A Brief Study in Poultry Fat

Now that’s an inspiring title. Chicken, duck, and goose as well as various other less-often seen game birds have been consumed for centuries. While turkey, a very lean bird, is often eaten on Christmas in this country, the tradition stems more from contemporary availability (and something of a patriotic tie to our Thanksgiving) than anything; it is far more likely that the first Christians (who were still being refer ed to as “The Christian Jews” and living in the Middle East) were counting themselves lucky to be celebrating the birth of Christ with lamb and goose (far fattier animals). In this age of the health conscious American, taste is suffering. Turkey, my fellow foodies, is inherently a bland bird. I say allow these unintelligent fowl frolic and enjoy it only on Thanksgiving. It lacks a major element in my culinary arsenal. FAT!!

This post was inspired by tonight's meal of roasted duck breast, which I prepared in a hot oven with a little rosemary and salt and pepper. It came out a little less crispy on top than I had hoped (though still quite delicious), but the real shame was I was unable to render off any fat. Recently, by contrast, I prepared several duck LEGS in the same manner, and the Pyrex pan I utilized was literally swimming in artery clogging fat. Not one to back down, I removed the crispy legs, patted them dry with paper towels, and then poured the clear liquid fat through a sieve and into a coffee can (my favorite receptacle for this), and popped it (once cooled) into the fridge.

An hour later, this coffee can was half full of solidified, clean fat. I use about a tablespoon of this in a hot clean skillet to fry potato pancakes, saute shallots and garlic for a quick pate (a later post), and to prepare a post holiday breakfast of hamsteak and eggs. These are just a few uses of this semi-solid white-gold.

Norway sees goose fat, rendered and strained in the same way, once spread on toast, as an immune system booster. Kosher grandmothers and chefs alike have used goose and chicken fat in a melted state literally for millenia with onions and spices as a condiment called “schmaltz.” And both the luckier Union and less lucky Confederate armies referred to the fat of geese and chickens, from time to time, as “butter.” Hard biscuits called hardtack were spread with this butter whenever God made it available. There is plenty of historical precedent to enjoy rendered poultry fat rather than butter or olive oil. I say, in moderation, mangia!

Aside from duck legs, might I offer up two other of my favorite ways of acquiring poultry fat for cooking purposes.

1) The Christmas Goose

Clean the cavity of a thawed, butcher-shop-bought goose and pat the entire bird with paper towels. Poke many many holes in the skin through the fat to the muscle on all sides and set on a rack before setting the rack in kind on a deep roasting pan. Toast in a separate pan in a 350 degree oven, a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika until it turns a golden brown. Let this cool before rubbing down the whole bird, forming a thin coating on all sides.

Now, roast the bird for 10 minutes on high heat (500 degrees!) before turning the oven down to 350 and continuing to roast for 15 minutes per pound, subtracting the 10 minutes it spent sweltering earlier. Every 20 minutes or so, pour the fat in the pan through a sieve and into a coffee can, being careful to use pot holders and being smart enough to avoid touching the coffee can. If this proves to be a two-person job, thank your helper profusely. If this proves to be a two coffee can endeavour, chalk this up as the spoils of war. Enjoy the goose hours (exaggerated) later, it will be delicious, but prize the fat above all else. It will keep forever in the fridge for a long time, and it will be a valuable asset in further cooking endeavours as briefly mapped out above.

2) Old School Chicken Schmaltz

After dissecting a whole chicken and preparing the newly skinned breasts etc. in the normal way, throw the left over skin and fat in a saucepan with about 2” of water and half a roughly chopped onion, salt and pepper. Simmer this on low for a long time, When I say long, I mean 45 minutes to an hour, or until all the water is evaporated, the skin has curled and crisped on the top, and a thick layer of butter-colored liquid fat forms on the top. Pour this through a strainer, you guessed it, into a coffee can and let cool before putting this in the fridge. If there is still a little water at the bottom of the can, you can skim the solidified schmaltz off the top and discard the water.

If you haven't found sufficient reasons to make schmaltz here, googling the word will yield a few thousand other suggestions. And if nothing else, you could present me with a coffee can for my birthday when you are running low on cash for birthday gifts ;-).

After all, if the bird cant keep his fat, you should use it, right?

Peace, love, and goose grease,
James