Mom Food Basics: Schmaltz

Originally posted April 27, 2011.

Schmaltz

Schmaltz is great on toast, or as the basis for fried potatoes. My mom and I love it on matzoh, with onion powder and salt. Yum! It's also a necessary ingredient in matzoh-ball (knaedlach) soup.

• At least a cup, preferably several cups, of chicken skin with the fat still on
• One sliced onion
• Salt

Method:
1. Pull the skin and as much of the under-skin fat (yellowish stuff) as you can off of some chicken. Save it up in the freezer if you don’t have a lot at one time.
2. Cook it in a thick-bottomed large skillet on medium low until it starts to brown slightly and is swimming in golden oil.
3. Add a sliced onion and keep cooking, stirring every once in a while, until the onion is dark brown and the gribenes (pieces of skin that have been rendered) are crisped.
4. Strain out the gribenes and salt them to snack on
5. Strain the schmaltz through cheesecloth or a coffee filter. You’ll get a clear, golden, delicious liquid that will keep in the fridge for-freaking-ever.