How to Render Duck Fat & Other Important Matters

I rendered some duck fat and wanted to tell you all about the glorious experience.

I plan on using it in all of my recipes, from pie crusts to steaks to milkshakes.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

I made the rendered duck fat and have step-by-step instructions over at my “second home“… I just had too many boxes and filing cabinets and needed to spread out a bit. It’s much more luxurious over there, let me tell ya. They even have a mini bar. And an endless supply of peanuts.

It’s called:

Okay, it’s a big house. ESPN Outdoors is a very big fancy house and it’s got rich mahogany and many leather bound books. Will Ferrell would be proud.

I’m going to play in “The Kitchen” about once a week and show you how to be very resourceful… let’s call it MacGyver meets Laura Ingalls.

Come visit! And leave me a note there to tell me you stopped by: “How to Render Duck Fat.”

See you there!

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Update 2/26

Okay, I’m going to put this duck fat rendering play-by-play here for ya as well. So it’ll be here for your reference what you need it. Because that’s the kind of girl I am.

Rendering duck fat is pretty simple. You simply save your duck skins, as much of it as you possibly can. Don’t forget to trim all the skin off the back. And if you don’t have duck skin handy that you’ve frozen, sweet talk a local butcher into saving the skin for you.

Place all your duck skin trimmings in the bottom of a skillet or pot and add water.

Put the burner on the lowest setting and let the fat render out on the stove for about 60 to 90 minutes.

The water will evaporate and the skins will become very crispy, stewing in a skillet of golden fat. It’s a beautiful sight.

See? Crispy…

Crisper!

That’s when you stop and strain it.

Leave it at room temperature for a few hours and then put it in the refrigerator. It will store there for up to 1 month, or it will freeze for up to 6 months.

By the way, don’t throw that duck skin away after you have rendered out the fat.

No, no, no.

Instead, spread them out on some paper towel, sprinkle with salt and let them air dry a bit. Or finish browning them in the oven if they’re not quite hard enough. These are called “cracklins” and with these we will make “cracklin bread” next…just you wait and see.

Seven ounces of rendered duck fat sells for about $12. That’s because it makes your food taste that much better. Butter and olive oil pale in comparison.

And to think you could make it all yourself…do it!

Print Recipe

“Rendered Duck Fat”

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 1 pound fat yields 1 cup rendered fat

Ingredients

• 1 pound duck fat
• Water
• Jar

Instructions

• Place the fat in a skillet or pot and add water so it reaches about halfway up the sides of the fat.
• Set the burner to its lowest setting and let the liquid simmer for 60-90 minutes.
• When it starts to look as though the simmer is dying down, watch the fat carefully. It should be a warm golden color, with smaller bubbles. As the water evaporates, those bubbles will come closer to a boil and the remaining liquid will turn a darker golden. Eventually, the boiling bubbles will suddenly become much smaller, just back to a bare simmer, which means all the water is gone.
• Remove from the heat immediately and pour it through a fine mesh strainer. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to a glass jar and place in the refrigerator for 1 month or the freezer for 6 months.