WIP: duck fat fried chicken

the title of this post doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, nor does one's mind immediately latch on to the meaning. it wants to rearrange: fat duck fried chicken? fried duck chicken fat? fried fat chicken duck? nay. i found a bunch of duck fat (yes, i believe that is the collective term) that was slated for something else, but somehow ended up in a cast iron pan, heated on a medium high flame until rippling. i don't know how much. maybe a pound and a half? inch and a half wet? ANYWAY, the chicken: small plump thighs, organic ok, wash, patted dry, seasoned with a bit of kosher salt and white pepper, that's it. 10 to 15 minutes on each side in an uncrowded pan, don't fuss, don't poke. read a magazine article, the newspaper, or tweet. drain on paper towel. serve.

with

a schmantzy condiment, a grilled tomato ketchup. you could pour a bottle of ketchup onto a grill but that would be messy. tomato halves and onions went in a grill pan with a smidge of olive oil, until a nice bit of char was achieved. they then went into this epicurious recipe, replacing the canned ones on the ingredient list. doubled the amount of tomato paste instructed for good measure, too. worked a charm.

and the chicken? crispy, shardy skin, juicy meat that seems saturated in duck fat. i called this a work in progress because although this was decadent and delicious and oh-so-delightful, i might try marinating the meat next time, or perhaps use an herby confit fat. can't see how it can hurt.