is still packed in its fat in a large rubber-ring sealed Luminarc jar in my fridge. And I don't know whether it's still good. Several French pals have smirkingly suggested that it's just starting to get good. It hasn't grown anything, and if I open the seal, the jar neither sucks air in nor blows it out, and it doesn't have any wierd smell. I suppose I just have to dig out a leg and go for it. :hmmm:

Coooool.

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Duck fat isn't particularly popular among home cooks, so most stores don't carry it and therefore it's a specialty item . . . and therefore both expensive and rarely all that fresh. But in the high-end restaurant business it's a fairly commonplace ingredient that restaurants get delivered in big white half-gallon tubs. When I've needed duck fat in the past, like for the James Beard Foundation latke competition, I've asked a chef friend and he has added it to his weekly order. I think it was less than $5 per pound, though I'm not exactly sure how to convert volume to weight of duck fat.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
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Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Thanks, GG Mora. What you did with the fat in the skillet in the oven is about what I do to render lard. I just didn't know if any browning was a good thing or not. It is with lard if you aren't going to use it in sweet pastry. UUUMM... Duck cracklin's. Your approach makes more sense than my odd ramblings.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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The only way to go is to roast a couple of ducks yourself. It's really easy. You get lots and lots of fat and as an added bonus the roasted ducks are REALLY tasty. You can even use the relatively inexpensive frozen ducks (Maple Leaf Farms?) available at the supermarket. Pock lots of holes in the with a barbeque skewer so the fat runs out freely. Also, salt liberally all over - inside and out. This also pulls out the fat. Roast at 350-375 degrees for about 20 minutes a pound. Periodically, siphon off the fat with a baster syringe type thingee. If you add a few carrots and potatoes to the roasting pan you'll end up with a top notch one-pan dinner PLUS plenty of duck fat to use for other things. Enjoy.

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Good heavens... all I wanted to do was make duck confit, but the fat alone could cost a small fortune!

That reminds me. Last winter I was making confit and was just a little short on duck fat so we went to a local high end shop to see if they had any. A young employee at the store suggested that we could just buy some foie gras and melt that down as it was mostly fat anyway. :unsure:

A small fortune indeed!

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Duck fat isn't particularly popular among home cooks, so most stores don't carry it and therefore it's a specialty item . . . and therefore both expensive and rarely all that fresh. But in the high-end restaurant business it's a fairly commonplace ingredient that restaurants get delivered in big white half-gallon tubs. When I've needed duck fat in the past, like for the James Beard Foundation latke competition, I've asked a chef friend and he has added it to his weekly order. I think it was less than $5 per pound, though I'm not exactly sure how to convert volume to weight of duck fat.

The two pound tubs I've purchased are one quart plastic containers. They usualy cost between $3.50 and $4.00/lb.

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Why do I feel like buying duck fat is cheating? That flies in the face of the whole reason for a "project" like confit. After all, isn't the point here to make the project as complex as possible, preferrably stretching over several days' effort, using the maximum number of pots and pans? Now, if you are making confit, cranking up to do a cassoulet... Now THAT is a project. Reminds me of my tamale adventure that started with chunks of pig fat. :biggrin:

Some of us are just plain wacked. :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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