Oh damn, guess what I forgot

[gwyn]

Hey competent cook side of Dreamwidth: On Thanksgiving, my disastrous bread-baking ended up taking so long that I was too exhausted to do anything more than make Tater Tots and leftover rice for dinner, which was as sad and pathetic as it sounds. So for Xmas, I picked up some fingerling potatoes and other things to cook, but lo, I am cooking impaired. I wanted to roast the potatoes in the oven (I don't have a cast iron pan) with leftover bacon fat but I don't know what the best way to do this is. (I saw this once somewhere and I thought ooo I have to do that, but of course, can't find it again.) All the recipes have you roast the potatoes with strips of uncooked bacon over them, and that's not what I want, I just want to roast the taters in the fat I've saved.

Should I melt some of the fat in the microwave and toss the potatoes with it before putting them on the baking sheet, or should I put them on the sheet and drop bacon fat in, letting it melt in the oven and then flipping the potatoes for crispiness? I don't know what's most effective here.

---

Man, sometimes I hate living on a corner. I get people's garbage all the time as they walk--little bottles of booze in my side garden (this has been going on for decades, and I really wonder about the person who's addicted to Jack Daniel's mini bottles who walks by and drops the empties in my plants), people "accidentally" dropping their dog poo bags in my yard, lately masks, and last night I saw that there's a pair of men's boxer briefs in my parking strip that seemed to appear in the insane rainstorm/snow that dumped two inches in a matter of hours on the city. All capped off today by what looks like a jog stroller or walker thingie that either could have been stolen and dumped here or just left by some shithead for me to have to take care of because it's kind of old and broken down looking. I am not going to pay the extra oversize garbage fee to dispose of this thing. Grr.

I got a lovely surprise present from friends in Boston the other day--it was a total surprise when the mail guy knocked on my door, and there was a package from Penzey's spices. It's all these supplies for making great cocoa, which is perfect because I've actually been drinking a lot of hot chocolate lately, trying to cut down a little on my caffeine (yeah, I know chocolate has caffeine, but it's less than other things I drink). <3<3<3

I have spent days and days trying to make my Yuletide story not suck dead rats through a straw, and I don't know if I can bang out a treat even for Madness, but I want to try. It's still a rough story, and I want to keep working on it, but man, it's just...tough this year. Really tough.

Comments

[ratcreature]

I've been a vegetarian since I was a teenager, but before that as a kid I loved the potatoes bacon combination. I always fried the bacon first in the pan, then the potatoes in the left over fat, and warmed the bacon strips up again at the end before serving, unless it was just cubes of pure bacon fat rather than strips, those just remained in the pan. Since when roasting potatoes with vegetable oil you generally coat them rather than just having oil on the sheet, I'd do the same with bacon fat. So first melting, then coating the potatoes, and then roasting in the oven, maybe turning once for the most even browning (no idea whether melting bacon works in a microwave, but doing ut in a regular steel pan or pot works). I guess melting the fat in the oven might work, but then the potatoes might get oily because there's too much fat in the pan and they soak it up? I mean oven roasting doesn't need that much oil, less than pan frying.

[gwyn]

Thank you!

[tassosss]

I agree with ratcreature, melt the fat first and toss it with the potatoes in a bowl. You'll probably only need a couple tablespoons.

When I roast potatoes in the oven, I do it at 375F for about 45 minutes, pulling them out every 15 minutes to stir/flip them. I season with salt and pepper when I coat them in oil. Also, putting the baking sheet or pan in the oven (empty) while the oven preheats gives the potatoes a bit of a sear when they land on the pan, and somehow it makes them better (shrug emoji).

[gwyn]

Thank you, that's helpful! I'm usually a mashed potatoes gal, so this is my first try at fingerlings.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I also like a little vinegar in with the potatoes, but then I'm not generally in possession of bacon fat.

[gwyn]

I have a tendency to save it and then forget and it goes bad. So this is the first time I remembered!

[mackiemesser]

I'm always astonished by people who dump their trash in others' yards. Like, I have gone to ridiculous lengths to find ways to pick up Ollie's poop if I forget to bring a second bag. So If I can manage to get dog crap into a trash barrel using pieces of plaster flaked off a wall, then they can port their shit, too!

Also, bag and drop people are The Worst. At least if they don't bag the poop will eventually break down, but bag and drop shows how big of an asshole you've decided to be. /personal vendetta

[gwyn]

Yeah. I don't know what's worse, the ones who "accidentally" drop, the ones who go to the trouble to walk around to where my garbage is and dump it there (especially in the wrong can, like the extras I only use in fall for leaves, or the recycling), or the ones who leave it in the grass and then I step in it when I'm gardening or raking or what have you. I hate them all and wish death by drowning in dog shit upon them.

[mackiemesser]

One time I was walking Ollie and this guy was walking his dog across the street. His dog stopped to poop and he noticed I was looking at them so he acted like he was getting ready to bag it, but then once Ollie and I turned the corner he just walked on! So clearly he knew he was being a jerk but he didn't want to be a jerk while someone was watching.
We have big, shared trash bins in the alleys in my neighborhood, so responsible dog walkers will drop the bags in the bins. Which is why the bag and drop pisses me off so much: there's a trash bin within a block or two of where ever they are!!

/pet (heh) peeve

[kass]

I don't usually have bacon fat on hand anymore because of kashrut, but with duck fat, I would melt the fat, then toss the potatoes with it and with whatever herbs I wanted to add if any (thyme? salt and pepper for sure), and then roast at 450 for half an hour, then stir, reduce heat to 350, and roast another 15 min or so until potatoes are tender (depending on size.)

[gwyn]

Thank you, that's super helpful! I figure most fat's probably the same. :-D

[killabeez]

Looks like you already got the answer, but Should I melt some of the fat in the microwave and toss the potatoes with it before putting them on the baking sheet —yes, this. :) (sayeth the vegan friend)

[gwyn]

I thought later I should have put a "warning for killa, avert your eyes!" Normally I use olive oil for everything, but bacon continues to be my worst weakness, I swear.

[carbonel]

I see your potatoes and bacon fat are mostly covered (so to speak), but the other thing I'd mention is that I probably would cut the potatoes into wedges to cook them, not just leave them whole, even if they're fingerlings.

[sperrywink]

Glad to see you got an answer to your cooking question because I am the last person to ask for cooking advice.

I'm sorry your Yuletide was like pulling teeth, but good luck wrangling it into a shape you like more.

Yay cocoa!!