Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I find the concept of eating turkeys a little strange. I suppose some advantages are they're cheaper and bigger. But duck is where it's at, people. We'll do a duck post soon but for this post let's focus on duck lard.
It's medicine. When your duck is done scoop out the grease. This is a historically important practice because the first rule in cooking is waste nothing. But also because duck lard stores very well. It was used to survive winters. And Lord is it tasty. Quack Quack.
As the grease cools you'll notice 2 layers. One is a gelatinous soup base brown layer, the other is the off white lard layer. Interestingly enough the gel part retains salt but not the lard part, so adjust accordingly. Usually people take the time to separate these layers properly, I didn't. I would bet 55 cents the lard part will last a lot longer without any of the gel part but for my kitchen it doesn't matter, neither lasts long.
You know how they say some fats are less unhealthy than others? You might have noticed the healthy ones soften at room temperature. In summer my coconut oil is pure liquid for example. I suppose it is less likely to harden in your body if it doesn't harden on your counter, right? Duck lard softens very quickly when taken out of the fridge, I try to let my toast cool off a little bit before applying so it doesn't run off. You can pull it from the freezer if you want a thicker and whiter form with more texture.
This is properly done with a good central European rye bread. I am all out of that right now so this sourdough will have to do. I also believe strong people like strong flavors. Maybe duck lard isn't the healthiest thing you can eat, possibly, but I firmly believe the onions help counteract any of the negatives. They were made for each other. The onion cuts right through the heaviness of the lard and lightens up the whole package.
Another popular lard is goose lard. We have never heard of anyone being a fan of turkey lard, we've never seen it or tried it, anywhere, ever.
