Anytime we get a duck I spend a long time skinning it and rendering the fat, because holy crap it is so good, and the de-fatted duck meat is easier to work with anyway. I do also render lard if we have pig, and other than that keep butter, olive oil and avocado oil on hand. Not really for health, any of that, it’s to have good food but I do think less processed is likely healthier.
Chicken fat, schmaltz, is good for cooking too - put 4 salted, skin on, bone in chicken thighs in a cold iron skillet skin side down, turn on the stove and let them cook until the skin is brown, flip and finish, remove, then into the hot pan chopped greens, saute them in the chicken fat with a little white wine, so good.
Beef tallow is not delicious, though. It just doesn’t taste good.
Tallow doesn’t go much for flavor, but the oil texture on things like fries is pretty solid. It’s like when you work with duck, and that oil just lightly clings to everything, but not unpleasantly. Perhaps I’m just nostalgic for my stint in 90’s fast food :)
Anytime we get a duck I spend a long time skinning it and rendering the fat, because holy crap it is so good, and the de-fatted duck meat is easier to work with anyway. I do also render lard if we have pig, and other than that keep butter, olive oil and avocado oil on hand. Not really for health, any of that, it’s to have good food but I do think less processed is likely healthier.
Chicken fat, schmaltz, is good for cooking too - put 4 salted, skin on, bone in chicken thighs in a cold iron skillet skin side down, turn on the stove and let them cook until the skin is brown, flip and finish, remove, then into the hot pan chopped greens, saute them in the chicken fat with a little white wine, so good.
Beef tallow is not delicious, though. It just doesn’t taste good.
Tallow doesn’t go much for flavor, but the oil texture on things like fries is pretty solid. It’s like when you work with duck, and that oil just lightly clings to everything, but not unpleasantly. Perhaps I’m just nostalgic for my stint in 90’s fast food :)