The most popular post on The Happy Housewife is my whole chicken in a crock pot recipe. Not only has it been viewed over 200,000 times the post has over 200 comments!
If you want to save money in the kitchen but are afraid to tackle a whole chicken I would encourage you to read the recipe and give it a try. I’ve been cooking whole chickens this way for several years and it is a great way to save money.
In my whole chicken post I talk about saving the broth from the chicken but scraping off and throwing away the fat that forms on the top of the broth once it cools. Last week on Facebook a reader shared a great tip for using up the fat that is on the top of the broth.
I scoop it out and store in fridge to use in lieu of bacon drippings or oil when I sauté veggies or start a soup/ red beans & rice. Yummy!
This is such a great idea! I’m going to start doing this with my next whole chicken in a crock pot.
Do you save the fat? What do you use it for?
I just leave it in the broth. Naughty me, I know
I don’t know how it works in a crock pot but when making broth with a whole chicken (which I do all the time) you should always skim off the scum that rises to the top…full of impurities. Isn’t it cool that it works like that? Consequently, I end up with very little fat in my broth, so I just leave it in too. A little richness goes a long way with my kids eating the way they do…Nourishing Traditions, primarily.
If you want to reheat the chicken and not microwave it [some are trying to stop using their microwaves], save the fat and put it ON TOP of the meat when reheating it in the oven. The meat comes out tender and moist and tastes like you just cooked it. For Thanksgiving dinner I roast the turkey the day before. It is reheated on Thanksgiving morning using this method. Turns out great every time.
I use to warm it and pour it over my cat’s and dog’s food … especially in the winter. They seemed to really enjoy it, and their coats appeared to be thicker and softer after a few weeks of it.
I also use to bring our chicken to a quick boil to get the skin off of our meat before finishing cooking it … then I saved the broth and skin and gave it to our cat (before we had a dog) over the next few days with her other food.
I use it to sautée onions and mushrooms. I also toss cut up potatoes in it and bake or cook them in my iron skillet.
Your idea inspired me! You could also use it instead of shortening into a chicken pot pie crust. Yum!
My health conscious mind says NO! I must remove and throw away. There are other ways to add flavor without adding extra calories and cholesterol. Heart disease ran rampant in my family so I’m not trying to “bring it back”. That’s something I’d rather leave in the archives of my family health history.
I use it instead of butter when making a roux. Especially if I’m making the roux for gravy or potato soup or something with chicken broth in it anyway.
I saw this on Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving show. Make the stock (with wings) a week before and then use the fat from the stock to make the roux for the turkey gravy, make it all ahead of time,then mix in the roasting pan drippings. Animal fat is animal fat…butter, bacon, chicken, turkey fat, etc..
OK, I’ll confess, the secret ingredient in my super soft buns is chicken fat. When I get a chance to cook up a couple of chickens, I’ll save off all of the really clean white fat. Once cool, I scrape it off, then pour it into ice cube trays to freeze. I then transfer the cubes to a ziploc bag and pull out 2 or 3 for my bun recipe. About 1/2 chicken fat to 1/2 butter and I have had many people wonder how my buns come out so tender.
I sometimes add it to my bread dough when I am making a savory loaf, or to my pizza dough when making pizza or calzone.
I let it harden & then mix with peanut butter and birdseed for homemade suet cakes for birdfeeders. My mom gave me the idea- my grandparents always did that.
My grandma always saved the chicken fat and used it in her chocolate chip cookies. She made the best cookies I have ever eaten!!!!!
The saved chicken fat makes really awesome biscuits. They’re flaky and have a mild chicken flavor to them.
I think I may be the only one in this discussion that hasn’t found a use for the chicken fat, yet! But, I’m very willing to try. You inspired me to tackle whole chickens (my crock pot gets a lot of action these days)….may want to branch out. As I’m typing this, I have my broth in the crock pot ready to cook overnight!
My question is….how long does this chicken fat last in the fridge before going bad? What’s the shelf life of fat? (According to my thighs…15 years, but I digress)…just curious if anyone knew the timeline on this!
THANK YOU for the whole chicken post!! I buy chickens every time they dip to $.77 a pound or lower! ; )
Just in case anyone else wonders…it can be store it the fridge for 6 months. WOW. That’s pretty awesome. Here’s the info I found: http://stilltasty.com/fooditems/index/16784
If you are going to use every bit of the chicken then I highly recommend buying organic chicken.
Wow! I have learned alot this morning. I am going to do a chicken in the crock pot today, then I am going to make the broth and I am going to save the fat!!!! (feels funny saying that!) When you use the fat in cooking (like the biscuits etc…) do you use it as you would butter-same measurements?? Somehow I don’t have as much of a problem using it instead of bacon fat
Who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks!! Thanks everyone!!
Thank you for this informative site! I have always roasted chickens, but this will be a more economical way to cook. The chicken broth and fat are great ideas, and I will definitely use.
My cat will enjoy her food more, too!
Janet (9.19.11).
No one asked about your family’s health history. No offense.
I came here from a google search to find out what I might be able to do w/ the skimmed fat from my homemade chicken stock and how long it would last in the fridge.
“Throw it away” is the answer I had before deciding to find a different use.
Sure, unhealthy for some; common sense. Don’t waste space.
BTW – After reading the actually answers here I can add –
Stir-Fried Garlic Asparagus and Rice, using the chicken fat as the base. Awesome.
My family has no history of heart disease or anything else; healthy as oxes… and none of that matters cause this ain’t the forum for it.
Eat more Chikken Phat. I plan on using it as tea and living to 140, skinny as a rail… ;P
Can anyone tell me why the fat might not harden on the top of the cooled turkey stock? I made a huge pot of stock with leftover turkey carcass, miscellaneous chicken parts, etc. and after cooling the skimmed and strained stock for 2 days, the fat seems to be suspended throughout…..