Duck fat potatoes? Sounds heavy right? Believe me it isn’t. The taste however is fantastic. Duck fat is apparently better for you than butter or pork fat. It is a staple in the French diet. It has a higher oleic acid content (40%) in it but still not as much as compared to olive oil’s (70%). Duck fat contains 62% unsaturated fat and 33% saturated fat, compared to butter which is at 51% saturated fat. Doctors say that lowering your saturated fat levels reduces the bad cholesterol and raises the good cholesterol, which in turn decreases the incidence of coronary artery disease. Don’t get me wrong, I may be cheating a little, it’s not health food. But it is a delicious tasting alternative to cooking with butter that when paired with oven roasted potatoes is undeniable.
Rinse about 2 lbs of fingerling potatoes.
Cut the potatoes into equal size pieces, so that they cook evenly.
Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes or until they are fork soft.
Drain the potatoes well and return them to the pot, toss them around the hot pot forcefully.
Here’s where the duck fat comes in, I have saved a few containers of rendered duck fat from a Duck Confit that I prepared. You will need two to three tablespoons of this.
Take your heaviest cast iron skillet or oven proof skillet and place it in a preheated oven at 450F. Once the skillet has risen to temperature you will add two tablespoons of duck fat to the skillet.
Now you will need 3 to 4 cloves of minced garlic and a small bunch of chopped rosemary sprigs, coarse sea salt and fresh black pepper.
Place the potatoes into the hot skillet and toss them around in the duck fat, coating them as much as possible. Note: I have turned up the heat on the stove to keep the temperature in the skillet.
Next, add the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir this around as well, then return the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 450F, checking on them at 20 minutes. If they seem dried out at all, add the last tablespoon of duck fat.
The finished product is crispy on the outside, soft inside and the smell of the herbs and duck fat is unbelievable. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs. of fingerling or new potatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
2-3 sprigs (1 tablespoon) of Fresh rosemary (dried will do as well)
3 tablespoons of rendered duck fat
coarse sea salt
fresh black pepper
METHOD:
Rinse the potatoes well under cold water and cut off any odd bits. Cut the potatoes equally, into half-inch or bigger pieces. Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Next, place a large cast iron skillet or oven proof skillet in the oven and preheat it to 450F. Mince 3 to 4 cloves of garlic and 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary. If you don’t have fresh rosemary, dried will do. Once the potatoes have boiled for about 5 – 10 minutes, check to see that they are fork soft, (able to poke with a fork). Then drain the potatoes and return to the hot pot. You will toss the potatoes around the hot pot, slightly rounding the edges of them. Take the hot skillet out of the oven and place it back on the stove top. Add 2 tablespoons of the rendered duck fat to the skillet. Then add the potatoes and toss to coat well with the duck fat. Next add the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper to the potatoes and coat well. Return the skillet to the oven and let roast for 20 minutes at 450F., before checking. Add another tablespoon of duck fat if necessary otherwise, leave until nicely crisped and browned no more than 30 minutes total. Enjoy!
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