The liquid gold in your skillet
I am not a patient cook. I use lettuces without washing them because it takes too long, peek into the oven more times than I should when I’m roasting a chicken, and slice into cakes before they’re properly cooled, even when I know better.
But if there is something I am going to take my sweet time with, it’s rendering chicken fat, because that stuff is worth its weight in gold.
And yes, there are lots of fats for cooking — with so many to choose from, who can play favourites? Well, I can play favourites, and chicken fat is my favourite.
It’s not just the deeply-savoury flavour you get from rendered chicken fat, although that is reason enough to make the effort. The idea that you can extract your own cooking fat from an ingredient as simple as a chicken thigh is something I take great pleasure in.
Thighs will consistently yield the greatest amount of fat, but bone-in, skin-on breasts will also give you plenty to work with. Maybe it’s counterintuitive, but the chicken must not be seared hot and fast, as you would cook a steak or skin-on fish fillet. Rendering fat takes time, and the fat is what we want, so time we must give it. This means medium heat for a longer period, but your patience will be rewarded with an unscorched pool of impossibly flavourful fat at the bottom of your skillet.
While I would drink this fat directly from a spoon, that’s not why we are here. We are here to cook with this goldenbrown gift, which imparts its chicken-y flavour to any ingredient we choose to grace its presence with. Here, that means tangy slices of lemon, which sizzle and caramelize in the fat, followed by a simple can of white beans to soak it all up.
Skillet Chicken with White Beans and Caramelized Lemon
Makes 4 servings
1 lemon, thinly-sliced, seeds removed 1 shallot, peeled and cut into wedges Kosher salt and black pepper 2 1⁄2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or breasts (about 4 to 6) 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 (15-ounce) can small white beans (such as Great Northern, navy or cannellini) or chickpeas
1 bunch kale, ribs removed, leaves torn into large pieces
Flaky sea salt
Olive oil, for drizzling
Total time: 45 minutes.
1. Toss lemon slices and shallots together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add chicken, skin side down. Using tongs or a spatula, press the chicken evenly into the skillet. Cook until the skin is deeply golden brown, five to eight minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. At this stage, most of the fat should be rendered and the skin should be crispy. Flip and cook until chicken is cooked through, another seven to 10 minutes.
3. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate to rest, leaving all the fat behind. Add lemon and shallot to the chicken fat, standing back if you need because it will sizzle. Cook, swirling the skillet, until the lemon has started to caramelize and brown, three to five minutes.
4. Add the beans to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the beans have started to brown a bit and soak up all of that caramelized lemon chicken fat, three to four minutes. Add kale and toss to wilt.
5. Return the chicken to the skillet, along with any juices that have collected on the plate, and cook for a minute or two.
6. Divide the chicken, beans and kale between plates, making sure to top each serving with a few lemon slices.