Duck Fat Rules!

Hello Cholesterol! ;)

Haveyou tried schmaltz? Rendered poultry fat has a long history in Eastern European (especially Jewish) cooking. My wife's Viennese grandmother insisted the finest schmaltz was made from duck and goose fat.

In New York, the 2nd Avenue Deli is famous for the jug of schmaltz on every table. The house delicacy is Roumanian tenderloin steak with schmaltz. You can HEAR your arteries hardening as you eat!:rolleyes:

Mr.Cholesterol

Oh Khuan!

I think that you made yourself pretty clear!

I wouldnt even try to propose lighter dishes to you!

I'm with you Kuan...in moderation! :lips:

As a chef i couln't live without duck fat,
I'm with you Kuan,Potatoes,sweet breads,onions..anything cooked in duck fat is fine with me..Well,almost anything ;)
cc

Great taste

Wow I have traced this thread a couple of days ago!

Khuan, you have courage to start this thread.
In Greece they make this with pork!

Excellent!!!
Next time you come to my country I hope you visit us to ecxhange tips because in my family we do some hunting also;)

May I ask for a recipe or a tip for a duck confit?

thanks

Re: Great taste

I love duck fat, too! At the CIA we did darphane potatoes in lots of duck fat, but really canoloa would do the heart better......but every once in a while you gotta have da real thang, you know?

For Athanaeus, here is my rendition of duck confit!

* Exported from MasterCook II *

Confit de Canard (Duck Confit)

Recipe By : John Paul Khoury,CCC
Serving Size : 50 Preparation Time :3:00
Categories : Poultry

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
25 pounds duck legs -- trim excess fat
3 gallon (+-) duck fat-(or canola oil) -- rendered
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup juniper berries
7 each bay leaf
20 each peppercorns
20 each cloves
1 bunch thyme -- stemmed
1 bunch rosemary -- stemmed
1 ounce certified cure (mix in with kosher salt) -- optional

Toss duck legs with the salt. Put juniper,bay,peppercorns & cloves
in a blade coffee' grinder and pulse to form a rough mulch. Line
duck legs skin side down in a hotel pan, sprinkle w/herb-spice
mulch and put more duck legs on top so that duck leg lays on duck
leg flesh to flesh,(i.e. bottom layer skin side down,top layer skin side
up,and so forth until the duck legs are all stacked together; it may
take more than one hotel pan.) Make sure between each flesh to
flesh layer there is some herb-spice mulch. Cover and refridgerate
for 24hrs.

If you use the certified cure, which contains nitrites, the confit will
be a rosey pink color.

(DAY LATER)
Melt rendered fat. Take duck legs and clean off the mulch
with a dry towel or brush. Layer legs in a thick bottomed roundeau
or braising pan large enough to hold legs. Pour melted fat over legs put on stove and bring up to 220°(=-) and either put in a slow oven for 2hrs or leave on stove for 2hrs maintaining 220°(+-).The meat should offer no resistence when pierced with a fork. Let cool slightly. Carefully remove each leg from fat with clean utensil and line a pan or crock with the legs stacking them as you go. Strain fat over legs so they are completely covered disgarding any liquid at the bottom of pot or save for another use. Store under refridgeration and if the fat cap is not broken the confit will hold refridgerated for 6 months or more.

NOTE:This method of preperation was used in France in old times to
keep meat from spoiling, but its use today although highly caloric renders a unique tenderness and flavor which is only come by when using this method of preperation. (This method is excellent with
goose and certain cuts of pork (i.e. Mexican Carnitas) spices and
herbs can vary with taste.)


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much Chef Jean Paul!

I hope you had the recipe in your pc and you didn't copy it just for me!

:)

no problem!

I always keep my recipes a mouse click away!:chef:

Yes, Yes, gimme duck. Fat, chinese roasted, confit, terrine, rillettes.
Duck fat is so yummy. This is reminding me of things I left out on the 'things you like but are afraid to admit' post.
You know when you make confit, you get crusty caramelised duck juice/scum rising to the top? well, I eat it on bread.
I have a belief that because i get so much enjoyment from fatty foods that they won't hurt me in the long run.:crazy:

maybe not

Unless you have a cholesterol problem, they may not hurt you as much as one may think. I think the problem is in keeping the arteries clean. Some feel that high fat works against the anti-oxidant forces in cancer fighting, so have some cabbage and broccoli rabe with your confit and it should balance out!;)

Or red wine....that's why the French stay healthy.

Yes! Bordeaux & Duck fat

I agree with the love of duck fat! And a nice glass of Bordeaux to wash it down. I'm an Insulin dependant Diabetic who believes in everything in moderation. Duck fat rules and Bordeaux controls the cholesterol absorbtion quite well. My cholesterol is very controlled even though I enjoy duck fat. It's the wine you know. That's what my Doc says.;)

Health Benefits of Duck Fat

Duck fat has a higher percentage of mono-unsaturated fat than saturated fat and mono-unsaturated fat is good for your heart! It helps to counter the effect of saturated fat.

As for red wine, health benefits may be due in part to "estrogen" in grape skin.



:lips:

Kimmie

That's the same sort of thing I heard from my Doc and Dietician;)

They agree that as long as I be moderate in all things I will be just fine. I eat a regular diet with sugar, syrup, honey and everything a non-Diabetic eats. I just eat smaller portions and if I want more I just walk three miles and regulate my insulin content. Like I said, my cholesterol is better than normal.:D

My blood glucose is always kept within normal range of between 80 and 120 mg/dl and I have no diabetes related complications.

Not bad for a 51 year old single guy. Aye?

I'm impressed Wolf, moderation seems to be the key...

here's a little duck fat tip:

i used to work in a place here in chicago that specialized in steak. this was one of my first restaurant jobs and this place sold a LOT of steaks.

we got beautiful, prime, dry-aged steaks....beautiful marbling....the kind of stuff you can't buy unless you're an established restaurant.

anyway.....

every steak that came thru the place....you know what they did to it?

after the butcher got done portioning, he'd go to the line an melt a big rondeau full of duck fat, put it into a huge bowl, and toss in all the steaks he'd just butchered. he'd toss them all around to coat each steak in the melted duck fat before wrapping them and putting them on sheet trays.

what a great trick! it keeps the steaks from oxidizing so they stay nice and red. it adds flavor. and you get a beautiful crispy sear....

i love this trick and have used it ever since.


love the topic, by the way.....

Eddie

Hey that's a great idea! What a wonderful flavor!:lips:

I'm going to try this right away!

Thanks for the tip!:)