An integral part of Jewish holiday cooking, schmaltz is a delicious rendered fat which adds buttery richness to any dish - try it for roasting potatoes or even on popcorn!
Start with 1lb of chicken fat and skins. You can collect fatty pieces and freeze them for when you want to make a batch. You'll need 3-4 cups' worth. Make sure to remove any meat still attached to the skin and fat; save that for making stock.
Chop the chicken skin and fat into small pieces and put in a cast iron dutch oven.
Over low heat, cook the scraps - stirring occasionally - until they have released all their fat, about 45 minutes to an hour.
If you want to add extra flavor to your schmaltz, now would be a good time to add one yellow onion, cut into quarters.
Continue cooking and stirring until the bits of chicken skin are crispy and browned. These are the gribenes, and they are a tasty snack, so don't toss them!
Allow to cool and then strain (preferably through cheese cloth or a coffee filter, but a metal strainer will do as well) into a clean glass jar.
Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
