Schmaltz

It's a Jewish thing, but I fully believe it's really a peasant thing.  Poor people throw away NOTHING that still has a use.  That includes skimmed chicken fat and skin.

I'm not talking today's poor, with 12 tattoos, iPhones, and designer eyelashes on their Acura's.  I'm talking about REAL poor people.  'I got 6 eggs to feed 4 people for a week' poor.

Schmaltz is what you get when you 'render' down chicken skin and fat.  It's clear, but almost golden, and a fine high-temp cooking grease.  On top of that, it tastes like heaven to a hungry kid.   

To become real schmaltz, one needs to involve onions in the deed.  It's the flavor combo that seals the deal.

Anytime I pull chicken skin off, or skim the stock I make for the family, it goes into a container in the freezer.  When the container gets full, it's schmaltz time.

To make it, dump the skin and any fat into a pot.  Set it medium to medium-low.  Go away.  Leave it alone.  Come back in 20-30 minutes and wiggle all the skin around.  Do this every once in a while.  As the fat renders out, the skin sizzles and fries.  This releases more and more fat until you have just about all of it in the pot.  The moisture cooks off, the skin turns brown and crunchy, and the pot saves all the lovely fat.

Now, here some folks split off.  Real schmaltz would have meant throwing a few chopped onions in half way through and cooking them down in the fat.  Traditional I am told.  All I can say is it's like liquid gold.

Here, I cook the skin down till I get the crispy-crunchy treasure, and then I skim that out to drain on paper towels.  I do that since we have a kid who is onion-adverse.  Also, on the rare occasion we have any crunchies left in the fridge I will crumble them onto a salad any chance I get.

To make that fat into schmaltz, I slice onions into rings and fry them in the chicken fat til crisp and brown.  They too get skimmed out and drained on paper towels.  Those are mine.  MINE.  Get away from them.  Growl.

Once I'm sure all moisture is cooked out (No more bubbles) I let it cool enough not be dangerous.  It gets poured into a mason jar and goes to the fridge.  I have no idea how long it lasts, since we will use it up fast.

I find it satisfying that every last bit of the chicken we eat will get used.  Even the bones get buried in the garden for the calcium they release over a few years.  Now, if I can just figure out how to use the Squawk.