Cooking With....Duck

Duck Fat  

 

Duck Fat renders food crisp, glossed, and golden.   If you are treated to extraordinary crispy shallots, french fries, or chevre-stuffed rice croquettes, chances are duck fat was involved.  This natural fat is the anti-Crisco of frying, baking, and searing.  Get it into the hottest pan you’ve got. When it’s jumping, lay a layer of anything that requires high, high heat.   

 

Love your potatoes  any style:  wedges for steak-frites, tiny cubes for hash, grated for latke 

 

Get a smokin’ sear on wild mushrooms and meat  

 

Add golden color to grilled cheese, roasted veggies, and pilafs 

 

Deep fry wontons, fritters, pierogies, ravioli; tortilla chips 

 

Confit duck, rabbit, or turkey legs, vegetables or fatty fish

 

Duck Confit 

 

Duck confit is richly flavored, joyously fatty, and abundantly versatile. True to tradition, preservation of duck legs takes time, time, and more time.  We lifted both the method- a long simmer in duck fat - and its many menu appearances, from Grandmere's table.  

 

Simple but make it on Sunday - crisp the leg and serve on a green salad. Baguette + wine. 

 

Shred the meat (while you do so, absentmindedly devour the crispy skin)

 

Tacos, Peking duck, ravioli, tamales

 

Pot pie, cassoulet, hominy stew