also known as

rendered chicken fat and cracklings

Have you ever wondered what it is that gives the traditional foods of Northern and Eastern European Jews their distinctive flavor?

It’s chicken schmaltz.

From Matzo Balls to Potato Kugels, my grandmother prepared so many of her meat dishes (and vegetable dishes that would be served with meat) with schmaltz instead of oil. When I was a child, I thought the best snack to be had at Grandma’s house was a piece of matzo slathered with schmaltz and sprinkled with salt. (Try not to gag.)

But the ultimate treat was the gribenes. Ahhh, to be present in her kitchen while she was making schmaltz…It meant that I could sneak about under her elbow and steal some gribenes from where it was resting on brown paper.

Schmaltz (which means “fat” in Yiddish) refers to the golden liquid produced from rendering chicken fat. Bits of chicken fat and skin, saved up little by little in a bag in the freezer, were chopped finely and put to slowly render in a pan. Once they began to color, chopped onion and a bit of salt was added for flavor. As all those bits turned brown and crispy, they were scooped out with a slotted spoon and set to drain on brown paper. The gribenes, these crispy bits, were sprinkled liberally with kosher salt and the remaining fat was strained and poured into jars to be stored in the fridge.

In addition to snacking, the gribenes would be added to kugels or sprinkled on vegetables, or even mashed potatoes.

When I’m not cooking for vegetarians, I use schmaltz in a lot of my traditional cooking.

Here’s how to make it.

chicken schmaltz and gribenes

When you’re prepping chicken, instead of throwing away the bits of fat and extra skin that you’ve trimmed away, put them into a zip bag or other container and save them in the freezer. The best sources for fat and extra skin are at the base of the cavity of a whole bird and from the necks, but the fat from anywhere on the bird works. You’ll get more fat off the thighs and backs than you will from the breasts—which is why they’re so much more flavorful.

When you’ve got about a pound of fat and skin saved up, it’s time to make schmaltz.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken fat with skin

• 1 medium/large onion

• Fresh cold water as needed

• salt to taste

Method:

• Using a heavy chef’s knife, cut up the fat and skin into small pieces, about ¼—½ inch. You may find it easier to do when the fat is still semi-frozen.

• Put the fat and skin into a large skillet and add just enough cold water to cover.

• Add a little sprinkle of salt.

• Bring the water to a gentle boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium/low, keeping the pan at a slow simmer.

• Cook, stirring every now and again so that the mixture doesn’t stick, until the water has boiled off and the bits of skin are beginning to color. Do not rush this process or you’ll have bland schmaltz and burned gribenes. It will probably take close to an hour to reach this point.

• While the schmaltz is rendering, dice the onion—making the pieces about the same size as you made the skin and fat.

• Once the skin is beginning to brown in the skillet, stir in the onion pieces. Sprinkle in another smidgen of salt.

• Continue to cook until the bits of skin and onion are crispy and brown and the remaining schmaltz is golden. Watch carefully here because it can go from perfect to burned in a matter of seconds.

• Scoop out the bits of skin and fat —the gribenes—with a slotted spoon, and set them to drain on absorbent paper.

• Pour the liquid fat through a fine mesh strainer and store in the fridge or freezer in jars.

• Sprinkle the gribenes liberally with kosher salt. If you can manage not to eat it all immediately (a bad idea…trust me…), store it in the fridge or freezer to use in kugels, on vegetables, in chopped liver, or on any non-dairy dish that could benefit from a tasty, salty, crunchy garnish.