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Duck fat in no small measure, improves the flavor of your meals but, even though a lot of people enjoy using it, you may eventually realize that you are better off seeking out equally good substitutes that can easily be seen to purchase anytime it is needed.
Secondly, the large amount of fat contained in just a spoonful of duck fat, just like any other fat, is not something anyone with healthy goals would love to constantly indulge in. So, wouldn’t it be better to see if there are any duck fat substitute with a reduced amount of fat too? I’m sure it would.
Some of the best substitutes for duck fat include coconut oil, tallow, olive oil, beef fat, chicken fat, lard, Turkish butter, ghee, margarine or butter, and many more that we will discuss below.
With the following duck fat substitutes outlined below, you will discover a better way to enjoy same improved tantalizing flavor in your dishes some of which also, is totally healthy for you and your family.
Best Substitutes for Duck Fat
1. Tallow
The tallow is a familiar name to all and sundry but, what we might not know is that they are of two types – the yellow and white grease. With the yellow grease being fat gotten from cattle, while the white from sheep.
To get what we call the tallow, fatty animal tissues are put to boil for a while after which the mixture is being sieved and left to cool off.
The purpose of this exercise is to rid the fat off it’s connecting tissue. Subsequently, they are being processed and packaged for cooking and they sure are a good substitute for the duck fat.
See Also: Best Beef Brisket Substitutes
2. Coconut Oil
The beauty of the coconut oil lies in its versatility. It serves as a core ingredient in skin and hair care formulations, used in the kitchen and so many other things.
Where exactly is the coconut oil gotten from? It is simply extracted from mature coconuts. Now, we don’t mean the liquid content inside as that is totally not needed in this process. The coconut oil is extracted from the white meat of the coconut itself.
You can thereafter, opt to have it refined or not, however, the unrefined one has been proven to be more nutritional and effective. One added advantage the coconut oil has over other oils is the fact that they last for years on end and hardly ever go bad.
3. Beef fat
When a cow is butchered, you will find plenty creamy fat just around its kidney and splattered around other organs too. That fat is called the beef fat. They come in two variants – the tallow and suet.
They are packaged in large grams and can be found available for purchase by the butchers themselves or displayed in stores.
4. Olive Oil
A perfect and popularly known substitute for fat. The oil is extracted from olives and the olives themselves are grown and known as an indigenous tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin.
5. Beef/Chicken/Lamb Drippings
The various drippings refers to the remnant of the grease discovered after boiling any one of them. They are absolutely fit to serve in the same capacity as the duck fat.
6. Ghee
Ghee is gotten through a very unique way of melting butter. When this is done, it is placed to parboil after which you will see the liquid fat floating and the solids gathered in a corner.You only need to get the solids out of the way to get the pleasantly flavored ghee.
Extremely loved by the Indians, the lactose free ghee is perfect for your roasts, grills and dips.
Additionally, it breaks down and digests easily, what’s more? Your body gets to benefit from its rich nutrients which includes the highly important Omega 3 acid and other essential vitamins and useful antioxidants.
7. Margarine Or Butter
This popular duo are on the list because, like others, they are great substitutes for the duck fat. The margarine is highly fortified with vitamins and very affordable too but, the butter on the other hand, holds the advantage of being the better choice for people who intend to keep their cholesterol level in check.
Again, the butter contains a lot lesser amount of calories than the duck fat and as such, it is considered as a healthier alternative.
See Also: 12 Best Pork Belly Substitutes
8. Turkish Butter
Just as the ghee is to the Indians, so is the Turkish butter to the Turkish. Like the name suggests, this specially flavored butter is a very popular ingredient amongst the Turkish.
One unique thing about the Turkish butter is how smoothly it glides over food. This is attributed to the fact that the butter is gotten from sheep’s milk which is naturally very low in fat. It can be used in dishes that you’ll ordinarily use the duck fat for and is sure to come out tasting heavenly.
9. Chicken Fat
The chicken fat is available in so many variants and they are all as sweetly flavored as you can imagine. However, it is advised that you minimize its use as much as you can as they can shoot up your cholesterol levels because of their saturated fatty properties.
10. Lard
The lard simply refers to the fat obtained from pigs. It has been used by a lot of people in a lot of dishes for uncountable decades now.
Although, its popularity began to decline at about the 20th century when more healthier alternatives were made available.
11. Peanut Oil
Like you might have been able to deduce, the peanut oil is extracted from peanuts. Peanut oil is the preferred choice and duck fat substitute for the bulk of vegetarians out there. It is used for both cooking and baking. It is also used for work in massage parlors.
12. Sunflower Oil
Vegans should totally adopt this option as it is the perfect substitute for them. There are so many reasons to fall in love with the sunflower oil – its exciting flavor, minute saturated fat content, versatility in cooking and consistency are just a few of the reasons why it is the go to choice for most people.
The sunflower oil can be used for different purposes in the kitchen and the amazing thing you will notice is, its amazing quality of adding flavor to the meal and at the same time, not overshadowing other flavors inherent in the meal.
Derived from Sunflower seeds, it has remained a staple product and maintained its relevance over the years and even till now due to its numerous nutritional benefits.
As a matter of fact, its nutritional value far outweighs that of the duck fat.
13. Bacon dippings
Have bacon cooked for a little while and the bacon grease surfaces. You can scoop and use in your dips and sautering. If you intend preserving it, leave it to cool down and transition into a slightly solid state then, refrigerate.
14. Pork fat
The pork fat and lard have one thing in common as they are gotten from fat gathered around a pig’s interior organs.
One tip though that is worthy of note when cooking, is the need for you to the exact kind of lard you are using. This information is necessary as you might unconsciously deprive yourself of so many other specific delicacies that they would be useful for.
15. Goose fat
There are too many similarities between the goose and duck fat and, this makes it absolutely perfect to use in place of it. They taste almost the same and let out a flavor that so very identical.
Great for frying, grilling, baking and practically anything. The Schmaltz as a cross section of people like to call it, is sure to make your meals come out tasty.
You should know though, that the goose fat calorie content is almost the same as the duck fat and so, most be used in moderation.
16. Cottonseed Oil
The cottonseed oil is a neutral flavored vegetable oil derived from cotton plant seeds. Due to its very high burning point, it makes your baking and frying produce come out great.
The cottonseed oil holds about the same nutritional value as the duck fat and is a perfect choice for vegetarians.
See Also: Best Substitutes For Carrots
Conclusion
If you did not know any better, you would think the duck fat is both indispensable and irreplaceable because of the numerous role it plays in the culinary world. The way it takes the flavor of your dishes from 1 – 100 makes it very difficult to let go by so many cooks and chefs alike.
Thanks to the quest of healthier alternatives for a healthier living, a lot of people have been forced to seek out best substitutes for it that have lesser calories or, substitutes that can be readily gotten from stores around and thankfully, there are loads of them.
The foremost thing on our mind when compiling this list is convenience. Now, you do not have to feel lost when you need to cook but discover you have run out of duck fat. Therefore, feel free to experiment with the carefully selected options for you above and enjoy the rich savory flavor.
