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Schmaltz

Schmaltz basically just means rendered fat, but it's generally used to specifically describe chicken fat with onions.  The idea is to simultanously render it and infuse it with onion flavor.  The leftover crispy chicken skin and onions are called gribenes.  Since we can't all afford to have meat every day, and relatively few humans ever could, supplementing our diet with meat fat makes good nutritious sense.  Animal fat ensures that whatever other protein we eat will get used efficiently by the body.  So even if you have to have beans and rice for a month, you'll still get your barest needs met if those beans have a bit of schmaltz.

You will need:

  • a very sharp cutting knife and a very sharp chopping knife
  • a good wooden cutting board
  • a sterilized jar with an air tight lid
  • a large well seasoned cast iron or stainless steel thick bottom pan
  • a good small metal strainer
  • a cheesecloth or cooking gauze that will fit into the strainer
  • 1 kg. chicken skin
  • 1 large onion
  • (optional) a teaspoon of gray salt

 

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken skin into strips, and then the other way into squares.
  2. Gather the squares into a nice pile, and then chop it all coarsely with the chopping knife.
  3. Repeat a couple of times until you have approximately 1 cm bits.
  4. Chop the onion.
  5. Put the chopped chicken skin in the pan, and spread it out fairly evenly.
  6. Turn the heat to medium to get it started, but as soon as you hear some sizzling, turn it down to low.
  7. Then you wait.  First all the water will start coming out, and eventually evaporate.
  8. At this point, try to break up any clumps of chicken skin that have formed.  It doesn't have to be perfect.
  9. Then add the onions.
  10. More water will continue to bubble out and evaporate.  Eventually there will be less water and more grease.
  11. At this point, break up all clumps as well as you can.
  12. As the real sizzling begins, just keep an eye on things.  Do not get tempted to turn the heat up to speed things along.  Let the heat do what it's going to do.
  13. Eventually, you'll end up with some crispy bits of chicken skin and browned onions.  At that point, you can turn off the heat.
  14. Place the cheesecloth inside the strainer, and put this over opening of the jar.
  15. Pour the oil through the cloth and strainer carefully so that none of the chicken skin or onion gets into it.
  16. Remove the strainer and close the jar.
  17. Use the gribenes for sprinkling into whatever you like.

Serving Tips

The grease (schmaltz) will keep for up to a week outside the refrigerator, a couple of months in the refrigerator, and indefinitely in the freezer.  If you're putting it in the freezer, use a metal muffin tin and some aluminum foil instead of a jar.

You can do pretty much the same process with thin slices of lamb, beef, or pork fat.

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