Duck Fats Potatoes

I'm not a perfectionist, I'm just somebody ordinary who cook at home. Home-cooked food with flaws is absolutely forgiving. So, you don't have to worry when your home-cooked food doesn't looks like those in the restaurant. It is silly to think that anything less than perfect is a disappointment.

Here, I'd like to introduce you this Duck Fats Potatoes. The perfect roast potatoes!

The original name of this dish is Perfect Roast Potatoes. But I didn't use goose fats. Instead, I used duck fats. Also, I don't think I roast it perfectly as appeared in Nigella Lawson's book. And the main reason why this potatoes taste that welcoming is because of rendered duck fats! So, I named it Duck Fats Potatoes instead.

This is a bottle of Rougie Graisse De Canard - duck fats that I got from Delicia.com at S$12.00 during promotion. You could find it from The Butcher, Jones The Grocer and some other gourmet shops that sells french food supplies.

As stated on Nigella's book, I quote "A good roast potato isn't about showing off or about striving desperately to impress. Nor is it a difficult thing to achieve, but can't pretend it isn't a high pressure zone."

Well, to me, as long as you follow some important steps, I don't know why you will fail.

Ingredients (Serves 5 to 6 as side dish)
(Source : Modified from Nigella Lawson's Christmas Perfect Potatoes recipe) 

• 1 to 1.2kg Potatoes
• 160g Duck Fats (Half Jars from 320g bottle), or goose fats if you want
• 2 tbsp Semolina (or Plain Flour as a substitute)
• sprinkle of sea salt (optional)

There's nothing further to say. This recipe is most pleasing for it's simplicity.

Method 

1. Peel and cut potatoes, each one into 3, by cutting off each end at a slant, so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle. 
2. Pre-heat oven to 250C, top + bottom heat, fan ON. 
3. Put the potatoes into salted, cold water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Letting them cook for 4 minutes. 
4. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then tip them back into the empty, dry colander, and sprinkle the semolina (or flour) over. 
5. Shake the potatoes around to coat them well. Give them a good proper bashing so that their edges fuzz and blur a little, this facilitates the crunch effect later. Leave them to rest at this stage. 
6. Put the duck fats into a large roasting tin and then into the oven to heat up, and get frighteningly hot. You can heat it up over stove if you want. It's up to you. As long as you make sure the duck fats is frighteningly hot. It's like, you could see smokes coming up, and you started to worry that your kitchen is gonna burnt down anytime. Yea. this is the right time to add your potatoes in.
7. When the fat is as hot as it can be, tip the potatoes carefully into it. Becareful! They splutter terrifically as you put them in, but it's just the beginning part. And roast it in the oven for an hour, but take it out and give the potatoes a flip every 20 minutes. Not necessarily 1 hour, but as long as the potatoes are darkly golden and crispy, you're done.   
8. When everything else is served up, transfer the potatoes to a large serving dish, sprinkle a pinch of salt over if you want, and bring to the table with pride in your heart!

Step 4 - Sprinkle semolina / flour over.

Step 5 - Shake the potatoes around to coat them well.

Note : I only used half jars of duck fats. If you want really good result, go ahead and use the whole jar. With lots of fats, it cooks well, and minimize the work of flipping the potatoes (at least not that often). But to me, I'd say, it is not really necessary to cook it with that amount of fats when you can take it out and flip the potatoes every 20mins. It works.

Boastfulness and vainglory are not attractive nor would I want to encourage them in you (or myself), but when you've cooked these and see them in all their golden glory on the table, I think you deserves the praises by your guests on how awesome these roast potatoes are. They looks plain and not really appealing. But the first bite, it is sweet and soft inside, and a golden-brown crunch outside. Yumms!!!

Get that right and the rest should follow. No reason why not! Just do it! :D