Appetizer The best roasted chickpeas of all time (here be duck fat)

[rickbern]

Cook and serve some duck

get yourself 4-6 duck legs, cook them however you want. They’re a sideshow in this recipe. All we care about is the duck fat. Pull that out and hoard that stuff (lasts pretty much forever in the fridge)

Cook chickpeas

soak half a pound of chickpeas overnight, cook them in the usual way. Make sure you salt the cooking (and soaking) water. Obviously, can make ahead.

Roast chickpeas

preheat your oven to 450

once the peas are done and cooled drain the water and dry really well in a kitchen towel. Really well.


melt 2-3 tablespoons of the duck fat in a half sheet pan. Add peas, swirl a bit to coat them, let them color, 40 minutes or so.

Make a spice mix of 1-2 tablespoon smoked paprika, cayenne to taste, teaspoon and a half salt. Take the peas out of the oven, coat the with the spices while they’re still in the pan, put them back in the oven and give them another 3-4 minutes. Remove, drain on paper towels on a separate plate, cool to room temperature and serve.

Also great for breakfast the next morning!

 

[o_in_nyc]

Good one! Duck fat in the fridge is an essential item. I currently have two Confit de Canard / ultra-slow cooked duck legs in my fridge, completely submerged and preserved in a pot of duck fat. Use that duck fat for cooking all the time. The best...

 

[Bert2368]

I've got a quart of duck fat in the freezer somewhere... Need to get a bag of chick peas.

 

[Bert2368]

Aaaaand...

I had a little visit with my primary physician Tuesday. She pointed out that I am 5' 9", weig 228 lb. with my boots on and have been at the bottom edge of high blood pressure for 2 years now (I blame stress, she blames my fat ass). You know what came next.

I'm feeling HUNGRY already, and all I've done is THINK about "sensible diet and reasonable exercise".

Got a feeling duck fat ain't on the Liszt, I'll go out in a blaze of calories, then learn to enjoy kale. With no salt.

 

[rickbern]

Aaaaand...

View attachment 146285

I had a little visit with my primary physician Tuesday. She pointed out that I am 5' 9", weig 228 lb. with my boots on and have been at the bottom edge of high blood pressure for 2 years now (I blame stress, she blames my fat ass). You know what came next.

I'm feeling HUNGRY already, and all I've done is THINK about "sensible diet and reasonable exercise".

Got a feeling duck fat ain't on the Liszt, I'll go out in a blaze of calories, then learn to enjoy kale. With no salt.

All is not lost, Bert!

https://www.webmd.com/diet/duck-fat-is-it-good-for-you#1

 

[Michi]

I just made these. They turned out seriously nice. Thanks for the recipe, Rick!

 

[MarcelNL]

the whole cholesterol/animal fat razzia thing has blown over, most of it was due to meat lobbyist skewing the message from red meat is bad for you to 'cholesterol is bad for you'...you'll find that many GPs and specialists and dieticians, self acclaimed 'food specialists' need some time to undo their brainwash.

 

[Bert2368]

melt 2-3 tablespoons of the duck fat in a half sheet pan. Add peas, swirl a bit to coat them, let them color, 40 minutes or so.

(Edit)

Ah! 450°F
---------

Could you mention what oven temperature (s) you roasted the chickpeas at?

I went whole hog, did a full pound of chick peas in the Instantpot. 6 cups of water, 55 minutes, natural release.

Next time, I'll roast them a bit longer. Still a pretty good snack food. Maybe try some of my home made curry powder instead of paprika next time.

 

[Michi]

@Bert2368 450 °F

 

[rickbern]

(Edit)

Ah! 450°F
---------

Could you mention what oven temperature (s) you roasted the chickpeas at?

I went whole hog, did a full pound of chick peas in the Instantpot. 6 cups of water, 55 minutes, natural release.

View attachment 147836

Next time, I'll roast them a bit longer. Still a pretty good snack food. Maybe try some of my home made curry powder instead of paprika next time.

View attachment 147917

Lots of variation in chickpeas, but mine cook in a regular pot in that amount of time. Try them once not under pressure so you can taste as you go. Also, make sure to soak them and cook them with enough salt. The cooking liquid has some cute Italian nickname like aqua fab a, it’s wonderful

 

[Bert2368]

I noted instructions to NOT salt the cooking water in the Instantpot chick pea instructions I used, along with a claim that salting would toughen the peas? The recipe linked below assumes one is mashing the peas after cooking- As an appetizer/finger food, a bit of chewiness would be more desirable...

https://detoxinista.com/instant-pot-chickpeas/

 

[rickbern]

I noted instructions to NOT salt the cooking water in the Instantpot chick pea instructions I used, along with a claim that salting would toughen the peas? The recipe linked below assumes one is mashing the peas after cooking- As an appetizer/finger food, a bit of chewiness would be more desirable...

https://detoxinista.com/instant-pot-chickpeas/

That’s an old wives tale. I’m a big believer in salting the water

https://beaninstitute.com/cooking-w...e-insights-and-strategies-from-dr-guy-crosby/

Brining beans involves the same process as soaking in plain water except the brine contains a low concentration of salt (sodium chloride). During brining the sodium ions slowly exchange with calcium ions that are part of a very large molecule called pectin. Pectin strengthens the cell walls in the beans, and calcium strengthens pectin. So natural pectin can produce skins on the outside of dry beans that are difficult to soften and expand, and can eventually burst when the inside of the beans become over-cooked. Exchanging sodium for calcium ions during brining weakens the pectin so the skins become more flexible and can expand without bursting as the interiors to cook to a soft creamy interior.

Thus, brining accomplishes two things: Brining provides water to soften the beans and reduce cooking time, while simultaneously producing beans that do not burst while cooking to the desired soft, creamy texture. Surprisingly, during brining very little salt is absorbed by the beans. Laboratory tests have shown that beans brined for many hours absorb only 52 milligrams of sodium per 3 ounces of brined beans.

 

[Bert2368]

I have a good deal to learn about food chemistry.

And a lot more to learn about biochemistry & biological systems beyond that. Beans, being seeds, have mechanisms to maintain required conditions when absorbing water for sprouting. Some of which must continue to work during processing/cooking.

I cook, eat and now even grow/propagate seed for the darned things. Need to learn some more "why" to go with my small bit of "how".

Question?

Sodium will replace Calcium in bean pectins. From my background in chemistry, I have a hunch that Potassium would do the same, possibly faster and/or more thoroughly, Potassium generally being able to displace Sodium or Calcium in reactions.

Has anyone ever tried using Potassium chloride for brining instead of Sodium chloride? What effect might substituting Potassium have...

(Edit)
Google just told me a good deal about reasons for use or substitutions of Calcium & Sodium compounds in meat brines- But not much about beans.

 

[rickbern]

Have to say, you can dramatically reduce cooking time with convection. Probably twenty minutes

 

[Jovidah]

Have to say, you can dramatically reduce cooking time with convection. Probably twenty minutes

Not particular to this recipe, but I've generally noticed massive differences in cooking times even between different convection ovens when making my roast potatoes. Even when using what's supposed to be the same temperature.

 

[rickbern]

Agreed. I also dropped the temperature to 400 (or should have)