In this unusual recipe, seasoned, rendered chicken fat and creamy butter are whipped with a little maple syrup for an earthy, rich and lightly sweet spread for bread. Make sure to cook the chicken skin until it turns nut brown — that’s what gives the fat its fried chicken flavor. While you could use schmaltz in place of rendering the fat yourself, the flavor won’t be quite the same because schmaltz usually includes onions in the rendering. If you haven’t been saving your chicken skin and trimmings in your freezer to render, you can usually order the skin from a butcher if you give them enough advance notice. And make sure to save the fried chicken skin as a cook’s snack. It’s the crunchy, salty byproduct of this excellent spread.
Ingredients
- ½ pound raw chicken skin and fat
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt, more for sprinkling
- Nutritional Information
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
933 calories; 96 grams fat; 42 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 11 grams protein; 241 milligrams cholesterol; 646 milligrams sodium
Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
2/3 cup
Preparation
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, add chicken skin and fat and bay leaf and cook until skin is crispy and brown, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat and let chicken fat cool slightly. Transfer chicken skin to a paper towel-lined plate and lightly salt it if you want to eat it as a snack. Discard bay leaf.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup rendered chicken fat with the butter, maple syrup and salt. Remaining rendered chicken fat will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
20 minutes
Dining and Cooking