Jewish kosher cooking traditionally uses chicken fat (schmaltz) instead of butter when cooking meat, since mixing dairy and meat products is a definite no-no. Many markets sell tubs of rendered chicken fat. If so, buy a tub or two and, although it’s not essential, I always melt it down with minced yellow onions, to make it incredibly savory in both aroma and flavor.
If your market doesn’t sell chicken fat, each time you roast a chicken, pull any wads of fat out of the cavity and snip them into smallish pieces, using kitchen scissors, and store them in a doubled freezer bag. (Do this with any extra flaps of skin, as well, and add this to the bag.) When you’ve accumulated a stash of at least 2 cups, then render the fat down by cooking in a skillet with some minced yellow onion (over low heat) until all the fat has melted and, the onions are golden and the pieces of skin become crisp (called Gribenes). Strain the liquid fat through a fine sieve placed over another bowl. Either discard the onions and gribenes or use them in another recipe. Rendered chicken fat can be stored in the freezer for at least 6 months, in a securely covered plastic tub. To use, chip off pieces of frozen fat, using a knife, and melt it down in a pan before adding to your recipe. Put the remaining fat back in the freezer.
Gribenes (cracklings) are bits of chicken skin that are fried crisp during the rendering process. These small, crunchy treats add intense flavor to breads and also make a delicious garnish for chopped chicken liver. (To add them to yeast breads, knead some crisp gribenes into the dough after the first full rise.)
