Pommes de Terre en Graisse de Canard

It came to my attention that the French use their duck fat to create gloriously crisp and flavorful fried potatoes.  Why could I not do the same?  We're eating few potatoes nowadays, but in keeping with our "small portions of really good food" theory, it seemed only right to use my local duck fat to fry some of my CSA potatoes.  And they were, indeed, really good! 

Besides, I've always wanted to write a recipe with the name translated in italics underneath it.  Merci, Babelfish!
_____________________________________________________ 
LOCAL POTATOES FRIED IN LOCAL DUCK FAT
Les pommes de terre locales ont fait frire en graisse locale de canard

5 small CSA potatoes
2 tablespoons duck fat
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel potatoes, halve them lengthwise, then cut into 1/4-inch slices.  I spread the potato slices out on a large plate and microwaved them for five minutes to get the cooking process started.  My experience with frying raw potatoes has been that they take a very long time to fry to doneness.  Ideally, I like to use oven-roasted potatoes, peeled and sliced, for fried potatoes, but I didn't have time for that.

Heat duck fat in a large skillet over medium heat.  When fat is hot, place potato slices in the skillet, spreading them out as evenly as possible.  Apply salt and pepper.  Now go away for a while and don't touch the potatoes.  They need a full five minutes or more to get a crispy finish.  Carefully lift a slice or two and check for a golden, crispiness.  If it's there, turn the potatoes in the skillet.  Let them fry another five minutes or so, turn again if necessary to crisp most of the potatoes, and serve hot.

I could have let my potatoes fry a bit longer.  It's enormously tempting to keep turning them, but they need uninterrupted frying time to get the best crispy effect!

Makes 6 abstemious servings