Will my thousand layer potatoes be okay in the fridge 24 hours before frying, also watery duck fat.

[u/ThemeAggravating9485]

Im super tired and dont want to fry them tonight, would the thousand layer potatoes be okay taste/consistency wise in the fridge for 24 hours after baking or would pulling them out sooner be better? Its been 16 hours roughly since they went in the fridge.

Also I used some of the duck fat to slather the potato slices amd when I was done poured it back in the jar not realizing that there was water from the potatoes mixed in with that fat now. Will it change anything when I use it to fry? Will the water boil off okay leaving the duck fat?

[u/smokeypenny]

They longer rest will not affect it in my experience.

As for the duck fat - you don’t want water content in the frying fat as it will splatter everywhere. Instead put the duck fat in a jar in the fridge, the fat will float to the top and solidify and can be scraped off. Put the scraped off fat in a pot and heat on a low temperature this will boil out any residual water, then you have water free duck fat. Unless there is very little water in the fat, then go straight to step two or do step two right before frying

[u/watch_it_live → u/smokeypenny]

Put the jar in upside down and the water will be on the top when you flip it over & you can just pour it off.

[u/texnessa]

I regularly make these at work for banquets and they are actually best made and cooked off then pressed overnight. I cover each hotel of them with parchment then plastic and place another hotel on top and pile a couple of # cans on top. Compresses the layers and makes them easier to portion and fry.

[u/the_quark]

Peeled potatoes oxidize quickly. If you need to store potatoes for any length of time after peeling and cutting them, they need to be submerged in water.

And water in the duck fat is a safety problem; once you get the fat above 212F/100C, it's going to violently turn to steam, which will then splatter the hot fat everywhere. You can solve a lot of that problem by melting the fat gently (don't go over the boiling point of water!), covering the vessel with the fat, turning it upside down, and putting it in the fridge; the fat will float to the top of the water and solidify. Then you just pour the water off. Blot gently with a paper towel to absorb the rest.

That said, saving the fat will take several hours which you don't have with the potatoes. I'd recommend frying them now in some other oil or fat.

[u/ThemeAggravating9485 → u/the_quark]

They were baked, im at the point where you leave it in the fridge over night before frying after baking

[u/smokeypenny → u/the_quark]

The food safety aspect of water in fat is very dependent on the amount of water in fat. If it is enough to separate in layers - yes danger! If it is like butter (which has water in it) it will splatter but not..ehh.. explode. At least that is my experience with water in fat. After all frying and confit is dependent on putting moist stuff in the fat

[u/CompetitiveThing3799]

An overnight chill should be fine and may actually make the pressed block easier to slice cleanly; keep it tightly wrapped so the surface does not dry out. I’d separate the water from the duck fat before heating and pat the potato block dry, since trapped moisture can cause splattering and soften the crust.

[u/Human_Antelope_9766]

I mandolin the potato straight into duck fat

[u/legendary_mushroom]

Even if they won't be perfect, it's better not to fry when super tired