Author Notes
I ended up with a boatload of beef fat after making stock for beef pho and couldn't let it go to waste. I chose the Serious Eats method for new potatoes, using the beef fat redolent of black cardamom, cinnamon and serrano instead of canola oil. It worked beautifully, though to get a more burnished crust I left the potatoes in the oven for an extra ten minutes. The potatoes turned out crispy, as promised, surprisingly fragrant with a slow, creeping heat.
—EmiBee
Ingredients
- Lazy pho
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Bunch
Beef bones, roasted
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1
Black cardamom pod, crushed
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1
serrono chile, seeds removed
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1
cinnamon stick
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1
star anise
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4
whole cloves
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1
hand ginger, split in half
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2
onions, halved
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1 bunch
cilantro
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5 pinches
whole black peppercorns
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salt to taste
- Crispy Pho-Spiced Beef Fat Potatoes
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1 pound
new potatoes
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1/3 cup
pho-spiced beef fat
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1/2 tablespoon
white or rice wine vinegar
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1/2 tablespoon
salt
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salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Lazy pho
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Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with water.
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Simmer for 4 hours, skimming the scum occasionally
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Pour stock through a fine mesh strainer into tupperware
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Allow to cool in refrigerator overnight
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Skim and save solidified fat on top
- Crispy Pho-Spiced Beef Fat Potatoes
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Preheat oven to 500°F. Line a rimmed baking sheets with foil and place in oven.
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Wash and halve potatoes
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Put potatoes in a pot with 1/2 tablespoon each salt and vinegar
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Cover potatoes with cold water by 1 inch, bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes
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Drain potatoes
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Pour potatoes into a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the melted fat
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Toss the potatoes and maybe bang on them a bit with a spoon to get a good layer of potato/fat paste. Really show them them who's boss.
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Remove baking sheet from oven and pour the remaining beef fat into it. Then arrange the potatoes cut size down on the sheet.
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Roast in oven until the bottoms look golden brown, about 30 - 40 minutes.
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Take the baking sheet out, toss the potatoes around and cook for another 10 minutes.
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Add salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste.
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