unwanted chicken fat-what do you do?

[Huguenot]

Could you turn it into a hat or a brooch?

[Loz]

I sent all my chickens to Weight Watchers. Viola! Problem solved.

[Peckhampam]

Schmaltz or schmalz is rendered chicken, goose, or pork fat used for frying or as a spread on bread, especially in German and Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.

Schmaltz rendered from a chicken or goose (but not pork) is popular in Jewish cuisine; it was used by Northwestern and Eastern European Jews who were forbidden by kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) to fry their meats in butter or lard, the common forms of cooking fat in Europe (Leviticus 7:23), and who could not obtain the kinds of cooking oils, such as olive oil and sesame oil, that they had used in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean (as in Spain and Italy). (The overfeeding of geese to produce more fat per bird produced postclassical Europe's first foie gras as a side effect.[1])

Homemade Jewish-style schmaltz is made by cutting chicken or goose fat into small pieces and melting in a pan over low-to-moderate heat, generally with onions. After the majority of the fat has been extracted, the melted fat is strained through a cheesecloth into a storage container. The remaining dark brown, crispy bits of skin and onion are known in Yiddish as gribenes.

Since the rendering process removes water and proteins from the fat, schmaltz does not spoil easily. It can even be used to preserve cooked meats if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry location. This is similar to the French confit.

Schmaltz often has a strong aroma, and therefore is often used for hearty recipes such as stews or roasts. It is also used as a bread spread, where it is sometimes also salted, and generally this is done on whole-grain breads which have a strong flavor of their own.

And people want to throw it down the drain!!!!

[Huguenot]

Copy. Paste. ;-)

[HonaloochieB]

Copy that good buddy. Yes I suppose you could call schmaltz a sort of paste.

[Jeremy]

Aha. Schmaltz. Now I realise why I was given a lump of fat with onions in it, a few years ago in Berlin.

I think I prefer butter.

[katie1997]

Nigella has a great chicken soup with kneidlach (sp?) recipe that uses schmaltz, can't remember which book it is though. Its fine to make the dumplings from matzo meal and butter too.