Recipes, Side Dish Recipes

Duck fat roasted potatoes

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While a relatively simple process, making chips at home requires deep fryers and a great deal of caution. Crispy duck fat roasted potatoes are a great alternative and can sit in a warm oven while you attend to the final stages of cooking and serving your meat. Using duck fat, garlic, and rosemary gives these roasties a Gallic charm that is undeniably moreish. Blanching the potatoes to the point of being almost cooked is the key to success with these spuds. If you think they are overdone when you strain them, then they are just perfect – trust me! For less servings, reduce the volumes of each ingredient.

Suggested cuts: Sirloin Steak, Bavette Steak, Cote de Boeuf, Toulouse Sausages, Pork Shoulder Chop.

Close-up of golden, crunchy duck fat roast potatoes.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Method

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into equal long wedges, retaining any triangular edges from cutting. Rinse well, place in a large saucepan, cover generously with water, and season with sea salt.
  2. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently. A precise time cannot be given – you’re aiming for the outer surface of the potato to start softening and disintegrating, while the centre, when pierced with a knife, should feel just slightly undercooked.
  3. While the potatoes are simmering, preheat the oven to 180°C.
  4. Drain the softened potatoes in a colander and leave for five minutes.
    In a large roasting pan (cast iron is preferred), add the duck fat and warm it on the stove. Carefully add the potatoes (including any broken bits) and season with additional sea salt and black pepper.
  5. Break the garlic bulbs into unpeeled cloves and add them to the pan along with the rosemary.
  6. Using a large spoon, gently turn the potatoes in the fat to ensure they are well coated. Transfer the pan to the oven.
  7. Turn the potatoes every 20-minutes with a large spoon. After 45-minutes to an hour, they should be golden and crunchy.
  8. Cook for longer if needed. Remove from the oven, transfer to a serving dish, and enjoy.

Shop the ingredients

Henry grew up watching his father run Le Grandgousier restaurant in Brighton, and saw him establish Harris Vintners selling digestifs and apéritifs across the south of England. Henry was captivated by the essence of French food, the type of cooking that makes people smile and restores them; and although his career has been diverse, wholesome and heartwarming cooking has remained his true passion. The accolades and recognition Henry has received for his cookery and restaurant management over the years have led to countless opportunities in retail food, consultancy, lecturing, food writing, print features, and media appearances. In 2002 Henry opened Racine, and created a London institution serving the food of Paris, Provence and the South West. The demand for sensational French cookery and top notch customer service has remained strong, and resulted in Henry’s recent launch of Bouchon Racine much to the delight of the London food scene. Bon appétit.