lherelenfeline | Experiments in cookery

My usual method of cooking chicken, for the longest time has been to begin by cutting off and throwing away the fat and the skins, except for roasting. When roasting poultry I usually put thin slices of either oranges or tart apples ( dependent on the season) that have been coated in seasoning under the skin all along the top of the bird. But that's neither here nor there.
I was over my friend K's house for New Year and her father is an amazing cook. I was observing his process when he was making chicken paprikash, which I'd never had and will definitely try making myself, and noticed that he was adding this white stuff from a jar. It was rendered chicken fat.

So today I skinned a pound of chicken quarters, cut up the skin and the fat and threw in the pot to render. On a whim I threw in a sliced onion.

Only after I'd drained the fat and was munching on the cracklings did I flash back to great-grandma making the stuff and realized I'd made my first schmaltz.

Am ridiculously proud of myself fro remembering her recipe, esp since I never use recipes. Also am somewhat amused at how despite my mother de-Jewing my childhood to the best of her newly converted Christian ability, she failed.