Pomme frites in duck fat?

I'll be doing a duck (using a modified variant of the technique Alton Brown covered on his duck episode) next week. As a result of the method he uses (steaming the quartered duck with the skin cut open to allow the fat to render out, then finishing in a "NASA Hot" oven to crisp the skin) I'll have a bit of duck fat rendered out to use.

Herein lies my questions: Will I have enough rendered fat to effectively attempt pomme frites made in duck fat for two? If not, would I have satisfactory results if I wandered up to Paulina Market and just purchased enough goose lard and used that instead? (It'd be a pity to discard the duck fat, but it's just not going to be salvageable given the situation. It's truly a use-it-or-lose-it deal this time.)

As far as the frites, there seems to be at least a dozen different ways to do them. Some people recommend soaking them in advance to remove some starch, some recommend steaming them for a minute or two between frying sessions. The only consistent thing I see is that most recipes call for frying twice. Does anyone have personal experience with these? Are there any tricks or tips that I might have overlooked?

Thanks. As always, the help I find here is greatly appreciated.

Pete wrote:I'll be doing a duck (using a modified variant of the technique Alton Brown covered on his duck episode) next week. As a result of the method he uses (steaming the quartered duck with the skin cut open to allow the fat to render out, then finishing in a "NASA Hot" oven to crisp the skin) I'll have a bit of duck fat rendered out to use.

Herein lies my questions: Will I have enough rendered fat to effectively attempt pomme frites made in duck fat for two? If not, would I have satisfactory results if I wandered up to Paulina Market and just purchased enough goose lard and used that instead? (It'd be a pity to discard the duck fat, but it's just not going to be salvageable given the situation. It's truly a use-it-or-lose-it deal this time.)

As far as the frites, there seems to be at least a dozen different ways to do them. Some people recommend soaking them in advance to remove some starch, some recommend steaming them for a minute or two between frying sessions. The only consistent thing I see is that most recipes call for frying twice. Does anyone have personal experience with these? Are there any tricks or tips that I might have overlooked?

Thanks. As always, the help I find here is greatly appreciated.

To answer your first question I don't believe that you will render enough fat for frites from one duck.

On the topic of frites. I am of the school where you slice the potatoes thin (1/8") soak in water to release some of the starch, then fry until cooked at 325, rest, then crisp at 350-375 for a short period until browned and crispy.

Hi,

From reading an article in the McDonald's near the 'original' McDonalds. The double fry method is what McDonald's practices. The first fry will not give you the brown, crisp look, in fact the article implied the first fry renders a somewhat grayish looking product. It is the second fry which colors and crisps.

When I was in Mississippi, there was an evening of fried chicken. One guy had a cup of bacon grease for every quart of oil. You could taste the bacon on his chicken.

From this experience, you may not need 100% duck fat to achieve the flavor you will want. If you do not have enough grease, you could potentially mix the duck fat with enough (neutral) tasting peanut oil (which allows a higher cooking temperature) or vegetable oil. You will still get the flavor.

In any case, do tell how it works out.

Speaking of duck fat fries...

My only experience has been w/the DF frites at Hot Doug's & I was somewhat underwhelmed. They were very good fries but not exceedingly better than the regular fries. I wonder if he used a combination fo duck fat & another or 100% duck fat? If it was 100% DF, I'm not sure the end result will warrant the trouble of locating the extra duck fat.

viaChgo wrote:Speaking of duck fat fries...

My only experience has been w/the DF frites at Hot Doug's & I was somewhat underwhelmed. They were very good fries but not exceedingly better than the regular fries. I wonder if he used a combination fo duck fat & another or 100% duck fat? If it was 100% DF, I'm not sure the end result will warrant the trouble of locating the extra duck fat.

I was underwhelmed too. They were fine fries, but not quite as good as the fries at Parky's in Berwyn/Forest Park, which are sublime when ordered extra crispy.

I also believe Doug does not double-fry any of his french fries, which is a shame.

Regarding cooking french fries, I've seen a method, attributed to Joel Robuchon, employed where you start with just enough fat to cover the potato and bring them up together to full heat, from room temperature. Apparently it produces similar results to double frying, but I've never tasted a fry cooked using this method.

ed

recipe, from iVillage.com
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups peanut oil
2 pounds medium white all-purpose potatoes (about 6), peeled and cut into approximately 3/8-inch-thick sticks
Coarse salt, such as kosher or sea salt


DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour oil into a 12-inch skillet. Add potatoes to cold oil. They should be packed in a single layer with several sitting on top and with oil almost covering them. As potatoes fry and their moisture evaporates, they will eventually fit in pan in a single layer. Turn heat to medium, and fry until potatoes just start to turn pale golden, occasionally jiggling pan, 25 to 30 minutes. (You can move potatoes around for first 10 to 12 minutes if you like, but do not disturb them for the next 10 to 15 minutes, because they are too fragile.)

2. Once potatoes have developed a pale gold shell, increase heat to medium-high and fry, continuously moving them around to ensure even browning. When they are golden brown, transfer them (I use spring-action tongs) to a wire rack set over a cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

I think that the combination of duck fat and lard may work extremely well. I remind you that the great southern chef Scott Peacock fries his chicken in a combination of lard with diced bits of country ham added for flavor. Perhaps, you could save some of the crispy fatty skin for the same purpose.

I figured I'd write up a quick post mortem, possibly in the hopes of getting some advice for my next attempt.

I went ahead and steamed the fat from the duck quarters and then rendered it down while skimming off anything that wasn't liquid from the surface. We ended up using simple peanut oil as I wasn't sure how the young lady I was cooking with would deal with lard (goose or otherwise) - and I'd already subjected her to a lesson in quartering poultry.

This is where I hit the two main problems -

1.) regulating the temperature.

Even with an instant-read thermometer, I couldn't seem to maintain consistent heat. Would something like a cast iron dutch oven help this?

2.) Smoke and stuff burning on the bottom of the pot. Even despite the temperature never cresting 350 (and only then on the second round of frying) stuff was burning inside. I was grateful that the burnt stuff didn't impart a burnt taste onto the frites. Liberal soaking and a great deal of elbow grease removed the burnt gunk - but it wasn't fun. Was I doing something wrong?

Despite these flaws, the frites came out nothing short of entirely edible. The small quantity of duck fat imparted a unique taste and I'd swear the salt from the brine that leached into the fat made the finished frites have a pre-salted taste.

Many thanks for any input, as always.

Hi,

I used an electric thermostat controlled frying pan. To accomodate the inevitable lowering of temperature once the food goes in, I heat the oil 25 degrees higher than required.

Yet I met someone recently who fries chicken in a restaurant in New Orleans. He starts the frying at the 350 temperature and raises it after the chicken has entered the pot. Fries or chicken, it is still frying.

Did you check the calibration of your thermometer? I use boiling water as a way to check.

At least for me, there is always something on the bottom burning. It could be debris from your duck fat or specs from the potato.

BTW - I was teaching my niece how to make pie crust recently. She made an audible gasp when she realized how much fat went into a pie crust. She almost lost interest in learning how simply over the fat issue. So I can understand your caution with your co-cook.

You can also freeze any leftover fat for later use. One duck will give enough fat for several batches of German style red cabbage.

We used the cooks illustrated variation on the Robuchon technique I detail above tonight:





They were great! Not quite up to the level of WaSC, Hot Doug's, Top Notch, but truly excellent, with a rich flavor, while still potatoey. The method itself is very easy, and definitely something that can be done on a weeknight.

We used the cooks illustrated variation on the Robuchon technique I detail above tonight:

They were great! Not quite up to the level of WaSC, Hot Doug's, Top Notch, but truly excellent, with a rich flavor, while still potatoey. The method itself is very easy, and definitely something that can be done on a weeknight

Those fries look great. I just have a quick question on the process you followed. In the first picture, you have cold oil covering the potatoes and globs of duck fat, is that right? You then heat up the oil and let the potatoes simmer in there as described in step 1 of you initial post? About how much duck fat did you use? I know Paulina has small 7 oz. tubs of it, but I didn't think that was enough. I wasn't sure if I wanted to splurge for the 3 lb tub of it for $24.

BigT wrote:

We used the cooks illustrated variation on the Robuchon technique I detail above tonight:

They were great! Not quite up to the level of WaSC, Hot Doug's, Top Notch, but truly excellent, with a rich flavor, while still potatoey. The method itself is very easy, and definitely something that can be done on a weeknight

Those fries look great. I just have a quick question on the process you followed. In the first picture, you have cold oil covering the potatoes and globs of duck fat, is that right? You then heat up the oil and let the potatoes simmer in there as described in step 1 of you initial post? About how much duck fat did you use? I know Paulina has small 7 oz. tubs of it, but I didn't think that was enough. I wasn't sure if I wanted to splurge for the 3 lb tub of it for $24.

My lovely and talented wife was largely responsible for the fries. I believe that it's about half and half, duck fat and peanut oil, so about 3 cups of each. I have the feeling that you could do with a lot less than 6 cups of oil -- 3-4 cups would probably be ok if you don't try to cook too many fries.

The CI recipe calls for 6 cups peanut oil and a little bacon fat for flavor, so you could do that, or just use a small amount of duck fat for flavor. We used so much duck fat because we were running short on peanut oil. We strained the duck/peanut oil mixture after it cooled last night, and we're looking forward to using it over the next week. Potato pancakes tonight, for sure.

The 3lb tub of duck fat keeps very nicely in the freezer, also, if you're worried about not using it all. But really, these fries didn't taste particularly ducky (although they did have that nice animal fat mouthfeel), so you could probably do fine with bacon grease.

Here's an adaptation of the cooks illustrated method:

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium), scrubbed, dried, sides squared off, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch batons (see note)
6 cups peanut oil
1/4 cup bacon fat , strained (optional) (see note)

Put potatoes, oil, and bacon fat in a large dutch oven, turn heat to high, and cook (5 minutes or so) until the oil starts to look like it's boiling (steam bubbles from the fries escaping). Let them cook for another 15 minutes without touching them. The potatoes should go from stiff to limp, and then firm up again near the end of this period.

Start stirring the potatoes occasionally and scraping any that stick to the dutch oven until they're done to your liking, maybe 5-10 minutes more. Drain on paper towel/brown paper bag/whatever and salt immediately.