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How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

October 11, 2012 By Kelli and Holli 8 Comments

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Taken by Tim Wall when reviewing Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs for EatAroundOKC which you can see here:

Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs is the very first place I ever had duck fat fries. $5 an order, no less. Then, I decided to buy some at the store:


From Balitmore Sun Newspaper.

This was $6 for a 1/2 pound tub several years ago!

Then I learned to make my own! I just made some last weekend and here’s how I did it.

If you purchase a frozen duck or use a fresh one, you must pick the pin feathers first and foremost. Then wash the bird in cool water and pat dry with paper towels. I plugged in my smoker and then I placed the duck on the second rack – closer to the bowl of water. My bird weighs 4 lbs. so I will smoke for 4 hours.

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Take it out, loosely cover with foil, and let set for about 20 minutes. Then make a slit in the skin of the duck and pull the skin/fat up like this:

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Pull the fat off the bird completely. Now, you can chop it up in small pieces (but I was tired this time and didn’t do that). Place in a skillet and barely cover with water, place on a low flame or set to “low” on an electric stove top.

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Let it render down for some time and eventually, it will look like this:

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Set up a bowl, a good strainer, and clean cotton dish towel. Some people use cheese cloth but I like the tighter weave of the dish towel.

Strain the duck fat. If it’s not clear enough for you, then strain it again until it is as clear as you want it.

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Now, you can freeze it for up to 6 months or place in the back of the refrigerator for a few weeks.

You have the skin left – place it back in the skillet like this:

How to smoke a duck (and render the fat for luscious duck fat fries)

Brown it up and cook it to “cracklin’s”. You can then chop it up and put on potatoes or soups, just whatever you might want to use traditional croutons on, but you really have to use these right away. They get limp and soggy otherwise. One last thing. I know some of this looks yuky to do – but if you like great french fries and want the best taste you’ve ever had at a price you can afford – do this!!

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Filed Under: Grillin' & Chillin', Recipes, Smoker, Smoking food Tagged With: cooking, Food, homemade duck fat fries recipe, How to render duck fat, making duck fat for duck fat fries, Recipe, recipes

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Comments

  1. Dabbit

    October 15, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    Sounds interesting Kelli, although I think I might not try it (unlike duck), Thanks

    Reply
    • kalamitykelli

      October 15, 2012 at 5:40 PM

      Thanks for reading though! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Solid Gold Eats (@solidgoldeats)

    October 17, 2012 at 8:44 AM

    Wow, I had no idea it would be that easy! Just kind of time consuming. Now I want to eat those fries! What did you do with the duck meat?

    Reply
    • kalamitykelli

      October 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM

      I made Venison and Duck Gumbo for my Son-In-Law. I put all the duck in and made venison meatballs the way you would make about any meatballs and then just made regular gumbo. He totally loves it and has frozen most of it in containers so he can take it for lunch this winter. The recipe can be searched on the blog. I made it a couple weeks ago.

      Reply
  3. Grace Weydemuller

    February 17, 2018 at 4:31 AM

    Hi Kelli, thanks for your reciepe, this weekend i am gonna (try) to make this, sounds easy and your photos are looking great and tasty, but, i don’t have a smoker, can i do it in the oven and for how long at how many degrees?

    I am looking forward to hear from you!

    Regards,

    Grace

    Reply
    • Kelli

      February 17, 2018 at 8:57 AM

      Hi Grace — click on this link to take you to my post on h ow to build a smoker for your oven. Hope you like it! https://kelliskitchen.org/2013/06/smoking-ribs-in-a-homemade-smoker-for-the-oven/

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Sponsor Post - Givin' love to food bloggers : Solid Gold Eats says:
    October 23, 2012 at 8:56 AM

    […] surprise and has become extremely important as well. My favorite blog from Kelli is this how-to on smoking a duck so you can render the fat and make duck fat french fries. […]

    Reply
  2. SMOKED CHUCK ROAST - Kelli's Kitchen says:
    March 13, 2021 at 3:10 PM

    […] smoker. We’ve used our electric smoker to smoke burgers, brisket, cheese, peppers, ribs, duck, garlic, tomatoes and now we have smoked a chuck roast. Smoked chuck roast is like best pot roast […]

    Reply

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