Duck Fat Potatoes - Pommes de Terre Sarladaise

This sign at my local butcher caught my eyes... Duck Fat $14/kg.

A kilo of duck fat. I wasn't exactly sure what I should do with 1 kilo of duck fat, so I asked if I could have 1/2 kg instead. And they happily obliged.

Hummm.. Roasted potatoes cooked in duck fat. Sounds soooo wrong... Yet so right :)

I didn't really know how much I would need, but 1/2 kg would surely be enough. After I spent a couple of minutes on Google, I realised I would probably only need about 3 tablespoons.

Crap...Now what am I going to do with 1/2kg minus 3 tablespoons of duck fat ????

I decided to try a slightly different method with the potatoes. Instead of parboiling them first and then roasting them in the duck fat later, I sliced the potatoes into thick 1cm chips and tossed them in a skillet pan with the duck fat, garlic and rosemary before finishing them off in the oven.

Let me just say... These were good.. Very good. A perfect side dish for our steaks.. :)

Duck Fat Potatoes - Pommes de Terre Sarladaise

Adapted from this recipe on Gourmet.com

• 2 Cloves Garlic (Bruised with the flat side of the blade, skin left on)
• 8-10cm Sprig Rosemary
• 3 Red Skinned Potatoes
• 3 tablespoons Duck Fat
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly grounded Black Pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Wash the potatoes, removing any dirt.
3. Leaving the skin on, slice potatoes into 1cm-thick slices.
4. Rinse in 2 or 3 changes of cold water until water runs clear. Drain and pat with a paper towel until potatoes are very dry.
5. Heat the duck fat in a nonstick skillet pan over medium heat until melted.
6. Add in the garlic and rosemary
7. Toss in the potatoes with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss and turn the potatoes gently, until they are all coated with fat.
8. Pour the contents of the pan into a oven baking dish and place into the oven for 20-25 mins.
9. The potatoes should be golden in colour with a slightly crispy outer layer when done.