Yes, chicken fat. This is an elixir that captures the very essence of a chicken and is possibly the best artery clogger known to humankind. HG’s late Mom rendered her own and made lavish use of schmaltz. It enriched chopped liver (of course), matzo balls, chopped egg salad, kasha varnishkes, potato blintzes and every variety of stewed and fried dishes. One of Mom’s specialties was “tzimmes”. This was a long simmered stew of carrots, honey, ginger, cinnamon, chicken fat and–ugh!!–chicken feet, HG would push the chicken feet aside and relish the “tzimmes”. Contemporary versions of the dish (even Supergoy Martha Stewart has one) add sweet potatoes, prunes and sugar. Says HG: Feh!!. HG is a radical in politics and a conservative in food, scorning foams, sous vide cooking and other innovations.(many Italians share this proclivity). Schmaltz has entered the American language as defining an excessive sentimentality in drama and musical arts. “Tzimmes” is a Yiddish idiom defining an unnecessary fuss. HG recalls HG’s after school snack: Slice of pumpernickel bread with 1/4 inch of schmaltz and kosher salt and black pepper (sometimes slices of raw onion was added). Armed with this nourishment, HG was a swift and bruising Bronx sandlot football player. If you want to sample an abundance of chicken fat dine at Sammy’s Romanian in New York. There’s a big pitcher of the godly stuff on every table. Sammy’s has frozen vodka, old style Jewish food, music, dancing between tables. Yes, Sammy’s is truly schmaltzy in all meanings of the word.
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