Most likely if you come to our house for dinner and meat is being served, this recipe for Duck Fat Smashed Roasted Potatoes will also be on the table. Oh my god, do I love these potatoes or what! They are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The best of both potato worlds.
Inspired by a recipe I found a few years ago in Bon Appetit, I have been making the Chez Us version ever since. What I really love about this recipe is the ease of starting it early in the day. If we are having company over (even if not) I will bake the potatoes early in the day or even the day before. Then I wrap from the foil, place in a bowl and wait until 30 – 45 minutes before serving to finish the recipe.
While plain old roasted potatoes are nice, duck fat makes a roasted or fried potato even better. I use duck fat all the time when cooking potatoes as well as for frying eggs. Don’t worry the flavor isn’t gamey or heavy; most people don’t even know until you tell them. The duck fat will produce a really crispy outside on your potato, and smooth and creamy instead. Heavenly.
Enjoy!
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Duck Fat Smashed Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:
6 – 8 yellow Yukon gold medium-sized potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup duck fat
1 teaspoon dry thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
maldon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
How To:
Preheat oven to 425.
Wash potatoes, and wrap in foil.
Place on the racks in the oven. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes. You want the potatoes to be baked but still a little firm.
While the potatoes are baking, add the olive oil, duck fat and thyme to a small saucepan. Gently heat for 2 minutes over low heat. DO NOT BOIL.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Remove the potatoes from the foil and place on a baking sheet that has been drizzled with olive oil.(sometimes I bake the potatoes to this point, early in the day, and then continue the next steps about 45 minutes before dinner)
Turn up the oven heat to 450.
Using a clean flour sack, lightly press down on each potato to smash.
Pour half of the duck fat mixture over the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and flip over. It is okay if they break apart a little. I use both hands to make the process easier.
Pour the remaining duck fat over the potatoes. Bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Serve.
Eat.
Pretty sure this is the most perfect food in existence. I love that they’re baked. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!
Hi Denise, thank you for this fatty recipe. Love your name, by the way. My brother loves all kind of duck dish. My cooking knowledge is never enough for him. You’ve just expanded my cook book by the way.
Curious why the mix of olive oil and duck fat? Why not all duck?
That is a good question – we tried the recipe both ways, and while we enjoy a lot of duck fat, most folks don’t. Therefore, we mixed it up a bit. As well, it gets expensive buying duck fat all the time. 🙂 ~ Denise & Lenny
Elena, it is our pleasure. WE aim to please, and cooking with duck fat is only one of the recipes you will enjoy from here. I like to fry eggs in it as well. Yum! ~ Denise & Lenny
I have to say, I agree. Making your eggplant curry this week! ~ Denise
I love Potatoes. Thank you.
In the instructions, it says to turn the oven temp up to 425, but it’s already at 425 for when we baked he potatoes. What temp are you suppose to turn it up to when you have the smashed potatoe coated in duck fat?
Thanks for catching that typo – you turn the oven up to 450 before the duck fat! Enjoy.
love the recipies