Smaletz

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You have just fried up some bacon and are wondering what to do with the drippings. In my household, gowing up, we saved it, decanted it into a small bowl and kept it for later use.

It makes a wonderful spread for bread (a nice heavy rye bread, not that fluffy white stuff that passes for bread in North America). It is called smaletz.

All Sofia can say, "That would kill my liver." She doesn't know what she is missing.

I also save the fat when rendering duck breasts. It is wonderful and adds a delightful dimension when added to other foods. Frying pork sausages in a bit of duck fat is a culinary treat. Adding it to some cabbage dish also enhances the flavour.

Comments

Grumpy but sweet said…
My mom always saved the rendered fat too...

I could never stomach it myself.

But I know that you can make things delicious with it.
July 03, 2006 2:00 PM
Barbara said…
For years I have rendered chicken fat when a recipe (like chopped chicken liver) called for "schmaltz." It's not very healthy for you, but it tastes so good that I figure my body can just tolerate it in small amounts!
July 03, 2006 4:47 PM
j said…
really? i dont do that, not healthy. :(
July 03, 2006 10:01 PM
Anonymous said…
just blog hopping!
July 03, 2006 11:09 PM
Richard said…
ingrid: like Sofia, you don't know what you are missing.

barbara: ha ha, I was going to mention in my post that while I like pork and diuck fat, I am not keen on chicken and beef fat. But, yeah, hard to make chopped chicken liver without the fat - crispt fried chicken skins are also very nice.

jairam: I tihnk it is a question of proportion. I don't eat it everyday, and if I do have it, it is likely to be a single slice of bread with a thin sprread instead of butter (I am willing to bet it is healthier than margarine).


textmates: thanks for dropping by.
July 04, 2006 12:20 PM
ghee said…
You have lots of ideas,Richard.
Its so amazing to know a man like you really interested in the kitchen,partly.

Were you a boy scout? :D
July 04, 2006 1:12 PM
Richard said…
ghee: I was in cub scouts for a few years (2 or 3). I was initially excited by it, lots of things to learn, but in the end was disappointed by it. Too many pointless rules and behaviour I did not understand.

One of the dumbest (in my opinion) was at the end of every session, we would stand around the flag as it was lowered and sing a song. Many of the kids and counselors would be quite emotional about it. All I could think was, "Why are people standing around a flag, singing and pretending to be all choked up about it? What is wrong with these people?"

I treasured my Cub book (I still have it), it was full of neat things, but the whole group experience thing was pointless to me.
July 04, 2006 2:06 PM
ghee said…
yeah,i can relate on that.i was a girl scout,too..

some activities are useful but some are senseless :)
July 04, 2006 8:04 PM
vina said…
ehehe, weeeeeell, i recall when i was young(er) and still living with my parents that we recycled oil, as in cooking oil...does that count as well? i guess not.
July 05, 2006 7:52 AM
Richard said…
ghee: the problem is that a lot of activities that are generally considered useful for building up team spirit and unity, I find quite senseless. It is just me and I don't know why.

vina: ha ha, recycling cooking oil does not count. However, reusing the fat you got from cooking something would.
July 05, 2006 12:33 PM
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