# Turning rendered chicken fat into schmaltz



## MSoups (Sep 14, 2015)

I roasted a chicken last night for the first time, and as expected there was a decent amount of fat leftover in the bottom of the roasting pan. Can I turn this into schmaltz by tossing it into a skillet for an hour or so and letting it simmer the water away? 
Also, a somewhat related question; I generally buy chicken breasts from the grocery, any fat I trim off prior to freezing can be saved and "schmaltz-ed", right? I dont know that I would get any gribenes as the breasts generally don't have skin attached.

MSoups


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## dcSaute (Sep 14, 2015)

very basic - yes.  liquify the fat, strain out the odd bits that are not fat, cool, season, mix well.  you can freeze the schmaltz if it's too much for use in the next 4-8 wks.

you can freeze / store fat trimmings to process later.


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## MSoups (Sep 14, 2015)

Alright - thanks!

Edit: I was trying to make gribenes and get rid of any excess water, but I think I might have burned the fat. Is that possible? Is this the right color? (sorry, I know its a little blurry)


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## taxlady (Sep 14, 2015)

When I have had schmalz, it has always been a lot lighter, nearly white. I wouldn't try to evaporate the liquid. When the fat solidifies, it floats above any liquid and separates easily.


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## Andy M. (Sep 15, 2015)

MSoups said:


> Alright - thanks!
> 
> Edit: I was trying to make gribenes and get rid of any excess water, but I think I might have burned the fat. Is that possible? Is this the right color? (sorry, I know its a little blurry)




The color is a bit dark but it's still usable.  It will have a slightly different taste.  Traditionally, it would not be darkened but a light yellow.


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## CharlieD (Sep 16, 2015)

Definitely burnt. If you want to make schmaltz you need just fat. If you roasted chicken the drippings contain much more than schmaltz. But if you let it cool down the schmaltz will flow to the top and congeal in the fridge, you can scoop it off at that time. Chicken breast barely has any fat. Most of the fat would be in the bottom part of the chicken, but usually a lot of it is removed. However there is probably enough o make schmaltz if you collect it from few chickens. It has to be rendered slowly and then cook. You do not need a whole hour. You must add a little bit of onion when making schmaltz otherwise it will stink like fat. I also like to add just a tiny pinch of salt. To make gribenes you need chicken skin, cut into pieces and fried as you render the fat.


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## MSoups (Sep 16, 2015)

taxlady - my mom said the same thing (well, almost the same thing)
Andy - I'll give it a shot when I make eggs tomorrow. No harm no fowl.
Charlie - burnt was my first thought; but I wanted to make sure. I'm saving fat from breasts now (and I know it will take a long time to get anywhere with that) but I am also going to swing by my butcher and see if they have any fat to sell/give me. I want to try again soon!


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## CharlieD (Sep 18, 2015)

Going to a butcher might be a good idea. Sine most people do not want to pay for fat they'd throw away. Butcher can get you enough fat in no time. I usually buy bunch of fat once a year. If rendered and stored properly it will easily last for up to a year.


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