In SCS Episode 8, one of the main techniques that we discussed was confit. One thing we discussed is that when making duck confit, true duck fat is always preferable. Not only does the fat give great flavor to your duck, but its also an extremely versatile cooking medium that can be used for slow poaching, sautéing or even frying.
When butchering a whole duck, save all the skin trimmings especially the large pieces that are taken from the neck and the flaps of skin at the opening of the cavity. Don’t forget to trim all the skin off of the back of the duck.
If you’re not breaking down the whole duck, try and sweet talk a local butcher into saving the skin for you. If all this sounds like too much of a pain, you can simply buy good quality duck fat online. I've never done this so I can't recommend one company over another, but I'm sure you can do a quick Google or Amazon search.
- Place all your duck skin trimmings in the bottom of an appropriate sized pot and add a couple tablespoons of water. The steam from the water will help the initial release of duck.
- Place the pot on the lowest setting on your stove top and cover with a lid. Make sure you keep a small crack in the lid for the steam to escape so that it doesn’t condense back down into your duck fat.
- Let the fat render out on the stove for about 2-3 hours depending on how low you have your flame. Be sure to give the fat a good stir with some tongs about every 1/2 hour.
- Once the fat is rendered out, strain it through a strainer and allow to cool.
- Once cooled, store the fat in an airtight, light resistant container in your refrigerator for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 6 months.
- By the way, don’t throw that duck skin away after you have rendered out the fat. Instead, spread them out on a sheet pan and bake until they become golden brown and crispy.
- These duck “cracklins” can be eaten like chips, chopped and tossed into a salad like bacon bits, or used to make cracklin’ corn bread. The possibilities are endless.
Further Information
- SCS 8| Frying, Confit & Deep Fat Poaching (Audio Lecture)
- CKS 31| Breaking Down A Whole Duck (Video)
- HCC 1| How To Make Duck Confit Part 1 (Video)
- CT 1| Pan Roasting Duck Breast (Video)