Rendering duck fat from a roast duck

The wonderfully golden liquid in the picture above is duck fat. Probably one of the most delicious edibles in the world and the result of 3 hours of roasting. To buy this much in the store (if you could find it) would cost a fortune. We were very lucky to find a lovely organic duck at the local farmers market and with only a light dusting of salt and pepper we were able to turn it into a lovely crispy duck. It wasn’t very hard to get the fat from the duck, you just have to be dilligent about taking the duck out of the oven regularily and removing the fat from the bottom of the roasting tray before it burns. I can’t wait to use it to roast potatoes sometime this week!

To roast the duck:

1 organic duck
Salt
Pepper

Preheat your oven to 375F (190C). Make sure you rince the duck inside and out and then pat it dry with paper towel. Trim any excess fat and skin from the duck and then cut small holes in the skin about 1 inch apart all over the duck to facilitate the release of the duck fat (make sure you don’t cut the meat). Rub the duck all over with salt and pepper. Place the duck on a rack on top of a roasting tray and put it in the oven for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours (until the skin is nice and crispy). Every 30 minutes remove the duck from the oven and drain the fat into a bowl. Using a fine mesh sieve strain the duck fat into a glass jar so that you can store it. It will keep in the fridge for a month or so, or in the freezer for a very long time.