My two favorite ingredients for any recipe are time and money. I’m not one for precision, and measuring cups are almost irrelevant when slow cooking expensive meat. So for my potluck Thanksgiving, I offered to make the turkey.
I used a recipe for duck fat rubbed turkey from New York Magazine. I can’t endorse this recipe because like most New York Magazine recipes—and many New York Magazine articles—there’s some flash to its concept, but little follow through. The instructions are basically rub duck fat on a turkey and two days later, roast that turkey. I’m still not sure if I did the right thing with the head of garlic, which was listed in the ingredients and never mentioned again. Despite the recipe’s failings, the turkey came out amazing because having a turkey sit in duck fat for two days makes for a rich and delicious bird.
Which brings me to my endorsement: duck fat. As fats go, this one should be used more. It tastes good, is easily acquired at specialty food shops, and is not as expensive as you’d think. Plus, any recipe involving fat from a duck sounds special, even if you’re only using it to replace the butter in a pot of rice.