Duck fat is one of those traditional cooking oils that just hasn’t gotten a lot of attention in the mainstream in recent years. But, I love to use it because of its amazing flavor AND its versatility! Duck fat has an incredibly delicate flavor that is amazing especially for frying; its high smoke point (the temperature at which an oil starts to smoke, indicating that the fatty acids have been damaged) especially makes this the perfect cooking oil for any dish that you intend to fry or otherwise brown (think white potatoes, if you can have them, or plantains if you’re on AIP. YUM!). Duck fat has traditionally been used, but recent concerns about saturated fat have pushed it out of the kitchen (even though other cooking oils have more saturated fat!
Despite often being semi-solid at room temperature, duck fat actually has a similar fatty acid profile to olive oil; its fatty acid composition is 33% saturated fat and 62% unsaturated (about 14% of which is polyunsaturated, meaning those highly-coveted omega 3s!).
I love EPIC’s Duck Fat because of their amazing sourcing, including their Whole Animal Project, which seeks to use a nose to tail approach. Otherwise, you can look for duck fat at your local grocery store.
Bacon
