Baby yukon golds smashed and roasted to perfection in a luxurious coating of velvety smooth duck fat. Topped with a zesty lemon chive dressing, this dish has incredible texture and flavor. If your taste buds are yearning for a culinary masterpiece to grace your dinner table, look no further than this divine duck fat potatoes recipe!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Rich Flavor: Duck fat has a rich flavor that makes these potatoes ultra decadent. The lemon chive dressing is packed with bright and savory flavors and makes the perfect complement to the rich potatoes.
Crispy Perfection: Boiling and then smashing the potatoes increases the surface area, creating the perfect recipe for achieving a golden crust and perfectly crunchy texture. The duck fat is also the ideal fat for ensuring crunchy perfection. These deliciously crispy potatoes are the perfect alternative to french fries or any other potato side dish!
Simple Yet Impressive: This recipe is made with simple ingredients but duck fat smashed potatoes impress guests and can make an ordinary meal feel extraordinary. This recipe is one of my absolute favorite ways to enjoy potatoes and it's sure to become your new favorite way too!
Ingredient Notes:
- Baby Gold Potatoes: Baby potatoes are the best for smashed potatoes because they have creamy centers and the perfect skin-to-flesh ratio to make perfectly crispy edges while keeping the insides tender and delicate. Somewhere between 1"-2" in diameter seems to be the sweet spot for this recipe. I prefer small yukon gold potatoes due to their buttery flavor and texture, but you can use other varieties of baby potatoes like baby red potatoes as well.
- Duck Fat: Duck fat is a unique cooking fat due to its rich but subtle flavor. It has a fairly high smoke point but is still lower than most vegetable oils. You can use other animal fats, (lard, bacon grease, tallow, etc.) olive oil, avocado oil, or melted butter for this recipe instead, but I highly recommend the duck fat! It makes the absolute best crispy smashed potatoes. It also makes an excellent pie crust!
- Lemon Chive Dressing: This homemade dressing is the perfect accompaniment to these rich potatoes and is an ode to the classic baked potato toppings of sour cream and chives. It has the perfect balance of acidity and creaminess that perfectly balances the richness of the potatoes. If you don't like the flavor of chives, you can also use other fresh herbs like tarragon or basil.
See the recipe card below for a full ingredient list and amounts needed.
Equipment Notes:
- Flat-Bottom Glass: This recipe uses the bottom of a glass to smash the potatoes. Make sure there is a flat surface on the bottom and you're good to go! I like to use a simple rocks glass.
- Large Sheet Pan: This recipe fits perfectly on a half-size sheet pan (18" x 13"). If you don't have a pan that size, you can make a smaller amount or use two smaller sheet pans.
Step by Step Instructions:
How To Make Smashed Potatoes:
The best way to make smashed potatoes is to boil them until they're tender, then smash them before roasting for the crispiest texture. Read below for how to make them!
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. To a large pot, add enough water to cover the potatoes (I used 3 quarts) and salt. Bring to a boil.
Step 2: Add potatoes to boiling water and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. The cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes.
Step 3: Drain potatoes and add them back to the pot. Add duck fat to the pot and gently stir the potatoes until they are coated in the duck fat and all the fat has melted.
Step 4: Spoon the cooked potatoes out of the pot and place potatoes onto the sheet pan. Set the pot with the remaining duck fat aside because you'll need it later!
Step 5: Using a flat-bottom glass, gently smash potatoes, one at a time, and then arrange them in a single layer on the sheet pan.
Step 6: Once all the potatoes are smashed, drizzle the pot of duck fat over the surface of the potatoes and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
Step 7: Place the pan in the hot oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bottoms of the potatoes are golden brown. Flip each potato and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Return the pan to the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy on both sides.
Step 8: Remove the pan from the oven. Drizzle lemon chive dressing (instructions below) over the potatoes and top with lemon zest and chopped chives, if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Pro Tip: These potatoes can be prepared through step 6 and then refrigerated before roasting. You can do this to make dinner time a little easier!
How to Make Lemon Chive Dressing:
This homemade dressing is packed with flavor and can be used for more than this recipe! Use it as a salad dressing or as a veggie dip. You can drizzle the sauce over the top of the potatoes or use it as a dipping sauce.
Step 1: While the potatoes roast, prepare the lemon chive dressing. Gather the ingredients: sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, honey, salt, and black pepper
Step 2: Add all ingredients to a mini food processor or blender.
Step 3: Blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a jar or airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 4: Let the dressing sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving to make it easier to drizzle.
Pro Tip: This dressing can be prepared up to 2 days in advance to make dinner time a breeze!
What to Serve with Duck Fat Smashed Potatoes:
These smashed potatoes will complement just about any main dish you pair them with. From a grilled steak or pork chop to sous vide halibut or duck confit, they go great with anything!
You can also serve them as a finger food appetizer for a party. Next time you're looking for a potato recipe that's sure to impress, give this smashed potatoes recipe a try!
Recipe FAQ's:
Duck fat is a mild cooking fat with very little duck flavor if made correctly. It adds a rich flavor and mouthfeel to foods cooked in it and is great for many cooking applications!
Duck fat has many cooking applications. From duck fat potatoes and duck confit to seared steaks and pie crusts, duck fat adds richness to any dish you use it in.
It's a good practice to refrigerate all opened containers of fats and oils to extend their shelf life. Duck fat can go rancid quickly at room temperature so it should definitely be refrigerated.
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Recipe:
Duck Fat Smashed Potatoes with Lemon Chive Dressing
Ingredients
Potatoes:
- 1 ½ lb baby gold potatoes (1"-2" diameter, about 50 potatoes)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 quarts water
- ¼ cup duck fat
- flaked sea salt, to taste
Lemon Chive Dressing:
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup fresh chives, chopped
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Other Ingredients:
- lemon zest (optional, for serving)
- fresh chives, chopped (optional, for serving)
Instructions
Potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To a large pot, add enough water to cover the potatoes (I used 3 quarts) and salt. Bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes to boiling water and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. The cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes and add them back to the pot. Add duck fat to the pot and gently stir the potatoes until they are coated in the duck fat and all the fat has melted.
- Spoon the cooked potatoes out of the pot and place potatoes onto the sheet pan. Set the pot with the remaining duck fat aside. You'll need it later!
- Using a flat-bottom glass, gently smash each potato and arrange them in a single layer on the sheet pan.
- Once all the potatoes are smashed, drizzle the pot of duck fat over the potatoes and sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
- Place the pan in the hot oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bottoms of the potatoes are golden brown.
- Flip each potato and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Return the pan to the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy on both sides. You can reduce the cooking time by using a convection oven, if available.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Drizzle the potatoes with lemon chive dressing (instructions below) and top with lemon zest and chopped chives, if desired. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Lemon Chive Dressing:
- While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the lemon chive dressing.
- Add all ingredients (sour cream, mayonnaise, chives, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, honey, salt, and black pepper) to a mini food processor or blender.
- Blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a jar or airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Let the dressing sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving to make it easier to drizzle.
Notes
- This recipe uses the bottom of a glass to smash the potatoes. Make sure there is a flat surface on the bottom and you're good to go! I like to use a simple rocks glass.
- This recipe fits perfectly on a half-size sheet pan (18" x 13"). If you don't have a pan that size, you can make a smaller amount or use two smaller sheet pans.
- The potatoes can be prepared through step 7 and then refrigerated before roasting. You can do this to make dinner time a little easier!
- Baby potatoes are the best for smashed potatoes because they have creamy centers and the perfect skin-to-flesh ratio to make perfectly crispy edges while keeping the insides tender and delicate. Somewhere between 1"-2" in diameter seems to be the sweet spot for this recipe. I prefer small yukon gold potatoes due to their buttery flavor and texture, but you can use other varieties of baby potatoes like baby red potatoes as well.
- Duck fat is a unique cooking fat due to its rich but subtle flavor. It has a fairly high smoke point but is still lower than most vegetable oils. You can use other animal fats, (lard, bacon grease, tallow, etc.) olive oil, avocado oil, or melted butter for this recipe instead, but I highly recommend the duck fat! It makes the absolute best crispy smashed potatoes.
- The lemon chive dressing is the perfect accompaniment to these rich potatoes and is an ode to the classic baked potato toppings of sour cream and chives. It has the perfect balance of acidity and creaminess that perfectly balances the richness of the potatoes. If you don't like the flavor of chives, you can also use other fresh herbs like tarragon or basil.
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