Duck cracklings are my favorite lunch food, albeit that I only get them when rendering fat from duck skin. Duck cracklings are lighter to digest than the related cracklings from pork. Every time I slaughter ducks in the kitchen, I will not forego the opportunity to obtain duck fat. Lightly salted and luke warm, the cracklings are the best snack you can imagine.
The art of making duck cracklings
When pieces of duck skin are simmered in some water, fat will start to render and when the water has evaporated and the skin pieces surrounded by clear transparent fat, that is the moment to harvest your duck fat. The cracklings are then merely rather soft skin pieces. So after the first fat harvest, the skin pieces back in the hot pan produce more fat (that has a fried smell and is less suitable for food use) and after a while the crispy cracklings appear. Scoop them up, lightly salt them and enjoy! You can refrigerate them and give them a short boost in a hot pan and they are great to consume again.
Special equipment
A heave flat iron pan
Ingredients
Method
- Slice the skin in pieces of roughly 1 x 1 inch
- Put all pieces in a heavy bottomed flat pan, add the water and bring to a good simmer
- Remove the fat after all water is completely evaporated (putting the fire on low will not show water vapor coming from the pan anymore) and clear fat is surrounding the skin pieces
- Then continue to render fat from what is left of the duck skin
- After some 10 minutes the cracklings will be crispy.
- Scoop them up and lightly salt them. Enjoy!
Notes
Food allergy & intolerance information: none
Remarks
1. The reason why duck cracklings are lighter, is that duck fat melts at a lower temperature than pork fat. Thus it is easier to render most of the fat of ducks, where as pork cracklings will always still contain more fat.
