Schmaltz… rich, luscious schmaltz is a staple in Jewish and Eastern European cooking. This liquid gold is a simple collection of rendered fat from chicken fat and skin trimmings cooked over low heat along with some sweet onions. It is richly flavored and perfect for everything from frying the most incredible crispy potatoes you’ll ever crunch into to making a delicious batch of matzo ball soup.
Let’s get started…
All you need to make schmaltz is some chicken fat and skin and a large yellow onion. I am making a small batch today, but if you need or want to make more schmaltz, all you need to do it multiply the ingredients as much as you want.
If you are wondering where one would acquire chicken fat or skin trimmings, you can try the butcher at your local grocery store or the next time you buy chicken, buy skin on chicken and remove the skin and fat yourself.
I was able to collect about 13 ounces of trimmings off of a 5 pound pack of chicken thighs and this gave me just under 1/2 cup of schmaltz, so hopefully this helps you to calculate how much you will need.
To make your schmaltz, begin by placing your chicken trimmings in a non-reactive skillet over medium low heat. I suggest using a non-reactive skillet, so your skillet does not impart any metallic flavors to the schmaltz. Cast iron, copper and aluminum cookware are not great options when it comes to making a batch of schmaltz, but stainless steel, hard anodized and ceramic glazed cookware are wonderful non-reactive options.
Let your trimming cook over low heat until the trimmings have released a good amount of liquid fat. This usually takes around 15 minutes or so. Once the trimmings begin to turn lightly golden, add your onion wedges and increase the heat to medium.
Continue to cook, stirring the trimmings and onions around regularly, until the trimmings are crisp and golden brown. Remove the skillet from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes before straining the mixture.
Place a mesh strainer over a large heat proof bowl and pour the rendered fat, trimmings and onions into the strainer. Use a silicone spatula to scrape all of that beautiful fat from the skillet and then also scrape the underside of the strainer to ensure you get every drop of that liquid gold…
You can use your beautifully rich schmaltz right away or let it cool and transfer it into a heat proof air tight container to chill until you need it. Schmaltz will store in the refrigerator for up to a week or for several months in the freezer.
Adding schmaltz to a variety of recipes can create very delicious results! Add some to your homemade mayonnaise, use schmaltz instead of butter in matzo balls, biscuits or latkes and drizzle it over roasted vegetables to give them a huge kick of flavor.
Schmaltz
Ingredients
- chicken fat trimmings
- yellow onions
Instructions
- Gather your chicken trimmings and place them into a non-reactive skillet over medium low heat (13 ounces of trimmings should yield about 1/2 cup of schmaltz)
- Cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes or until the liquid fat has begun to render off and trimmings begin to turn lightly golden
- Add a large yellow onion (peeled and quartered) and increase the heat to medium
- Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the trimming are crisp and golden brown and the onions have softened
- Remove the skillet from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before straining
- Place a mesh strainer over a large heat proof bowl and strain the mixture to separate the schmaltz from the trimmings and onions
- Use immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate in an air tight container for up to a week
