On duck and duck fat:

Dean Allen cooked some duck the other day and wrote about it in his inimitible fashion about 10 days ago in Textism. “Now, for the browning, you’ll need quantity of fat for the pan; oddly enough the ideal fat for browning duck is duckfat. Rendered duckfat is right below butter and cream in the canonical hierarchy of reasons why a fat-free diet is for knobs. I once read some words about how it’s rich in ‘good’ cholesterol and anti-oxidants or something, but it’s so good I’d use the stuff even if it were guaranteed to make your toes turn blue.”