Chicken Butter

Recipe from Richard Kuo

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Chicken Butter
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(52)
Comments
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In this unusual recipe, seasoned, rendered chicken fat and creamy butter are whipped with a little maple syrup for an earthy, rich and lightly sweet spread for bread. Make sure to cook the chicken skin until it turns nut brown — that’s what gives the fat its fried chicken flavor. While you could use schmaltz in place of rendering the fat yourself, the flavor won’t be quite the same because schmaltz usually includes onions in the rendering. If you haven’t been saving your chicken skin and trimmings in your freezer to render, you can usually order the skin from a butcher if you give them enough advance notice. And make sure to save the fried chicken skin as a cook’s snack. It’s the crunchy, salty byproduct of this excellent spread. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: Fried Chicken, in Butter Form

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Ingredients

Yield:⅔ cup
  • ½pound raw chicken skin and fat
  • 1bay leaf
  • 8tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
  • 1tablespoon maple syrup
  • ½teaspoon salt, more for sprinkling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

233 calories; 24 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 105 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, add chicken skin and fat and bay leaf and cook until skin is crispy and brown, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat and let chicken fat cool slightly. Transfer chicken skin to a paper towel-lined plate and lightly salt it if you want to eat it as a snack. Discard bay leaf.

  2. Step 2

    In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup rendered chicken fat with the butter, maple syrup and salt. Remaining rendered chicken fat will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
52 user ratings
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Comments

tina

this is a fun, delicious spread to make when you are cooking chicken. I always save the fat and the skin in the freezer , so it was easy to make. Look forward to putting it on my english muffin in the morning!

Beth

Although good, it tasted to me like butter plus honey. The chicken and the bay flavor didn’t come through.

Andreabakes

I bet this would make a great gribenes butter, too!

tina

this is a fun, delicious spread to make when you are cooking chicken. I always save the fat and the skin in the freezer , so it was easy to make. Look forward to putting it on my english muffin in the morning!

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Credits

Adapted from Richard Kuo, Pearl & Ash, New York

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