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Schmaltz
Schmaltz (שמאלץ): Ashkenazi rendered chicken fat with crisp gribenes and golden onion
Before vegetable oil reached the shtetl, rendered chicken fat was the cooking fat of every Ashkenazi kitchen that kept meat and dairy apart, and in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem's Geula many grandmothers still keep a jar of it in the fridge for roast potatoes, chopped liver and matzo balls. Skin and fat trimmed from chickens are melted slowly with a little water until the fat runs clear and gold, then onion is added so the fat takes on a sweet, savoury depth. The crisp scraps left behind, gribenes, are salted and nibbled like crackling or scattered over mashed potato. The usual mistake is turning the heat up to hurry it: the skin browns before the fat has melted out and the schmaltz tastes scorched. Chef's tip: ask a kosher butcher for skin and fat trimmings, or save them in a bag in the freezer each time you joint a chicken until you have enough.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb chicken skin and fat trimmingscut into 2 cm pieces, well chilled
- ¼ cup water
- 1 onionhalved and thinly sliced
- ½ tsp saltfor the gribenes
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 1 ⅛ lb chicken skin and fat trimmings and ¼ cup water into a wide, heavy pan over a medium-low heat. The water stops the skin catching before the fat starts to melt.
5 minStep 2: Cook gently, stirring every few minutes, as the water evaporates and the fat melts out. After about 35 minutes the pan should hold a pool of clear yellow fat with pale pieces of skin floating in it.
35 minStep 3: Add 1 onion and keep cooking, stirring often, until the onion and skin are deep golden and crisp and the bubbling has calmed to a gentle fizz. Watch closely now: from golden to burnt takes only a minute or two.
20 minStep 4: Set a fine sieve lined with a piece of kitchen paper or muslin over a clean heatproof jar and pour the fat through. Press lightly on the solids.
Step 5: Tip the crisp skin and onion (the gribenes) onto kitchen paper and sprinkle with ½ tsp salt. Eat within a day, or chill in a covered box for up to 3 days.
Step 6: Leave the schmaltz to cool, then cover and keep in the fridge for up to 2 months or freeze for 6 months. It sets soft and creamy; use it by the spoonful in place of oil.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 105 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does schmaltz take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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