I like your thinking. To answer that question; yes, very much yes. In fact, we had done a whole year of experiments of this nature before Sussex Smokehouse was even an idea.
Different fats taste different (duh), behave differently when heated, and change the flavour of whatever is being cooked.
At Sussex Smokehouse, we roast our nuts in chicken fat. Not because it’s trendy or gimmicky, but because it produces a depth of flavour that vegetable and seed oils simply can’t match.
Let’s Talk About Fat
Chicken Fat (aka Schmaltz)
Flavour: Rich, savoury, deep umami
Smoke point: ~190°C
This is what we use at Sussex Smokehouse, and we love it.
Chicken fat has a flavour that’s intensely savoury without being heavy. It’s got depth; there are layers of umami that coat your palate and make everything taste richer. When you roast nuts in it, the fat gets into every crevice, carrying flavour with it, enrobing everything in a sensuous, savoury hug.
It’s also relatively neutral compared to other animal fats. You get richness and meatiness without an overpowering animal flavour, for want of a better term. It’s there, but it doesn’t dominate.
What it’s good for:
Roasting vegetables (especially potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts)
Frying… anything
Sautéing onions for soups and stews
Roasting nuts (our specialty)
Duck Fat
Flavour: Rich, slightly sweet, distinctly “ducky”
Smoke point: ~190°C
Duck fat is famous for a reason. It makes great roast potatoes; crispy on the outside, fluffy inside, with a richness that’s indulgent but not off-putting.
The flavour is more pronounced than chicken fat. You know it when you’re eating something cooked in duck fat. It’s sweet, luxurious, and rich.
What it’s good for:
Roast potatoes (the gold standard)
Duck confit (obviously)
Roasting root vegetables
Frying eggs (if you’re feeling extravagant)
Sautéing mushrooms or greens
Why we don’t use it for nuts:
It would dominate the flavour profile. But who knows, there’s potential for a limited edition run. Tom’s Posh Nuts, anyone?
Pork Fat (AKA Lard)
Flavour: Mild, slightly sweet, clean
Smoke point: ~190°C
Lard has an unfairly bad reputation. It’s actually one of the most versatile cooking fats – neutral enough to use in both savoury and sweet applications. The flavour is subtle. You get richness without a strong pork taste. Good lard is clean, almost buttery.
What it’s good for:
Pastry (particularly hot water crust pastry)
Frying
Roasting (potatoes, vegetables)
Baking (Mexican and Southern US cooking use it extensively)
Why we don’t use it for nuts:
It works, but chicken fat has more flavour. Lard is almost too neutral for what we want to do.
Beef Fat (AKA Dripping)
Flavour: Deep, beefy, intense
Smoke point: ~200°C
Beef dripping is/was used all over traditional British cooking. It’s what fish and chip shops used to fry in before vegetable oil took over. The flavour is bold. Unmistakably beefy. Rich, savoury, with a depth that vegetable oils can’t touch.
What it’s good for:
Yorkshire puddings (well, duh…)
Roast potatoes (see above)
Chips (the way they should be)
Roasting beef or root vegetables
Frying mushrooms
Why we don’t use it for nuts:
It doesn’t taste right. It doesn’t overpower the smoke and seasoning but it doesn’t compliment it either. It’s brilliant for roast dinners, but not for Tom’s Meaty Nuts.
Goose Fat
Flavour: Rich, slightly gamey, luxurious
Smoke point: ~190°C
Goose fat is duck fat’s posher cousin. It’s richer, slightly more complex, and expensive enough that you save it for Christmas. The flavour is deep and indulgent. You use it when you want cooking to feel like an event.
What it’s good for:
Roast potatoes (Christmas dinner standard)
Roasting root vegetables
Confit
Making anything feel fancy
Why we don’t use it for nuts:
Like duck fat, the flavour is too distinctive for what we’re doing. Plus it isn’t cheap.
Guinea Fowl and Turkey Fat
I’ve rendered and cooked with both. Mate…!!
Guinea fowl fat is similar to chicken but is slightly richer and has an almost gamey flavour.
Turkey fat is clean, distinctive, and works brilliantly for roasting.
The problem? You can’t buy them commercially in any quantity. They’re not waste products like chicken fat or beef dripping so there isn’t enough supply to make them viable.
If you roast a guinea fowl or turkey at home, save the fat. Use it for roast vegetables or frying. It’s genuinely good.
But for Sussex Smokehouse, for now. They’re non-starters.
What About Oils?
Olive Oil
Flavour: Fruity, peppery, grassy (extra virgin) or neutral (refined)
Smoke point: 160-210°C (depending on type)
Olive oil is brilliant at what it does- dressings, drizzling, finishing. But it’s not a roasting fat.
Extra virgin olive oil has a relatively low smoke point and a strong flavour that doesn’t always work for high-heat cooking. Refined/light olive oil is more neutral and heat-stable, but then you’re losing what makes olive oil special.
We use (smoked) rapeseed oil for finishing and cooking, but not for roasting nuts. It doesn’t add that extra something the way animal fat does.
Rapeseed Oil
Flavour: Neutral, clean
Smoke point: ~200°C
Rapeseed oil (what we call ‘canola’ oil in the UK because we’re not COWARDS) is a workhorse. It has a neutral flavour, a high smoke point and it’s versatile.
But it’s just that, it’s neutral. You’re not adding flavour, you’re just providing a cooking medium.
For nuts, we want fat that contributes. Rapeseed oil doesn’t do that.
Butter and Ghee
Flavour: Rich, creamy, dairy-forward
Smoke point: 150°C (butter), 250°C (ghee)
Butter is delicious but burns easily- that’ll be the milk solids. Ghee (clarified butter) solves that problem by removing the solids, giving you a high smoke point and nutty flavour.
Both are excellent for certain applications – baking, making sauces, finishing vegetables. But they’re not ideal for roasting nuts.
Butter would burn during our roasting process, and ghee, while stable, has a flavour that, like duck fat, would overwhelm any seasoning and dominate. It might be a future experiment, though. Buttery cashews roasted in butter/ghee? That sounds so wrong it might just work…!
But what about the health risks of animal fats?
For decades, we were told animal fats = bad and vegetable oils = good. The science has moved on.
Saturated fat isn’t the villain it was made out to be. Natural animal fats, used in moderation as part of a balanced diet, aren’t harmful.
You know how old saying- the dose makes the poison. Eating a plate of roast potatoes that were cooked in duck fat every day? Probably not ideal for a long and healthy existence. As part of a varied diet with plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and fruit?
Alles es gut.
We’re not telling you to abandon vegetable oil or eat animal fat with every meal. We’re saying there’s room for both (we could all do with using more olive oil, mind).
Why We Use Chicken Fat
We’ve covered this in detail already, but at Sussex Smokehouse, chicken fat is the right choice because:
- Flavour: Rich and savoury without overpowering smoke and seasoning
- Versatility: Works with all our nut and seed varieties
- Availability: We can source it consistently from quality UK suppliers
- Performance: Coats evenly, crisps beautifully, tastes exceptional
Could we use duck fat? Yes, but it would dominate.
Could we use lard? Yes, but it’s not noticeable ENOUGH.
Could we use rapeseed oil? Yes, but we’d lose depth and richness.
Chicken fat is the Goldilocks option. It’s juuuuuuuuust right.
Basically, Right…
Fat matters. Different fats taste different and behave differently. Animal fats add flavour, richness, and satisfaction that neutral oils can’t match.
They’re not better for everything. Olive oil has its place. Rapeseed, vegetable and sunflower oils are all useful. But for roasting, frying, and adding depth, animal fats are hard to beat.
At Sussex Smokehouse, we use chicken fat because it works. It tastes good, performs well, and makes our nuts genuinely different. If you’ve been avoiding animal fats because you think they’re unhealthy or old-fashioned, it’s time to reconsider. Used appropriately, they’re one of the best tools in your kitchen.
Want to find out what chicken fat does to cold smoked nuts? You’re in luck…
What we are watching: Working our way through the 4th series of Invincible
What we are listening to: Keep Dreaming by 88 Ultra
