Anybody who wants to make truly authentic Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine must first learn how to make schmaltz and gribenes. Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat, which is an important component of many traditional recipes. Sometimes referred to as “Jewish bacon,” gribenes are crispy, salty, sinfully delicious morsels, a byproduct of the fat rendering process.
To the modern health-conscious cook, schmaltz and gribenes might sound like a heart attack waiting to happen. Schmaltz is a high cholesterol fat, but it adds a very unique flavor to dishes that is unmatched by any other type of oil. While many people find gribenes delicious, others might consider them too strange or unhealthy to enjoy.
Take them or leave them, schmaltz and gribenes are quintessentially Jewish. Schmaltz in particular adds an authentic flavor to many Ashkenazi Jewish recipes, including matzo balls and chopped liver.
Though richly flavored, both schmaltz and gribenes were born of frugality. In Eastern European countries, chicken meat was an expensive treat. When a chicken was purchased from the butcher, every part of the bird was used. Schmaltz and gribenes are two creative ways of using parts of the chicken that might otherwise be thrown away.
Schmaltz is collected by slowly sautéing chicken skin and fat, then collecting the liquid fat that melts as it cooks. Most of the time onion is added to the mix, which flavors the schmaltz and makes the gribenes extra tasty.
As the schmaltz collects, the chicken skin, fat, and onion to produce a batch of crispy little gribenes. They can be snacked on as-is or added as a condiment to other dishes.
You might be wondering, “Where do I get a whole pound of chicken skin and fat?” Well, you can collect it from your everyday chicken recipes (store it in the freezer and thaw before using). You can try asking your butcher if they have any for sale. Or, you can buy a bunch of bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, which are the fattiest cut of the chicken. Remove the fat and skin, then reserve the thighs for another dish.
As for rendering the fat, I have outlined two easy methods below. You can also collect schmaltz by cooling chicken soup in the refrigerator, then skimming the solid fat that rises to the top.
If you’re a fan of schmaltz and gribenes, most likely you grew up on chopped liver. Check out my recipe here, which incorporates both schmaltz and gribenes in the mix.
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Schmaltz and Gribenes
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken skin and fat, cut into narrow 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium onion, sliced into thin 1/4 inch pieces
NOTES
Instructions
Skillet Method
- Rinse the pound of chicken skin and fat, pat dry, then chop it into small 1/2 inch pieces.
- Toss the chicken skin pieces with 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place the skin and fat into a skillet on the stovetop (make sure it's cast iron or nonstick!) and turn heat to medium low. Cover the skillet and let it cook on medium low for about 15 minutes. Liquid fat will start to pool at the bottom of the skillet.
- Uncover the skillet and raise heat to medium. At this point you can add onion, which will give you an onion-flavored darker colored schmaltz, or you can render the fat without onion for a cleaner, purer fat with no onion essence. Most Jewish cooks prefer to render the fat with onion. Let the skin and fat cook for another 15-20 minutes, breaking the pieces apart with a spatula and stirring frequently, until the skin starts to brown and curl at the edges. At this point there should be quite a bit of liquid fat at the bottom of the pan—this liquid is your schmaltz.
- Remove pan from heat. Pour the schmaltz from the skillet into a container, using a mesh strainer to catch any small pieces of skin. A golden oil will result—this is called schmaltz. It can be used in a variety of Jewish dishes or as a cooking fat.
- If you cooked the onions as the fat rendered, your oil will be a darker golden color with an orange hue. The schmaltz will stay liquid at room temperature; it will become solid and opaque if you refrigerate it.
- If you cooked the skin and onion together, return to medium heat and continue cooking in the skillet until the skin is deeply golden, curled and crispy, and the onions are dark brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve.
- If you did not cook the onions with the skin, you can cook them after the schmaltz is collected. Return the cooked chicken skin and fat to the skillet.
- Turn heat to medium and sauté the mixture for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Don’t leave them alone for long or they’ll burn! Adjust heat lower as needed to keep from blackening too much.When pieces are dark brown and crispy, remove the gribenes from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel. They become crispier as they cool.
- Gribenes can be snacked on as-is or added to other dishes as a topping.
Baking Sheet Method
- Rinse the pound of chicken skin and fat, pat dry, then chop it into small 1/2 inch pieces.Cut your onions into slices, then cut slices into pieces around 1/4 inch long.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the chicken skin and fat with 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper, then spread it out into a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Place baking sheet in the oven and let it roast for 20 minutes, until the skin starts to turn golden and curl at the edges. Fat will have started collecting on the sheet.
- Add onions to the hot baking sheet, spreading them out evenly throughout the chicken skin.
- Return to oven and continue roasting for another 40-50 minutes until the skin is golden brown and crispy and the onions are dark brown. When stirring, make sure to move the pieces on the outside towards the center, and move the center pieces out towards the middle, so the pieces evenly brown.
- When the pieces become crispy, remove from the oven and let the tray cool down. Strain the fat from the tray through a mesh strainer into a collection container.
- The gribenes are delicious to snack on or used as a topping. The schmaltz should be saved and used in a variety of savory dishes. In will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Shannon says
What is the best way to store gribenes and how long can they be stored? Also, how long will the schmaltz stay good?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Shannon, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. You can store the gribenes in an airtight container for up to 3 days and you can keep the schmaltz in the refrigerator for a week. The schmaltz can also be frozen.
Brad Shapiro says
I make latkes every now and then, and have generally just used an oil for frying. They always turned out good, but
never tasted like bubbe’s did. After talking to my aunt one time, I told her that maybe it was just that bubbe made hers
with more love than I did? She agreed as bubbe’s ALWAYS cook with love, but also told me she fried them in schmaltz!
Well…I tried them with the recipe above, and it was TRULY like bubbe had come alive in my kitchen. Oh my goodness!!
I will never make them any other way. I could almost picture my bubbe pinching my cheeks and giving me a kiss
and praising me Yiddish, and then telling me to get out of the kitchen!! ????❤????
Sam David says
Try spreading a little schmaltz on rye bread and sprinkling with some paprika.
Ricardo Ceszar says
Lovin’ your site!
I have been making Matzo Ball soup forever and always prefer my soup from scratch; boiled chicken, boiled bones & veges, etc. I love my Schmaltz, it is my favorite kitchen create. After I make my chicken soup from scratch, I recover lots of flavorful schmaltz from the top of my jars and save to smaller jars and wondered today how long it would last beyond my smell test.
Tori Avey says
Not exactly sure, but I do know you should freeze it to ensure food safety and greatly extend shelf life.
Melany says
Excellent
Mr. Stacy G. Cameron says
I have always liked fried chicken skins, and yes its a lot like bacon!!! Now, I do not use nonstick because of the chemicals used in them that have been known to cause cancer. I use stainless steel or my well seasoned cast iron which is naturally non-stick.
Christie says
Hey Tori! How long does schmaltz keep?
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Christie, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Schmaltz should be find if kept in the refrigerator for a few weeks, just be sure to monitor the appearance and smell.
John Chambers says
Just thought I’d mention that schmaltz is as much Scandinavian as eastern-European Jewish. The term “smorgasbord” is from the Swedish “smörgåsbord”, where “smör” means fat/grease/butter, “gås” means goose, and “bord” means table. The term comes from the way that smorgasbords usually have a lot of bread plus bowls of things to pile onto the bread, and first you have to smear the bread with the smörgås (or butter will do), so that it doesn’t get too soggy from the drippings of the things you’ll pile on top. Fat from geese and chickens is a traditional part of the diet, as is butter from cows or goats. In the US upper Midwest, the Scandinavian terms are well known, though in most of the rest of the country, the Yiddish terms are more common.
I’ve also read a couple of Austrian cookbooks that recommend goose/chicken fat rather than butter or lard if you want the real Austrian taste in your pastries. They comment that it’s partly of Jewish origin, but is the favored fat for nearly everyone in the country, because everyone likes the taste.
Anon says
I think the ‘uniqueness’ of Jewish schmaltz is its use as a cooking fat.
Anyone can put butter on bread, but a kosher kitchen can’t cook meat with butter, or lard, or tallow. Schmaltz was the answer.
Marly Harris says
I fell in love with a very expensive stainless-steel egg poacher. I’m a silversmith and this pan looks like a piece of fine jewelry. The tiny pans have to be lubricated so I tried olive oil (which I loathe); avocado oil (which I love); Kerrygold butter; coconut oil; everything but the aerosol sprays which are ghastly.
Today I used schmaltz (from the chicken thighs that I bake every week). Great big mazel tov = the gorgeous perfect poached eggs slid out of the pans immediately.
And as an update for those who worry about ingesting schmaltz and the entire cholesterol farce, I was 82 on May 2, 2015 and I haven’t had to consult a physician in five years.
maureen retting says
I loved reading all of it. Revisiting some recipes to make sure I keep up with some of the new. I like matzoball soup, matzo, brisket, latkas, and we adore our Chop chix liver, bagels, etc.
Your egg pan with schmaltz sounds Devine. We’re not even really jewish, but grew up with Jewish families on our street all my life. It’s so much a part of us, all of their traditions, great memories.
Gloria Belzer says
I boiled a large chicken. I then left the chicken in the pot in the refrigerator. The fat came to the top and I skimmed it off and put in the freezer. I am making Matzo Balls for Passover. After thawing the fat, do I need to do anything to it before I add it to the matzo ball ingredients?
Tori Avey says
Gloria, as long as the fat is liquid (at room temp) it will work great. And it will taste phenomenal! Enjoy 🙂
Stu Borken says
Karry; We always use that fat as the oil or fat needed in the matza balls that we make to go into the soup. It’s perfect. Sure, it may carry flavors of the soup, but, so what? You are enjoying the same soup with the matza balls. Enjoy.
karry says
Is there any use for the solid fat that one collects from the top of a home make chicken soup, once it has been chilled?
Or does one have to render the fat by frying as you describe above for it to be proper, useful shmaltz?
Tori Avey says
Hi Karry, the fat that collects on homemade chicken soup is also schmaltz, and can be used interchangeably with the rendered variety described in this post. If you’ve cooked vegetables and spices with the soup and salted the broth, keep in mind that those flavors will be somewhat present in the fat you collect.
malka (marly harris) says
Leon-
You are a mensch. But just imagine that there’s some poor 21-year-old kid roaming around without a heart because you’ve got his. My late mother, beautiful, brilliant, Orthodox, would be horrified if she knew that I also prepare my own pork rinds. I guess it’s straight to hell for me.
Leon says
I keep reading that gribenes sound like a heart attack waiting to happen.
Well, I eat them regularly (and avidly). I’m 83 and the doctor told me I’ve got the heart of a 21 year old.
Eat ! Enjoy ! You only live once.
Tori Avey says
Agreed Leon!
Stuart B. says
Of course I use the schmaltz in chopped liver and as a seasoning for the potato in knishes. Another use is for “smashed potatoes”. Boil up Yukon Gold small potatoes to them being almost done. Drain and allow to cool a little. Then on a cutting board, smash each one flat with your palm. Heat a cast iron 10-12 inch fry pan. Put the schmaltz, onions or shallots and garlic slices into the pan. Bring to high heat and all salt and pepper. Then place the potatoes in and using a spatula or wooden spoon press them into the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper this up-side. Saute them until they are browned on the bottom then flip and add more schmaltz and oil and fry that side. Then serve.
Lee Ann says
I have made this smaltz and these potatoes 5 times since finding the recipe. Nana isn’t here to teach me anymore of her Jewish recipes so I had to do an internet search. Thanks so much for helping me bring her recipes to our table!
RosesRBleu says
Stuart, do you ever use the gribenes in your potatoes or knishes?
malka (marly harris) says
Joe-A quick comment. I have serious work to do today = mani/pedi/shampoo. Fiber. Why? We now enter the arena of TMI. I haven’t eaten fiber for years. I am the queen of daily poops. How is that possible?
Fat. Saturated luscious fat from meat, chicken and duck skin, butter, coconut oil. How come I still model at 81 and I’ve never done Botox or cosmetic surgery or fillers? Because I feed myself from within so that the outside flourishes. No face creams. Just edible fat.
You’ve switched to wheat to improve your nutrition. News flash. Bad move.
Joe Michael says
Malka
It sounds very extreme to me. Fiber is much better, vital for good digestion, and there’s nothing wrong with wheat, especially whole wheat, unless you’re wheat intolerant, which I’m not. People have been eating wheat for millenia; its been a staple and I know many who eat it and are fine and look just as good as you tell me you do. As to why you look so good while eating fat, well I’ll just have to take your word for it, won’t I? You say you feed yourself from within so the outside flourishes. But is the inside flourishing? Or perhaps you just are fortunate in that you have really good genetics that allow for this.
I haven’t given up altogether on fats. I just use them sparingly. A wee bit of shmaltz here and there doesn’t hurt anyone, but gribenes–after my bad experience, I’ve learned my lesson. I am very wary when anyone tells me to remove something entirely from my diet. I’ve heard people say, don’t eat dairy, don’t eat cheese, don’t eat this, don’t eat that. Extreme diets are bad news.
Joe Michael says
Hi Ms Avey.
I was reading this and found it necessary to comment on my experience vis-a-vis gribenes. In an effort to know more about the food my Ashkenazi ancestors ate, I made some shmaltz and a small amount of gribenes. I put the shmaltz away and ate some of the gribenes, though not much. I was very ill for over two days afterward. Basically I’m a healthy eater but I like to indulge in a treat now and then, so I thought the gribenes would be a good idea. I soon regretted it.
Traditions don’t stay static. They develop and change according to the needs of the times, and the challenge is how to do so while staying true to their essence. To that effect I think it mistaken to say that something like gribenes is essential to Ashkenazi cuisine. Please remember that the Ashkenazi Jews were very poor and downtrodden and they often went without food, so when they had access to something rich and calories, they made the most of it. Nonetheless, in our day and age, the vast majority of Ashkenazi cuisine can be made in a wholesome, healthy manner (e.g. reducing the sugar, using whole wheat flour, etc). and to that effect, things like gefilte fish, herring, brisket, chicken soup, borscht, schav, matzo balls, kreplach, bagels, bialys, rugelach, honey cake, and even kishke, can be made with health in mind. I’ve even discovered how to make sugar-free apricot pletzlach and carrot imberlach. Even shmaltz can be OK if you eat it very occasionally on say a bagel, and you spread it paper thin (Remember, a little goodness goes a long way). But I’m sorry to say that gribenes is one thing that I don’t think we can salvage. Our health-oriented 21st century bodies simply can’t digest something that rich and fatty. This is the epiphany I had as a result of my unfortunate gribenes episode.
malka (marly harris) says
Joe-I’m sorry about your gastrointestinal distress. Having lost 145 pounds (after 60 years as a strict low-fat vegetarian), gribenes is an almost daily treat for me. There are no bagels or wheat or potatoes or noodles any more (alas, no kugel). But, at 81 (May 2, 2014), I workout six-days-a-week with weights and men younger than my son “hit” on me. So, life is full of saturated fat and happiness. Conventional thinking can be so limiting.
Joe Michael says
Malka
First, there was no ‘reply’ button underneath your comment, so I pressed ‘reply’ underneath my own comment in the hope that it will appear beneath yours. Don’t know if that will work but I’m keeping my fingers crossed, so here goes.
There may be a great deal of merit in what you do. I too, have lost a tremendous amount of weight in part by limiting the carbs (and I too, use weights), but now that I’m nearing the end, I’m going to be bringing bagels back into my diet (whole wheat and rye bagels), and kugel as well (whole wheat pasta), and potatoes (though certainly not every day). I want to be sure that there is a great deal of fiber in my diet. As far as shmaltz is concerned, I think it has a place if used very sparingly, so for instance I could make a bagel with some rare roast beef, mustard, and pickle, and on one side of the bagel (one side only), a paper thin coating of shmaltz.
Maybe what it boils down to is what you’re used to, and gribenes–well for me it was my first time and my last. My parents-in-law thought I was nuts for even trying it, but then when they were kids, gribenes were commonly eaten; not when I was a kid, so I guess I was trying to experience what previous generations experienced.
It simply came as a surprise to me that Ms Avey would put gribenes on her blog, though it doesn’t seem to have affected her, particularly because people who live unhealthy lives–their skin, hair, eyes, and body deteriorate and you can see it. That clearly hasn’t happened to Ms. Avey who, based on the pictures, is a strikingly attractive woman. But for me, well, my gribenes adventure has come to an end….
Stu Borken says
Daniel; I volunteer at a Loaves & Fishes facility. We serve a meal of oven roasted chicken. We purchase 240 pounds of chicken, legs attached to thighs. It’s my job to, with multiple knives, cut the legs from the thighs. Each thigh has this lobule of fat. Some of the chickens have this bright yellow fat lobule just like you described. These must be from free range chickens, otherwise the fat is white as snow. I render the fat and save it for cooking and seasoning.
Daniel says
I’ve been raising chickens on open pasture and woodland and when I started butchering them, I get this beautiful, yellow fat out of them. These are chickens and roosters that are 6 months to a year old. From some hens, I can easily get a half cup of this fluffy fat when I butcher them, which is like soft butter at room temperature, and melts instantly in a pan. There’s no rendering involved. I’m just curious if anyone else has seen this fat. There’s a picture of this fat at the bottom of this link: http://wp.me/p44c6k-1d
Jane Haigh says
Thanks for the Recipe- my dad was asking for this. I’ll have to make this for him next time I see him.
Peter says
Had schmaltz years ago at Sammy’s Roumanian Restaurant and loved it. Didn’t rediscover it until just recently and now make it all the time (with onions, love the flavor and don’t mind the slightly darker color) and feel so good that I’m using all the chicken and not wasting anything but bones and sinew. Wish I started making it before my Jewish mom died last fall. She’d’ve loved us getting back to our roots.