Rendering Duck and Goose Fat

[sp1187]

This is the method I've used when rendering the fat from a duck. It destroys the skin, but you get absolutely all the fat

do you freeze the skins till you have a large amount to do, or render as they become available?

[Prawncrackers]

i freeze until i have enough to render with, though i do dice it up before freezing (do not deny yourself the crackling!). you can render the fat from frozen in a sauecpan with some boiling water to start it off.

[plk]

do you freeze the skins till you have a large amount to do, or render as they become available?

I'd probably freeze it until I had enough to do something with. When I did this, it took all of the fat from two ducks to get enough fat to confit four legs. So, you may want to save the effort until you can do a couple at a time. I'd just do whatever is more convenient.

[Henry dV]

THERE IS NO FAT ON WILD WATERFOWL BE IT GOOSE OR DUCK!

IN FACT IF YOU ATTEMPT TO COOK A WILD BIRD LIKE A DOMESTIC BIRD, YOU WILL END UP WITH A HOCKEY PUCK!

Wild duck should be cooked quickly in a hot oven until rare and not rested.

I breast out wild geese, cook the breats rare and braise the leg/thighs in sour cream.

I have been hunting waterfowl for 35+ years.-Dick

←

I disagree sir, and refer the honourable gentleman to the following image.......

.........first day of the season here, and unfortunately I`m duckless

[Jozef]

I had asked about this on another thread a few weeks ago, i've since tried it a couple of times and get about 300ml of rendered fat from 2 medium sized ducks.

All I do is puree the skin in a food processor and cook on low gas for 3 or 4 hours, (stirring every while) then pass it though a sieve.

Actually I have a question, is there any preffered type of container material to store duck fat in? glass? plastic?

[kitchensqueen]

I'm resurrecting this thread because this weekend's project for me is working with a whole duck. I intend to remove the breasts for cooking seperately, render the fat, and confit the thighs/legs. I've got a couple of questions I hope someone can answer.

- I've read that you should avoid the fat around the neck and tail area - is this true, and if so, why?

- How much fat will an average duck render? Will it be enough to properly confit the thighs/legs?

- For the crockpot method described above (which I really like the idea of) do you add any water to the crockpot (as you do in the stovetop method)? How many hours on high or low should you let it render for? Does this method produce cracklings?

- Are there any interesting dishes that I could use the cracklings in? We're not really inclined to eat them as-is.

[kitchensqueen]

Come on guys - don't tell me I'm the only one working with whole duck these days!

[BadRabbit]

I'm resurrecting this thread because this weekend's project for me is working with a whole duck. I intend to remove the breasts for cooking seperately, render the fat, and confit the thighs/legs. I've got a couple of questions I hope someone can answer.

- I've read that you should avoid the fat around the neck and tail area - is this true, and if so, why?

- How much fat will an average duck render? Will it be enough to properly confit the thighs/legs?

- For the crockpot method described above (which I really like the idea of) do you add any water to the crockpot (as you do in the stovetop method)? How many hours on high or low should you let it render for? Does this method produce cracklings?

- Are there any interesting dishes that I could use the cracklings in? We're not really inclined to eat them as-is.

I use all the fat and have never had problems.

The fat from one duck will do both legs and thighs if you are very diligent about harvesting as much fat as you can but if you want to confit the wings too (I always do) you'll have to come up with some additional fat. I've found that just using a neutral oil or commercial lard makes little or no difference in the final product as long as most of the fat is duck.

I personally use the Chris's food processor method for rendering and it will both speed up and increase yield regardless of heating method. I've not used the slow cooker.

Edited May 27, 2011 by BadRabbit (log)

[Shalmanese]

I render fat from whole ducks. First, take off them breasts and legs and trim them well. Take off as much fat/skin as you can from the carcass and chop into small pieces. Meanwhile, dismember the rest of the duck into as small a pieces as possible. Put that in a non-stick pot and cook until the cracklings stop bubbling, remove the cracklings, add the duck pieces and fry until golden brown (30 minutes). Drain the fat (you should get 2 cups), either add the cracklings back into the pot or eat seperately and then cover with water and aromatics to make duck stock.

[dcarch]

Here is how I take the whole duck apart:

Two more way to render duck fat:

1. Same a cooking bacon in a microwave.

2. After you pressure cook duck parts to make stock, all the fat goes to the surface. You get all the fat after you refrigerate the stock.

dcarch

[kitchensqueen]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think I'm going to try rendering on the stovetop in a little water, as that seems to be the prevailing method.

I don't think I'm going to confit the wings also - I'll just throw them into the stock.

I thought the nonsense about avoiding tail and neck fat was, in fact, nonsense - I can't imagine why it would be something to avoid, unless you had duck that wasn't cleanly killed and butchered, in which case you'd likely want to avoid the whole thing in the first place!

I'm getting a frozen duck - should I expect it to come with or without giblets? If it has them, I could add them to the stock right?

[budrichard]

You do not want to use a stockpot as the high sides will inhibit moisture release and you will not get crisp cracklings. A saute pan is what you should use, short sides to allow water release and tall enough to help with any splatter.

You also do not want to use water as that is what you are trying to eliminate in rendering fat.

You are correct about neck and tail fat. The giblets could form the basis for a sauce but in any event duck liver by itself is a nice snack for the cook.

Since you live in Chicago, let me suggest John's Live Poultry for you next duck.-Dick

[kitchensqueen]

Well, I've got my duck. It's currently defrosting in the fridge. I got the last one at the store - three days ago they had a dozen - guess a lot of people are having duck this weekend in my neighborhood!

I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

[CantCookStillTry]

((Quick note I'm sure there is probably already a topic but I'm obviously not punching in the right keywords - could someone do their merge magic for me?)) 

 

OK so, we all have them, some alignment of the stars or distractions that prove fatal for our cooking ambitions. I just had one, and I'm still kind of gutted. Anyone else suffered a mishap lately? 

 

I bought a duck recently, I don't think they're particularly cheap in my area, a "LuvADuck' brand frozen duck cost $24 Au at my local supermarket. I bought it specifically to try two things, I wanted to try and break down a bird (I have never done it before) and I really really wanted to try rendering my own duck fat (roast potatoes, roast potatoes, roast potatoes). It was going well, I read the post of favourite breaking down methods, watched a heap of videos and gave it a darn good try for my first attempt. So far so good. 

I then chopped all the skin and fat (there was a lot - a gold mine) into one inch ish pieces, loaded it into my pan, covered with water and let it start to do its thing. I kept checking and checking. it started to do the crackle and spit and it was smelling wonderful. 

And then life happened, and I was distracted by my little man. 

Anyway to cut the waffle - when I got back, my golden buttery Duck fat? Well. Well it was not golden. I had burnt the living sh.. out of it. 

I tried to strain it through the finest thing I had (goodbye stockings) in a attempt to salvage. But it was not to be. And now there is nearly a pint of dark aley looking, burnt tasting bird fat languish in a plastic bottle in the garbage. A fitting portrait of my weekend cooking dreams. 

 

The cat loved duck scratchings though - must not have taste receptors for 'acrid'. 

[weinoo]

Not that I have any kids, or even little men, but distractions in the kitchen can really screw with your cooking.

 

I wonder if you'd have better luck rendering your duck fat in a low oven.  Then, when you know you're not going to be distracted, you can make the cracklings on top of the stove. 

 

Timers are also good.

[kayb]

Little people are antithetical to serious cooking. Why I didn't get into serious cookery until they were grown. 

 

They do have their good points, though. You can get another pricy duck. Littleness is priceless, and all too fleeting.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

42 minutes ago, kayb said:

They do have their good points, though. You can get another pricy duck. Littleness is priceless, and all too fleeting.

 

...Contemplates shifting volume of Johnathan Swift over to the cookbook pile.

[Cronker]

I note that as a fellow Australian, you too are almost solely restricted to using the "Luv-a-Duck" product.

if you can, you will be far better off trying to source your bird from any Asian grocer or butcher.

i find "Luv-a-Duck" to be similar in quality to those battery farmed mass produced chickens- bland, watery and certainly not value for the outrageous price.

[CantCookStillTry]

21 hours ago, weinoo said:

I wonder if you'd have better luck rendering your duck fat in a low oven.  Then, when you know you're not going to be distracted, you can make the cracklings on top of the stove. 

 

That sounds promising, do you have any general guidelines? I know it sounds stupid, but I hate to try and "wing it" I don't have the, skill set I guess, yet. Perhaps I do but I'm the kind of person that will read six different recipes before making something I have made 1000 times no mater what - no confidence I guess! I do not belong here! Every online guide I found (Saveur, 'luvaduck' ... etc) was stove top. 

 

13 hours ago, Cronker said:

if you can, you will be far better off trying to source your bird from any Asian grocer or butcher.

 

My kingdom for an Asian grocer! You are completely right of course, and I agree on quality and everything, plus this bird was completely squashed when I defrosted it. Not good. There is an 'Asian Supermarket' in the closest town (about an hour), and it is a treasure trove, it is also the size of my lounge room, covers the basics from Vietnam to Japan, all tinned or frozen but still a gem. I did see some ducks in their freezer and may try when I am over my disappointment!

 

[Cronker]

Therefore, I hope your loungeroom is large.

we have "little" Asian grocery outlets that are like the TARDIS.  small rooms with absolutely tonnes of stuff, and I have much more fun buying things that I am not sure what they are.

look, even a frozen duck from one of those places is going to be better than "Luv-a-Duck". - in my opinion the very worst example of duck you could find.

duck is a beautiful thing, a lovely meat, a gorgeous product.  But, like goose and goat, you need a good example to start with, and then you need to cook it properly 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, CantCookStillTry said:

 

That sounds promising, do you have any general guidelines? I know it sounds stupid, but I hate to try and "wing it" I don't have the, skill set I guess, yet. Perhaps I do but I'm the kind of person that will read six different recipes before making something I have made 1000 times no mater what - no confidence I guess! I do not belong here! Every online guide I found (Saveur, 'luvaduck' ... etc) was stove top. 

 

 

I'd say to prep like you did for stove top, then put into a 120℃ oven for a couple hours - check (use a timer!) every hour or so...see if there's enough water or if the skin has rendered out all its fat....if it has, turn off the oven and come back when you can deal with it!

 

You can even stick the whole duck on a rack in a deep roasting pan and just roast it at that temp for a few hours - you'll end up with plenty of fat in the pan and a delicious roasted bird.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

 

I'd say to prep like you did for stove top, then put into a 120℃ oven for a couple hours - check (use a timer!) every hour or so...see if there's enough water or if the skin has rendered out all its fat....if it has, turn off the oven and come back when you can deal with it!

 

You can even stick the whole duck on a rack in a deep roasting pan and just roast it at that temp for a few hours - you'll end up with plenty of fat in the pan and a delicious roasted bird.

Like so.

[weinoo]

Exactly!

 

Though I think Paula Wolfert, in one of her early books, dismisses the use of duck fat from a roasted duck; I've always used the fat from the same, and never had a problem with it!

[Kerala]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

You can even stick the whole duck on a rack in a deep roasting pan and just roast it at that temp for a few hours - you'll end up with plenty of fat in the pan and a delicious roasted bird.

For roast potatoes, seriously, nothing more is needed! Keep it simple.

[andiesenji]

5 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I'd say to prep like you did for stove top, then put into a 120℃ oven for a couple hours - check (use a timer!) every hour or so...see if there's enough water or if the skin has rendered out all its fat....if it has, turn off the oven and come back when you can deal with it!

 

You can even stick the whole duck on a rack in a deep roasting pan and just roast it at that temp for a few hours - you'll end up with plenty of fat in the pan and a delicious roasted bird.

 

I have one of the cylinder shaped "rotissiere" baskets, which I have never used in the appliance it came with.  But it is the perfect size in which to stuff a duck, and because it has the stubby rods at each end, can be hung on top of a Dutch oven so the fat all drips out of the bird and it can be (very carefully) turned a couple or three times and to keep it from spinning, I just stick a couple of my old stainless steel dinner forks into each side so they rest on the rim of the pot.  

 

I mention this because I was in a thrift store dropping off some cloths that don't fit and saw one on a shelf for $2.00.  I have often seen them in thrift shops.  So keep it in mind the next time you are out looking, these things are helpful for other than their intended use.