Questions about the french bean recipe from this site

[Lost in China]

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/slaws_salads_and_other_vegetables/french_green_beans.html

I tried this. The first problem I ran into was that I didn't have any duck fat. No problem, I bought half a roast duck from the grocery store and just planned to render the fat from its skin. This didn't work, the water just evaporated from the skin parts and the whole thing started to smoke and burn. I kept adding water but never seemed to get any fat out. Strange, as I remember microwaving the same kind of duck and ending up with a puddle of fat on the plate. Not the recipe's fault. I had to mince the duck skin and mix it in with the pitiful teaspoonful of fat I got.

The second problem was that in step 3 the beans didn't brown. They just got softer and mushier. I had to pull them before they lost all texture. Was this because I didn't have enough fat?

In step 5 it says to turn the heat down to low, and then...what, exactly? How long do you keep it there? It doesn't say.

The beans turned out OK, but I didn't really understand the recipe.

[jholmgren]

Sounds like you didn't have your fat hot enough. You are basically frying the beans. You need about 2T of fat, so if you didn't get enough duck fat, I would supplement with butter. As for step 5, I would go with 3-5 minutes on low but taste test them for doneness and pull when they are where you like them. Hope this helps!

[Lost in China]

Well, on my recent trip to the States, I still couldn't find any duck fat anywhere. But I bought a jar of pork lard and I'll use that instead. I hope I can keep the crispness without them getting mushy.