Chicken Fat (Schmaltz)

How to render chicken fat, schmaltz, with a little onion, the traditional cooking fat for chopped liver, latkes and matzah balls.

Allergens: none of the major food allergens in the ingredients as written. Check package labels, which can change.

From the recipe book of Sandra Mills, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained cook in our family.

Rendered chicken fat dripping from a spatula into a pot of schmaltz
  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 30 min
  • Total 40 min

Updated

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Schmaltz, rendered chicken fat, is the traditional cooking fat of the Ashkenazi Jewish kitchen, and Sandra Mills uses it in her chopped liver. The fat is cut small and melted slowly with a diced onion, then strained into a jar and chilled.

The browned onion bits left behind are gribenes, a cook's treat.

Ingredients

  • Chicken fat and skin, cut into small pieces
  • 1 small onion, diced

Instructions

  1. Melt. Put the fat into a heavy pot with the onion. Turn the heat on low and watch carefully until the fat turns into liquid.
  2. Strain. Remove the onions and other trimmings.
  3. Store. Pour into a jar. Cool on the counter, then chill.

Gluten-free

Tips

  • Ask your butcher for chicken fat, or save the fat and skin trimmed from whole chickens in the freezer until you have enough.
  • Keep schmaltz in the refrigerator for a few weeks or frozen for months.

Having trouble? See why chicken turns out dry in our kitchen troubleshooting guide.

Printable: safe cooking temperatures chart (PDF).

Pairs with: Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Wine pairing guide

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