# Rendering duck fat



## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

Overheard a guy at work talking about how he uses his duck fat as a substitute for oil and butter in quite a few recipes so I went on a little adventure this weekend. I breasted out the ducks and geese we shot Saturday and in the process got as much fat as I could off the birds and put the fat in a seperate bowl off to the side. After cleaning all the birds and getting the fat ready I chopped the fat into pretty small pieces and put it in a frying pan over low heat for about an hour until it was all melted. As the fat rendered off I spooned it into a jar until everything was melted. 
So far I've only used the fat to fry some bacon and eggs in and shallow fry some breasts in, but it was really good stuff! Has a unique rich taste that is delicious. I'm excited to try using it in some other stuff. The cracklings it provides are *unbelievable*. Similar to pork cracklings but they have a much richer taste. I found this website that explains it pretty well step by step, I used the second method with no water.
http://www.greenmarketrecipes.com/poult ... ck_fat.htm


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Puddle duck fat is OK, but I'm not a big fan of fat from diving ducks.

Many times I leave the skin, and some fat, on when cooking duck. It keeps the meat moist and tender and imparts a little flavor.

Also, I like to throw whole ducks in the stew pot, skin, fat, and all, when making duck gumbo. That way makes the best broth.


Thanks for the recipe link.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Check out all the fat on the half-piece of mallard in these pictures:


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