We realized that we cover many Chinese dishes on FoodMayhem, but with the exception of the recent Matzoh Brei post, we rarely discuss Jewish dishes. Tonight we took on that task full charge. Making quite a few dishes at once.
First things first. One of the key ingredients in Jewish cooking is rendered chicken fat, also known by its Yiddish term, Schmaltz. So before cooking, I had to get my hands on some. But where? Well we just made it… it’s not hard.
While butchering a chicken, trim off as much fat and skin as you can and dice into pieces no larger than about 1.5″ squares. Place skin and fat in a small, non-stick sauce pot and heat on low, covered, for about 10 minutes, then remove the cover. Continue simmering it until the skin is thoroughly gray and very shriveled. Then remove from heat. Strain out the skin and reserve it.
What you have now is schmaltz. Note it’s golden glow. Seriously, the stuff glows. If you’ve ever wondered why Jewish men are so hairy, it’s because of this stuff, it’ll grow hair on anyone! Plus, it’s a natural preservative due to its extremely long shelf life.
Now, you know homely food, we waste nothing. So it’s time to make Grieven (also known as Gribenes)… this is the Yiddish word for “scraps”. Basically, these are the Jewish version of pork rinds, but in my opinion, infinitely better.
Those gray shreds of skin are about to be turned into heaven. Return them to the same pot that you used to render the schmaltz. Or, if you want to do it another day, you can start with a clean, non-stick pot. You don’t need to add any fat, trust me, there’s plenty remaining in that skin. Heat over low, and add diced onion and kosher salt. You can also add some whole cloves of garlic if you like. Don’t worry about over-crowding the pot at this point.
Cook on low until the onion has turned very dark brown, about 15 minutes. At this point, it’s time to crisp the skin. To do so, you must ensure the pot is not over-crowded. Remove enough so there is less than one layer full. Cook on medium-low another 5 minutes until it’s crisp, you should be able to feel this with a fork. Remove contents to a paper-towel lined bowl. Add back reserved skin and fry that, repeat as necessary.
Generally, the onions are burnt and discarded, but sometimes I eat them. This stuff is insanely good. Eat it as a snack, or use it on a salad instead of bacon, or add it to your favorite pasta dish. Trust me, it’s amazing.
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My grandmother and mother did this a little differently. They put the chicken skin and fat into a pot with water and boiled it until the water had evaporated completely leaving the fat and skin. They let the skin get a little golden, then added sliced onions and cooked the whole thing until the onions were browned and chicken skin crisp. Then strain the scmaltz and drain the chicken skin and onion on paper towels. Eating the onions is the best part – or even better is stirring them into mashed potatoes.
Carol, it’s funny you mention that! My mom just sent me her recipe for bilkes this morning. It’s basically what you described: onions and grieven in mashed potatoes. It’s taken one step further, in that it’s spread thin (about 3/4″) on a baking sheet and toasted until it’s crisp. Then it’s broken into pieces (like peanut brittle) and served.
This reminds me of an old family favorite. Now I am hungry thanks for sharing.
I’m going to have to try it. I never heard of this!
i’ve never heard of that, but that’s so cool!
I regularly see Chicken fat sold in the grocery store – Empire brand, I think, and it’s usually by the butter or in the frozen section. Of course home rendered is best.
this looks so yum
schmaltz. what a terrific word, and what a terrific notion. and those burnt onions shouldn’t be tossed! good stuff, jessica–thanks for the introduction. 🙂
This is only hebrew imitation of Slavic or German original pork shmaltz
Wow, that is really gold! One of these days I will have to try this. I can smell it already!
I had matzoh balls made with schmaltz last week- unforgettable and I’m never going back…and I won’t be wasting trimmed chicken-skins anymore either: yesterday I made my own schmaltz and the golden cracklings are indeed delicious…and it wasn’t difficult at all! little indulgences now and then- not a bad thing.
I went to a local meat market (butcher) and asked him to save up the chicken skins he ended up with after making skinless breasts. I just picked up two and a half pounds (albeit not sliced for making grieven) for $1.25.
Kevin, genius!
Dying for knishes – chopped the cracklings in with the deeply-browned onions to mix in the mashed potatoes with lots of ground black pepper – this will bring you back from the dead!
This doesn’t help people with high cholesterol!
my mother and grandmother always put a little bit of gribenes in the center of the matzo balls for added flavor. Sadly, its a little too rich for us now.
Joyce, nice!