Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes

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One trick we’ve only recently adopted when cooking is to store any excess fat into some sealable glass jars for future use. This stuff is absolute liquid gold for cooking, and it always felt like such a shame to be throwing it out when there are so many great applications you can use the fat for. One of which is the tremendously popular and flavorful Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes. Perfectly tender Potatoes that have a ridiculously crispy outside as they are finished off in a pan filled with Duck Fat. The flavor and texture you will achieve from these Potatoes is truly second to none!

How to make Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes

This is a recipe that we have crafted and honed over the years. After enjoying Duck Fat Potatoes in restaurants for years, we wanted to see if we could recreate it ourselves. It’s taken a fair few trials, but we’re finally there and can proudly say that this Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes is the best technique to use

For the best result, you will need to cook the Potatoes three separate times

Yep, that’s right! Thrice cooking is the way to go. Here an outline of the three cooking steps required to make Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes, and why that step is important to the overall process

1. Par Boiling the Potatoes

The first step in the process is to par boil the Potatoes. Par Boiling basically means to not cook them all the way through (par = partial). We want to cut the Potatoes up into bite-sized chunks and place them in cold water. Season the Water well with Salt, as this will help flavor the Potatoes right from the start

Gradually bring the water up to a rolling Boil, and let the Potatoes boil for about 3 – 4 minutes. We only want to partially cook the Potatoes, enough that they will still retain their shape and still have some resistance when poked with a knife

Strain the water from the pot then place the Potatoes back into it. Then, cover with a lid and give them a good shake. What this step in the process does is allows the outer crust of the Potatoes to break up a little bit. This forms an uneven surface which will significantly increase the crispiness of the outside

2. Oven Roasting the Potatoes

Next, place your par-boiled and slightly scuffed up Potatoes onto a large sheet pan. Give them a generous dousing with Olive Oil and Salt and bake for about 30 minutes at 400F. Really, just keep your eyes on the Potatoes and allow them to cook through and crisp up. They could take a little longer, or a little less time depending on how thick you’ve cut the Potatoes, and the temperature of your Oven (they’re all a little different)

Flip the Potatoes about 25 minutes in to get the other side crispy. Once the Potatoes have turned a light brown color, almost golden, they will be done. Give the Potatoes a test for doneness by stabbing one with a sharp knife. If there is very little resistance on the inside of the Potato, they are cooked, and ready for the final step

3. Finally, pan frying the Potatoes in the Duck Fat

Only on step 3 in the cooking process is where the Duck Fat is added. We’ve tried adding Duck fat earlier in the process, such as replacing the Olive Oil with Duck Fat in step 2 and roasting them. Ultimately what happens here is the duck fat is completely absorbed into the Duck, so you lose the all-important crispiness

So, for the final step add your Duck Fat to a large frying pan and heat over a medium / high heat. We recommend adding some neutral frying Oil to the pan as well. Honestly, this really just helps to save on overall usage of Duck Fat. You want enough fat in the pan for a shallow fry. For our recipe we only had about ¼ cup of Duck Fat, so added another ¼ cup of Vegetable Oil to have enough volume of fat in the pan

Add the Potatoes and shallow fry them for about 4 minutes. It’s important during this step to give all of the Potatoes pieces a coating of the Duck Fat. You can tilt the pan carefully towards you and allow the Potatoes to bathe in the deeper Oil. Grab a large spoon and ladle fat over the top of them, like you would if basting a Steak

After 4 – 5 minutes the Potatoes will have darkened in color, and significantly crisped up. They’re now ready to eat! Place them onto a Paper towel to strain off any excess fat and immediately season with Salt. Seasoning cooked Potatoes right out of the pan will ensure far more of the Salt sticks to the Potatoes. Now they’re ready to eat!

The type of Potatoes you use will have an effect on their overall texture

A key component to this dish is the potato. It’s very important that you use a potato with high starch content such as Russet, Idaho, or Yukon Gold, as these potatoes have a much lower moisture content which makes them perfect for frying

If you cannot find these types of Potatoes, try go to for a good ‘all-rounder’ Potato. The good news is, this recipe will work with any kind of potato. The three times cooking technique will yield a level of crispiness to your Potatoes, regardless of what type is used!

Duck fat is preferred, but you can use other types of fat if desired

This recipe uses Duck Fat which is just stunningly flavorful however can just as easily be replicated to great success with Beef or Pork Fat. It ultimately comes down to what kind of flavor profiles you are looking for, as well as your access to the type of fat required

Ducks are, surprisingly to us, challenging to find in certain parts of the world. Pork and Beef are therefore potentially great alternatives given their plentiful supply and wonderful flavor. The flavor of the fat is that of the actual meat itself (naturally), therefore expect some subtle nuanced flavors of that particular type of meat in your Potatoes depending on what you cook them in

Get into the good habit of saving the fat

It’s so easy to simply discard the rendered fat once you’ve cooked your dish. It can become part of the automatic clean-up process you move into after a meal. However, we encourage you to try and get into the good habit of saving that excess fat. Simply keep a glass jar in your refrigerator to store the fat

Our suggestion: Get yourself a couple of cheap sealable glass containers from Walmart and store all that excess fat in individual containers for future use! It’s also good practice to label the jars too, especially if you’re saving fat from multiple types of meat. Best not to mix them up!

Don’t buy Duck Fat. Make a delicious Duck recipe instead!

Please don’t go out and buy Duck Fat. It’s expensive and honestly, it’s far more delicious to make your own, because you get to eat a lovely Duck dish! We’re huge fans of Duck here at Dinnertime Somewhere so have several yummy Duck recipes we’d recommend creating. Enjoy the meal, then while the Duck fat is still in liquid form, carefully pour it out of the frying pan straight into a jar for storage

Here are a few of our favorite Duck recipes that will yield some delicious Fat to make this wonderful Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes recipe:

• Duck and Orange Fennel Salad
• Crispy Scallion Pancakes with Crispy Duck
• Duck and Nectarine Salad
• Chinese 5 Spice Duck
  
  

Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ lb. medium Russet, Idaho, or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• ½ cup Duck Fat (you can add Vegetable Oil to offset quantity of Duck Fat if needed)
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Peel the Potatoes and then cut into even, bite-sized pieces. Place into a large pot filled with cold water. Add 1 tbsp. of Salt then turn the heat onto high to gradually bring the water to a Boil
2. After the Potatoes have been boiling for 4 minutes, turn off heat, strain and return Potatoes to the Pot. Cover with a lid and then shake the Potatoes in the pan to break up their outer layer, forming a rough surface texture
3. Place the Potatoes onto a large sheet pan and drizzle with Olive Oil and 1 tsp. of Salt. Mix to coat then roast in the oven pre-heated to 400F for 25 minutes, turning once. Once a light golden-brown color, test their doneness by stabbing with a sharp knife. If there is little resistance, they’re cooked
4. Remove the Potatoes from the Oven and set aside. Add the Duck Fat and Vegetable Oil (if necessary) to a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, carefully add the Potatoes into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, ensuring the Potatoes spend time bathing in the hot Duck Fat
5. Once crispy and a darker brown color, remove the Potatoes from the pan and set on a paper towel to remove any excess Fat and Oil. Season immediately with Salt and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• If you do not have enough Duck Fat, substitute the remaining quantity with neutral frying oil such as Vegetable or Canola Oil for the pan-frying step
• While pan frying, ensuring all sides of each Potato spends time in the Duck Fat. Baste them by tilting the pan and spooning the hot fat over the Potatoes
  
  

We guarantee you’re going to love these Crispy Duck Fat Potatoes. Their flavor and texture and unrivaled in the Potato world! They will pair great with so many recipes, but for a classic combination you can’t go wrong with Steak. We recommend these Steak dishes as a great pairing with these delicious Potatoes

• Filet Au Poivre
• Ribeye Steak Dinner
• Cast Iron Angus Ribeye Steak
• Reverse Seared Ribeye
  
  

Happy Cooking!