The beautiful thing about getting a whole duck or goose is that it gives you so much more than a few meals worth of meat. You also get bones for stock and fat to render. Rendering your own fat is surprisingly easy, especially when done in a slow cooker. You can use poultry fat to roast potatoes or to sautee greens or Brussels sprouts. It’s also fantastic for for high-heat cooking and frying. I’ll be using mine to try out David Lebovitz’s duck fat fried chicken. I’m also going to make a batch or two of these tortillas, substituting goose fat for the lard. 

Rendered Poultry Fat

Adapted from Sauce Magazine

Refrigerate the fat and skin until cold so it’s easy to handle. (If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator.)

Chop the fat and skin into small pieces.

Place the skin and fat in a slow cooker and set to low.

Give it a stir every hour while the fat melts.

Continue cooking on low heat until the liquid fat is golden (This could take anywhere from 3 to 8 hours depending on the amount of skin and fat, and the temperature of your slow cooker.)

Strain the fat through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Then pour the fat into sanitized glass jars and refrigerate or freeze. Take care handling the hot fat. 

Use refrigerated fat within a month or so. Frozen fat will last at least a year.

Tips from our butchers: When you tap into a jar of rendered fat, be sure to use a clean spoon every time. This prevent the introduction of bacteria and moisture into the pure rendered fat and helps ensure its shelf life. Also, make sure you secure a tight-fitting lid while storing in the refrigerator or freezer. If it’s not airtight, the fat may start to taste stale or pick up odors and flavors from the fridge.