We all strive to eat a healthy  and balanced diet.  But if you or anyone in your family is like me or Alex, and you occasionally sin by eating some of the skin from a deliciously crispy roasted chicken, then this recipe is a must for you.

I learned to make gribenes, from my Mother-In-Law, Dora Schmidt,  and I have taken them to another level. I make them just occasionally at the end of a long workweek when the family gathers for Shabbat Dinner.  This is the time when we all loosen the reins and indulge.  I prepare this recipe as a decadent appetizer, in the form of a tortilla chip and guacamole, topped with crunchy gribenes and golden onions.

Wikipedia Definition: 

Gribenes or grieven (Yiddish: גריבענעס, [ˈɡrɪbənəs], “scraps”) are crisp chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions, a kosher food somewhat similar to pork rinds. Gribenes are a byproduct of schmaltz preparation.^[1][2][3]

Gribenes:

The skin from one whole chicken (I take the skin from the chicken that I make my chicken soup with)

1/2 onion chopped

Cut the chicken skin into small pieces (about 1/4 inch) with kitchen shears, and place them in a shallow non-stick frying pan.

Over a medium flame, Continuously stir with a wooden spoon until the pieces are evenly cooked to a crispy golden brown (about 20 minutes)

Remove the gribenes from the pan, Leaving about a Tablespoon of the schmaltz ( chicken fat) in the pan, drain the rest of the schmaltz and pour it into a glass jar, and reserve it in the freezer for future use (such as in the making of tamales).

Add the 1/2 onion to the still hot schmaltz left in the frying pan, and allow it to become crispy and golden as well.

Guacamole:

There can be many guacamole variations, so any of the below ingredients is optional except for the avocado of course.  I have friends who do not like the taste of cilantro, so when they are coming for dinner I avoid using it, in the guacamole.  Other friends don’t like spicy food so in this case I avoid using chili pepper.  I don’t always add tomato to my guacamole, but for this recipe, I like the flavor and color it gives the dish.

1 avocado

1/2 onion finely diced

1 tomato finely diced

1 Serrano chili pepper finely diced

1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped

Salt to taste

Mash the avocado and thoroughly mix in all of the other ingredients.

Fusion Chips:

Tortilla chips

Guacamole

Gribenes and onions

Generously cover the surface of each tortilla chip with about 1 tablespoon of guacamole, top with gribenes and onions and accompany with your favorite Schnapps!