The defining potato side of the Périgord: firm potatoes sliced into thin rounds and sautéed slowly in duck (or goose) fat until crisp-edged and tender, then finished with a persillade of chopped garlic and parsley. Named for Sarlat in the Dordogne, where duck and goose are raised everywhere and their rendered fat is the everyday cooking medium. The dish is the natural partner to duck confit and to a truffle omelette. Luxe versions fold in sliced cèpes or, in winter, a few shavings of black truffle.
Traditional home cooking of Sarlat and the surrounding Périgord Noir in the Dordogne, southwest France — duck-and-goose country, where the birds are fattened for foie gras and confit and their rendered fat is never wasted. With potatoes the staple starch, frying thin slices in that fat was the obvious everyday treatment; no single inventor or founding date attaches to so plain a farmhouse dish. The original version was studded with cèpes (porcini) from the local oak woods, and in the winter truffle season a little shaved black truffle. The recipe travelled out of the region under its Sarlat name and is now a fixture of southwest French cooking.
Slices come out bronzed and crackling at the rim, giving way to a soft, almost waxy middle that has drunk in the duck fat. The persillade hits late and stays raw-sharp — garlic and grassy parsley cutting the richness. Salt, the savor of rendered duck, and that contrast of crisp-against-tender are the whole pleasure; cèpes add an earthy, meaty note, truffle a heady winter perfume.
Duck fat carries flavor that butter or oil cannot and has a high smoke point (around 190°C), so the slices can sauté hard without the fat scorching. A firm, lower-starch potato that holds its shape is key — it crisps at the surface as the cut starch dehydrates and caramelizes, while the interior stays moist and intact rather than collapsing. The persillade goes in only in the last minute: raw garlic scorched in hot fat turns acrid, so adding it late keeps it pungent and sweet, not bitter. Patience matters more than heat — slow contact with the pan builds an even crust.
Variations
The everyday version is just potato, fat, garlic and parsley; the Périgord luxe versions add sliced cèpes (à la sarladaise aux cèpes) or winter black-truffle shavings. Goose fat is used interchangeably with duck. Some cooks parboil the slices first for a fluffier centre, others fry them raw for a denser, more potato-forward result. A close cousin is pommes à la lyonnaise, fried potatoes finished with onions rather than garlic-and-parsley.
On the Palate
Where Pommes Sarladaises sits in the French flavor cloud
Use waxy potatoes and sauté them slowly in duck fat, turning patiently, and add the raw-garlic persillade only in the last minute — slow contact builds the crust, and late garlic keeps it sweet instead of scorched and bitter.
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active + 10 min waiting
- 110 min
Peel firm, waxy potatoes and slice into thin, even rounds about 3mm thick; pat thoroughly dry with a towel.
Watch outPat the slices bone-dry before they hit the pan; surface water steams and stops them crisping.
- 25 min
Optionally parboil the slices for 4-5 minutes and drain well for a softer centre, or proceed with them raw for a denser result.
- 32 min
Heat a generous spoonful of duck fat in a wide heavy skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
- 43 min
Lay the slices in, season with salt, and sauté slowly, turning every few minutes, so they colour evenly without burning the fat.
Watch outListen for a steady gentle sizzle, not a violent spatter; the fat should shimmer, not smoke.
- 522 min
Continue 20-25 minutes until the edges are deep golden and crisp and the centres are tender.
- 63 min
Meanwhile chop garlic and flat-leaf parsley together into a fine persillade.
- 71 min
In the last minute, scatter the persillade over the potatoes and toss so the garlic perfumes the fat without scorching.
Watch outToss the persillade through for under a minute — just until the garlic smells sweet and fragrant, before it colors.
- 82 min
For a luxe version, fold sliced sautéed cèpes through at this stage, or finish with shaved black truffle off the heat. Serve at once.
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