F&Co Chicken Schmaltz and Beef Dripping

Chicken Schmaltz

Traditionally used within Jewish cuisine, Chicken Schmaltz is now common throughout Eastern Europe & in the USA, often found in high-class delis. It's created by slowly rendering chicken skin and fat to a pure liquid before being carefully decanted into preserving jars ready for cooking with.

Because of its purity, it can withstand relatively high temperatures without burning so is perfect as a medium for sauté and roasting. Historically it was used for the making of chopped liver and stirred into chicken broth to enrichen the flavour however it has many other uses in today's global cuisine.

My favourite is frying par boiled new potatoes in a spoonful of hot schmaltz until golden then finish with chopped shallot, a crushed clove of garlic and freshly cut parsley. Another is to simply spread on hot sourdough toast with sea salt and a turn of black pepper.

Other options are to enrich pate and terrines, popcorn cooked in schmaltz and seasoned with rosemary salt or to confit, slowly cooking root vegetables such as beets and carrots in the schmaltz until tender and sweet.

Whichever way you go the flavour of schmaltz is sure to take your cooking to new heights.

Farmison & Co Chicken Schmaltz is available to purchase here.

Beef Dripping

Beef dripping (otherwise known as beef tallow) is rendered beef fat, ours made from our very own Heritage grass-fed cattle and is naturally high in vitamins and iron.

The beautifully grass enriched fat is slowly rendered to create tallow, and once carefully decanted into sterile jars it can be kept ambient for many months in a sealed container to stop oxidization.

When cooking with tallow it has a high burn point so works perfectly for roasting over high temperatures. Potatoes work really well, blanched before roasting in the fat - root vegetables slowly cooked in the fat infused with rosemary or thyme until tender and sweet also give stunning results.

My other favourites include tallow with Yorkshire puddings, as an alternative to oil for bases in casseroles, stews and hotpots. You can also smear this thick on white bloomer toast, sprinkled with salt crystals just like my Grandparents would have enjoyed it!

Farmison & Co Beef Dripping is available to purchase here.