Seafood & Meat Department

Meat Department

Ingredients

• 3 pounds raw pork bones

• 1 large yellow onion, trimmed, peeled, and quartered

• 2 celery ribs

• 1 medium leek, roots trimmed, halved, and thoroughly cleaned

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 2- inch section of ginger, sliced

• 20 peppercorns

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Set bones in a large stock pot. Fill with cold water so bones are covered at least an inch. Bring to boil, then turn heat down to a rapid simmer and cook 20 minutes. While bones cook, skim any brown foam that rises to the top with a fine mesh sieve or slotted spoon.

3. Remove bones from the boiling water, shaking off excess water, and place in a rimmed baking sheet or two. Roast 30 minutes, or until bones are a deep brown hue and very fragrant. Discard blanching water.

To make pork bone broth on the stovetop, place roasted bones in the same stock pot used for blanching. Add onions, celery, leeks, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, and apple cider vinegar. Add 6 quarts cold water and bring to a boil, skimming any foam that rises to the top. Turn heat down to a gentle simmer (medium-low) and set a slightly askew lid on top. Simmer, stirring and skimming every hour or so for 10 - 18 hours. As broth cooks, edge heat down to low and add water as needed. I do not recommend leaving the broth unattended for any length of time. Add sea salt toward the end of cook time – it should be just enough to bring out the flavor.

Schmaltz is collected by slowly sautéing chicken skin and fat, then collecting the liquid fat that melts as it cooks. Most of the time onion is added to the mix, which flavors the schmaltz and makes the gribenes extra tasty.

As the schmaltz collects, the chicken skin, fat, and onion to produce a batch of crispy little gribenes. They can be snacked on as-is or added as a condiment to other dishes.

Ingredients

        1 lb chicken skin and fat, cut into           narrow 1/2 inch pieces

        1 tsp kosher salt

        1/4 tsp black pepper

        1 medium onion, sliced into thin            1/4 inch pieces

You will also need: Nonstick skillet or baking sheet, mesh strainer, paper towels.

Instructions

Rinse the pound of chicken skin and fat, pat dry, then chop it into small 1/2 inch pieces.

Toss the chicken skin pieces with 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Place the skin and fat into a skillet on the stovetop (make sure it's cast iron or nonstick!) and turn heat to medium low. Cover the skillet and let it cook on medium low for about 15 minutes. Liquid fat will start to pool at the bottom of the skillet.Uncover the skillet and raise heat to medium. At this point you can add onion, which will give you an onion-flavored darker colored schmaltz, or you can render the fat without onion for a cleaner, purer fat with no onion essence. Most Jewish cooks prefer to render the fat with onion. 

Instructions, Continued....

Let the skin and fat cook for another 15-20 minutes, breaking the pieces apart with a spatula and stirring frequently, until the skin starts to brown and curl at the edges. At this point there should be quite a bit of liquid fat at the bottom of the pan—this liquid is your schmaltz.

Remove pan from heat. Pour the schmaltz from the skillet into a container, using a mesh strainer to catch any small pieces of skin. A golden oil will result—this is called schmaltz. It can be used in a variety of Jewish dishes or as a cooking fat.

If you cooked the onions as the fat rendered, your oil will be a darker golden color with an orange hue. The schmaltz will stay liquid at room temperature; it will become solid and opaque if you refrigerate it.

If you cooked the skin and onion together, return to medium heat and continue cooking in the skillet until the skin is deeply golden, curled and crispy, and the onions are dark brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve.