Schmaltz (chicken fat) is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 34 recipes to get you started.

What is schmaltz (chicken fat)?

Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat. You melt it down slowly from the fatty trimmings and skin of the bird until it becomes a clear golden cooking fat that sets soft and creamy when cold.

It is one of the cornerstones of Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, where butter could not touch meat dishes and a good neutral oil was a luxury.

Spoon a little into a hot pan and you smell why it endured. It carries a deep, savory, roasted-chicken aroma that no vegetable oil can fake, and it browns onions and potatoes into something far richer than oil ever manages.

The rendering usually throws off a bonus: griebenes, the crisp browned bits of skin left behind, salted and eaten like cracklings or stirred into the finished dish.

Cooking With Schmaltz

Use schmaltz anywhere you want roasted-chicken depth instead of neutral fat. It fries latkes and roasts potatoes with a flavor butter cannot reach, sautés onions for kasha or kugel, and greases the pan for savory bakes like Passover Farfel Muffins.

It is the soul of Jewish deli classics. A real Chopped Chicken Liver Appetizer and the smoother Chicken Liver Pate (Jewish Style) both lean on schmaltz to bind and enrich the livers.

A spoonful stirred into Matzoh Ball Soup with Homemade Stock rounds out the broth and softens the matzo balls.

The crisp griebenes that come off the rendering are the prize, as in Schmaltz with Griebenes. Scatter them over a Jewish Potato Knish, fold them into mashed potatoes, or eat them warm with salt.

Render your own from the fat and skin you trim off a whole chicken. Chop it small, add a splash of water to stop scorching, and cook over low heat with sliced onion until the fat runs clear and the solids turn golden. That takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Schmaltz was made for onions, and the two together are the base note of countless Ashkenazi dishes. It loves potatoes, eggs, chicken livers, and rye bread, and a thin smear on toast with flaky salt is a snack in its own right.

The biggest mistake is rendering it too hot. High heat scorches the solids and gives the fat a bitter, burnt taste, so keep it at a bare simmer and be patient. Low and slow is the whole game.

The second mistake is using too much. Schmaltz is assertive and rich, so a tablespoon where you would use oil is plenty. More than that and the dish turns heavy and greasy.

Substitutes

Duck fat is the closest swap by far. It renders and sets the same way, has a similar savory richness, and works one-for-one, though its flavor leans a touch gamier.

For a neutral stand-in, use a light vegetable oil or, where the dish allows dairy, butter or ghee. You lose the roasted-chicken note, so compensate by browning onions hard in the fat to build savory depth.

Lard or bacon fat brings comparable body and even more flavor, but both are pork, so they break the kosher and traditional intent of any recipe calling for schmaltz. Reach for them only when that does not matter to you.

Buying and Storing

You can buy schmaltz in jars in the kosher section of many supermarkets, often near the matzo and gefilte fish, and rendered duck and chicken fat shows up in butcher shops and specialty stores. Homemade is cheaper and tastes fresher if you cook whole chickens.

Store it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator, where it keeps for up to six months because the rendering drives off the water that lets fat spoil. It firms into a pale, spoonable solid when cold and melts clear the moment it hits a warm pan.

For longer storage, freeze it. Scoop it into an ice cube tray, freeze, then bag the cubes so you can pull one tablespoon at a time. It holds well frozen for up to a year.

Trust your nose before you cook with it. Fresh schmaltz smells clean and chicken-rich; once it turns sour or paint-like, the fat has gone rancid and should be tossed.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find schmaltz (chicken fat): Schmaltz (chicken fat) is usually found in the poultry section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Schmaltz (chicken fat) is a member of the Fats and Oils US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

伤感（鸡油）

British (UK) term

Schmaltz (chicken fat)

en français

grasa de pollo

en español

graisse de poulet

How much does schmaltz (chicken fat) weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 cup	205 grams
1 tbsp	12 grams

Related

Fats and Oils

Recipes using schmaltz (chicken fat)

There are 34 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 34 recipes