Egg And Gribenes Spread Food

OLD COUNTRY CHOPPED LIVER

Steps:

• Preheat broiler to 500°. Broil livers on broiler rack 4 inches from the heat source for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and finely chop livers.
• Melt 6 Tblsp. schmaltz in skillet and sauté onions over medium/low heat until soft and just beginning to brown. Add chopped liver pieces and sauté 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
• Pour contents of skillet into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, chop the eggs and add them to the liver mixture. Mix in the salt, pepper, and gribenes (if using). Mix everything together until well blended. Chill at least 3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
• Serving Suggestions: Serve small portions of chopped liver garnished with kosher dill pickles and pickled beet slices during the winter. Garnish the liver with fresh tomato and English cucumber slices in the summer.
• A medium-dry white wine, such as chardonnay, goes very well with chopped liver. So does a white zinfandel.

CLASSIC JEWISH CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVER RECIPE

Steps:

• If Using a Grill for the Livers: Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set all the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Proceed to step 3.
• If Using a Broiler for the Livers: Preheat broiler and move oven rack to highest position. Oil a slotted broiler pan, or a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.
• Using a paring knife, clean livers well of any fat, green spots, or large veins. Season all over with kosher salt. If using a grill, grill livers over high heat, turning frequently, until they are very lightly charred in spots and only the last traces of pink remain in their centers. If using the broiler, arrange livers on the prepared broiler pan or wire rack and broil, turning frequently, until exteriors are well-browned and only the last traces of pink remain in the centers. (If you are unsure about whether the livers are done, cut them open to check.) Remove from oven or grill and set aside.
• Scrape minced liver and egg mixture into a mixing bowl. Scrape in cooked onion, along with all of the cooking fat. Add minced gribenes, if using. Stir until thoroughly combined, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
• Add as much extra schmaltz as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach desired consistency. Exactly how much this is will depend on several variables, including your personal preference, though we recommend that chopped liver be spreadable and moist, not dry and crumbly.

EGG AND GRIBENES SPREAD

Steps:

• 1. In a small saucepan, cover the eggs with 1 inch/3 centimeters of water and bring the water to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water reaches a full boil, cover the pan and take it off the heat. Let the eggs sit in the covered pan, off the heat, for 12 to 15 minutes, then remove them from the water. (Or, if you have a pressure cooker, steam them for 7 minutes, then chill; these are invariably easier to peel.) Run the eggs under cold water, or transfer them to an ice bath, till they're thoroughly chilled. Peel the eggs.
• 2. Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan over medium heat, saute half the onion in 1 teaspoon schmaltz till translucent. It's a good idea to give them a pinch of salt as you do this, don't be shy. Transfer the onions to a plate and allow to cool slightly.
• 3. Combine all the ingredients except the celery and gribenes and do any of the following: put them through a meat grinder fitted with a medium or small die; coarsely chop them in a food processor; chop by hand and finish by mashing to a pleasing consistency with a fork. Then fold in the celery and the gribenes.

SCHMALTZ AND GRIBENES

Steps:

• In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, toss chicken skin and fat with salt and 1 tablespoon water and spread out in one layer. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until fat starts to render and skin begins to turn golden at the edges.
• Add onions and cook 45 to 60 minutes longer, tossing occasionally, until chicken skin and onions are crispy and richly browned, but not burned.
• Strain through a sieve. Reserve the schmaltz. If you want the gribenes to be crispier, return to the skillet and cook over high heat until done to taste. Drain gribenes on a paper-towel-lined plate.

SCHMALTZ AND GRIBENES

Steps:

• 1. Wash fat and skin well in a colander, and pat dry. Place in a heavy skillet, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• 2. Cook, uncovered, over low heat (you can turn it up a bit once the fat has begun melting). When the fat starts to melt and get slightly brown, add onions (and garlic cloves if you like), and continue cooking until onions and cracklings are golden brown and crunchy.
• 3. When partially cooled, strain over a bowl to remove onions and cracklings, and refrigerate them in a covered glass jar. Poor schmaltz into another jar, cover, and refrigerate.

CHOPPED LIVER

Steps:

• Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, drain, and set aside to cool. In a large frying pan, gently cook the onions in the oil (or schmaltz) until soft and golden. Increase the heat, add the livers, and stir for a few seconds so that they absorb the flavor of the onion. Either pour the mixture into a food processor and process to a coarse or smooth paste with the gribenes (if using), or pass the mixture through an old-fashioned grinder. Scoop into a bowl. Grate the eggs on the coarse side of a grater and add to the bowl, reserving a little of the grated egg for the garnish. Stir in the parsley and fold in gently. Moisten the mixture with some wine, brandy, or chicken stock, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until needed. Serve in scoops on individual plates topped with a little grated egg and paprika for color, and generous pieces of fresh Friday-night challah.
• To make gribenes and schmaltz
• Remove the spare fat from a raw chicken and place in a pan. (There is usually a lump of fat around the neck, in an older bird at least.) Add 1 cup (8 oz) dairy-free margarine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 large onion (with the skin left on to enhance the golden color). Remove the skin from the chicken, cut into smallish pieces, and add to the pan. Set over very low heat and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours until all of the fat has been rendered gently out of the chicken skin. Remove the skin from the pan and drain on paper towels to form gribenes or crackling. Pour the fat (schmaltz) into a heavy-duty glass dish and store in the fridge until needed*. As the fat cools, a rich jelly will collect at the bottom of the dish. This jelly forms a delicious base for soup or sauces.
• The fat (schmaltz) will keep for up to 6 weeks in the fridge. Store the gribenes in the fridge.