Duck Fat

[Bribie G]

So how come I have lived so long and have never until now discovered duck fat? :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:

WTF

 

[Cube]

Maggie Beer loves it. Save every drop of it and use it all for yourself.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

duck fat is freakin awesome..... I have a tub of the stuff in the freezer, I am trying to build up enough of it to preserve my own confit duck legs... but somehow everytime that tub nearly gets full enough - I feel the need for roast potatos.

 

[KHB]

+1 for duck fat, we use it for yorkies and confit rabbit at my work.

Cheers

 

[Fourstar]

duck fat is freakin awesome..... I have a tub of the stuff in the freezer, I am trying to build up enough of it to preserve my own confit duck legs... but somehow everytime that tub nearly gets full enough - I feel the need for roast potatos.

Have a look down Victoria st Thirsty, ive seena few butchers down there with tubs of duck fat. SWMBO folks when to france around 12 months ago and got a few tins of the Confit legs (around 1/2doz in a tin. Yep its a big ass tin) we reserved all of the fat and had around 3/4 take-away container of fat. :icon_drool2:

The cost of buying rendered duck fat commercially (even the luvaduck broand) is quite steep, 12-15 bucks for around 400ml. Everyone needs to start eating more duck i think! Drive the prices down.

 

[Airgead]

So how come I have lived so long and have never until now discovered duck fat? :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:

The problem with duck fat is that once you have discovered it, you may not live much longer h34r:

It is lovely though. Even if you can hear your arteries clanging shut as soon as you reach for the tin...

Cheers
Dave

 

[Thirsty Boy]

screw it - I take an extra cholesterol tablet as a prophylactic - and with chemically reinforced arteries snarf down the ducky goodness.

I am a tubby bastard though....

 

[Adamt]

Duck ****! There's nothing wrong with duck fat or saturated fats, moderation is the key. Google "the French paradox".

 

[brettprevans]

Duck ****! There's nothing wrong with duck fat or saturated fats, moderation is the key. Google "the French paradox".

+1!! eat less more often. thats how they do it. they dont over indulge.

love duck, duck fat etc etc. foi grais (sp) :icon_drool2:

 

[ausdb]

Duck fat = wonderful stuff doled out to foody friends by the spoonful when they beg and plead!

The best way to get it apart from buying cans of confit with bonus duck fat is to just buy a couple of whole ducks! My entry into the joys of duck fat and duck products went something like this:

I had been reading Charcuterie by Ruhlman and wanted to make confit so I bought two duck marylands from Mondos butchers in Perth and a can of duck fat which came to about $28! I then went screw that and bought a whole duck for $22 and learnt to break down a duck. I managed to remove two breasts (skin on) with out too much mangling, two more marylands, the skin and then chopped the bones and other fun bits up into bits and made some stock. The stock got reduced down into about 200ml of "essence of duck" which when cooled was like jelly and went into some small containers in the freezer. At the same time I also used all the skin and fatty bits and rendered them down into fat. I also prepared the four marylands for confit with salt and herbs and put them in the fridge overnight.

The second night I used the two breasts to make something like duck a'la orange for dinner and made sure I collected the excess fat which had rendered out whilst the breasts were cooking. Later that evening I got my prepared marylands and all of my collected and bought duck fat and cooked the confit. The confit was cooked overnight in the oven on a very low temperature and then at the end I stored it in plastic containers with two legs in each, covered in fat of course.

The confit was a success and has all been eaten now I kept some for about 2 months without it going bad, one of the dishes I made with it I used the duck jelly as a base for a sauce which I thought came out pretty amazing. I kept the fat from the confit in a jar in the fridge and have been using a bit for special roast potatoes but now I have established the base supply I will add to it the next time I buy ducks and repeat the process.

On the duck subject does anyone in Perth know where you can get fresh not frozen duck? I've tried most of the good butchers and even a few of the asian butchers in Northbridge but they all want to sell me a frozen duck.

 

[Duff]

Haven't tried duck fat but have a jar of goose fat in the fridge which comes out on special occasions. If the duck is anything like the goose then I'm sure it is unreal.

 

[Feldon]

Resurrecting an old thread but seems like a good a place to post a quacky question re. duck confit...

I was down at Coles today and found that they have whole frozen ducks on sale for half price. $11.50 for a 2.1kg bird (that's frozen weight, so probably a touch under 2kg when thawed). Good value I thought, and I love duck confit at resturants, so I bought three and thought I'd have a crack at doing it myself. Got them thawing in the fridge now.

I plan to joint each duck into four portions (2x legs/thighs and 2x breasts per duck). Hoping to get enough fat from the other parts of the ducks to render down in a saucepan to enable me to do a duck confit (that's dry marinating the portions in rock salt, garlic and herbs for 24hrs, then cooking submerged in duck fat in a very low oven for about 6 hrs, then remove and crisp the skin in a pan and serve). I'll strain the left over duck fat and keep it in a jar in the fridge for roasting spuds etc.

My question is: can I freeze the unused cooked duck confit portions in a vacuum sealed bag? I've read that the cooked portions will last several weeks in the fridge if left submerged in duck fat, but as I'm the only one in my house that eats duck it might take a while to get through it all. So I was planning on vac sealing and freezing the bulk of the confit portions. Or would I be better freezing raw portions and doing a confit as and when required (but given the long cook time it would be easier doing all the duck all at once).

Another thing, every recipe I've come across only uses the leg/thigh joint for confit, not the breasts. Is this because the breasts are unsuitable for this cooking process?

Any thoughts and tips appreciated. Cheers.

 

[Mardoo]

First off I'm sure Manticle can answer this better than I, and others too. Since confit was originally a preservation process that allowed the duck to be kept for long periods in a cool part of the house, before refrigeration, I'd guess it'd be fine in the fridge for awhile. I've kept it for a month submerged in fat and it was fine. I'm sure it could go longer, but you need to keep it submerged. Also make sure to lay a couple layers of cling film directly on top of the fat.

I'd guess you can freeze it, but haven't tried.

Bit of web research says yes you can freeze and it works well, and if you do the curing process first it will last at least three months in the fridge.

 

[Bribie G]

I believe Aldi have ducks on special at the moment for about $15 .. will check on Wednesday when I'm in there.

edit:

Yup. They had a heap in about six months ago and they were "luv a duck" brand, I see they've put their own label on but I'd guess they are still the luv a ducks.

link

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Potted meat was an old method of preserving under fat, not very healthy though, I believe the duck has to be under quite a thick layer of fat to preserve it for a long time.

 

[tavas]

Duck breast is unsuitable for confit as it dries out. Stick to the thigh.

 

[Feldon]

I believe Aldi have ducks on special at the moment for about $15 .. will check on Wednesday when I'm in there.

edit:

Yup. They had a heap in about six months ago and they were "luv a duck" brand, I see they've put their own label on but I'd guess they are still the luv a ducks.

link

Ah, that probably explains why Coles have got them on special for $11.50. Undercutting the rival Aldi. Good to see some competition.

EDIT: Also noticed on the link you posted they have the unfortunately named Turducken in the Christmas catalogue (mixture of turkey, duck and chicken all rolled up together). Might get one.