Schmaltz
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Chicken fat and skin rendered slowly with onion and salt. You get golden schmaltz for cooking and crisp gribenes to snack on.
Ingredients
- About 1 pound chicken fat and skin cut into small pieces
- 1 large white onion sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Equipment
- skillet
- fine sieve
- mason jars
Directions
- Add the skin, onions, and salt to a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. When it begins to sizzle, turn it down to medium-low and stir now and then with a rubber spatula. The schmaltz is ready when the fat has melted and the skin starts to brown (about 40 to 50 minutes).
- Pour the schmaltz off into a cup.
- Gribenes: put the skin and onions back in the pan and cook over medium-low until the skin is crispy and the onions are caramelized, about 30 to 40 more minutes. Keep the pieces of skin small. Add salt to taste.
- For lighter-colored schmaltz: cook the skin by itself first, pour off the fat, then add the onions to finish the gribenes.
Notes
Schmaltz: refrigerate airtight up to 1 month (it solidifies when cold); freeze up to 6 months. Gribenes: best fresh; refrigerate a day or two and re-crisp in a dry pan. Safety: hot fat spatters and burns; let it cool slightly before pouring.