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It’s hard to believe I made it into my 40s without hosting a Passover Seder, but it’s true. Sometimes it’s good to live near so many family members. Also, our previous house couldn’t handle a crowd of more than about 10 without feeling cramped, so we were voted Most Uncomfortable Place to Host Family Gathering. That label was not without its perks, but honestly, we’re excited to cook clean and host this special dinner.
We are doing it and doing it big. We’re expecting about 20 22 25 27 folks.
(No, the house is not that big.)
(Yes, we only own 12 chairs at the moment.)
I’ve been busy preparing a haggadah, the booklet that guides the seder, as well as doing a lot of cooking.
Thanks to a gentle nudge from Ciaran at Momfluential, I rendered my own chicken fat, or schmaltz in the vernacular. After reading her post on the topic, I was grossed out, but intrigued.
I told my husband I was considering making schmaltz.
“That sounds like a messy and ridiculous waste of time,” he replied.
And then I knew I had to do it.
I needed chicken thighs for a dinner recipe, so I bought ones with skin and ripped that off for rendering. I couldn’t find skinned, Kosher chicken thighs (the schmaltz factory beat me to it?), so I got the next best thing. Maybe. Halal chicken.
Does this mean I’ve made the world’s first Muslim matzah balls?
Regardless, here’s a quick tutorial.
Skin the chicken. I used 3 pounds of chicken thighs, give or take.
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Add some chopped onion and water to a pan.
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Add the chicken skin and heat it all over a medium/high flame.
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Continue heating for a good 20 minutes or so.
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If time allows (i.e. you do not look at the clock and realize you need to pick up your child from school in three minutes) continue cooking the skin until it crisps for a delicious, high-calorie snack laden with saturated fat.
If you’re in a rush, remove the skin and drain on a paper towels and then quickly strain the rendered fat into a jar. Refrigerate when cooled.
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I was was concerned the rendering chicken fat would stink up my kitchen a la Chanukah latkes, but it actually left a pleasant scent that felt like home, something along the lines of simmering chicken soup.
Speaking of which, after mixing up a couple of batches of matzah balls, pictured below cooling in the Chicago Fridge, I’d realized our crowd had grown too large for the tricky logistics of serving soup. So much for planning ahead.
