I am thinking about rendering my own duck fat to use for Thanksgiving. I see that you can purchase canned/jarred Rougie duck fat or frozen D'Artagnan. I am presuming that rendered duck fat is going to be far superior to packaged, the same way that homemade chicken stock is superior to canned. Anyone out there that can share their experience? Thanks, Christine

Lehnhoca
  • Posted by: Lehnhoca
  • November 15, 2010
  • 2195 views
  • 3 Comments

3 Comments

innoabrd November 16, 2010
Rendering is easy, but for somethings, like confit, I need far more than I can produce. The purchased one is usually a lot 'cleaner' than I can manage to produce, which makes me think it's probably got a longer shelf-life than the homemade once opened.

The crackling is really great on salads. What bacon bits would have been if it had grown up in France, instead of in a trailer.
 
pierino November 15, 2010
Duck, unless you are going out and shooting it yourself, is about 50% fat, so please don't waste it. But the Rougie label is a good one if you don' want to do the heavy lifting part. But if you do it yourself in a pan, fat side down, you get the added benefit of the crackling skin, plus all those extra delicious duck parts to go with your rendered fat. I'm not sure if I'm reading Mr_Vittles advice correctly here, but myself I would peel off the whole skin and fat layer by hand (not difficult) and then turn the carcass into whatever you want to do to it.
 
Mr_Vittles November 15, 2010
I have rendered my own duck fat a few times and it is a pretty easy process, just set in a low heat pan for a awhile like 15-20minutes until the meat is swimming in its own fat. Allow to cool for a bit and strain through a piece pf cheesecloth and fine strainer. I would advise on using the best quality duck you can afford/ get your hands on.
 
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