A luxury Montana ranch resort cooks up something rich with EPIC Provisions.
The Resort at Paws Up, a Western culinary destination, has partnered with EPIC Provisions to offer resort guests an exclusive dish created by chef Ben Jones. The dish is a full-flavored surf-and-turf entrée of sorts: EPIC Duck-Fat roasted fingerling potatoes with seared diver scallops.
The single-ingredient duck fat ensures the fingerling potatoes will be crispy and the scallops will be seared to perfection. What’s more, the duck fat also works well as a butter replacement for roasted vegetables, pie crusts, fried chicken, and other summer-friendly foods.
Duck-Fat Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Seared Diver Scallops
(Serves 4)
4 cups Epic Duck Fat
1 pound fingerling potatoes
1 ounce fresh thyme
1 ounce fresh rosemary
4 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
1 pound U10 diver scallops
Place first 8 ingredients in a large, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer for 15 – 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender (potatoes should fall off of a toothpick when you try to stick it). Strain and reserve your cooking fat mixture. (If you freeze this, the flavor intensifies and you can use it again.)
In a dry cast iron or nonstick pan, place the cooled potatoes into a pan and heat to medium-high. Add butter to just “shine” the potatoes if not enough duck fat is being released. Remove the potatoes from pan and add 2 tablespoons of the duck-fat cooking oil. Bring back to medium-high heat. Season scallops with kosher salt and sear over medium-high heat 90 seconds per side. Serve with the fingerlings intertwined with the scallops on the plate.
For more information on The Resort at Paws Up, visit the resort’s website.
