Schmaltzy Chex Mix

Amarante ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 1:36 pm

This isn't either a dip or a salad but it isn't anything else except for delicious albeit not super healthy.

But for a gathering no one is eating the whole bowl anyway. Very Happy

I didn't use gluten free pretzels - not sure why that would make a difference but if anyone wants to do a test taste let me know. LOL

Schmaltzy Chex Mix

Excerpt From: Jake Cohen - Jew-ish

YIELD: SERVES 8 TO 10
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES

I’m not a huge snacker. I can restrain myself against a bag of potato chips or a bowl of popcorn, but put some Chex mix near me and I lose all control. There is just something about its combo of textures that gives me life. So, I figured I might as well throw some chicken fat on it and call it a day. I toss this snack mix with rendered schmaltz, fresh thyme, dried spices, garlic, and lemon zest before baking it low and slow until it’s crisp and addictively salty/greasy.

While this munchie is perfectly good for anytime noshing, it’s one of my favorite things to make the day before I host Shabbat, so I can put out a giant bowl of it when my guests arrive (it’s also always better the day after you make it). It buys me a bit more time to put the finishing touches on dinner, while I enjoy my own private snack bowl.

My only disclaimer is about the pretzels. To this day, I pick out all the pretzels from store-bought Chex mix. Why? Because they are inferior to all three kinds of Chex and the mighty bagel chips used in the mix. However, I’ve found that gluten-free pretzels are absolutely incredible in this recipe. I don’t know why, you’re just going to have to trust me on this one!

½ cup schmaltz, melted
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 garlic clove, finely grated
3 cups corn Chex
2 cups rice Chex
2 cups wheat Chex
2 cups Bagel Chips
1 cup small pretzels

1 Preheat the oven to 275°F.

2 In a small bowl, stir together the melted schmaltz, thyme, salt, onion powder, oregano, lemon zest, and garlic.

3 In a large bowl, toss the corn Chex, rice Chex, wheat Chex, bagel chips, and pretzels to combine, then drizzle with the schmaltz mixture and toss to coat. Transfer to a half sheet pan and spread into an even layer.

4 Bake, tossing halfway through, for about 45 minutes, until fragrant and crisp. Transfer to a bowl and serve warm or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

↑ Amarante ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 4:33 pm

watergirl wrote:

Just fyi, chex mix is dairy if you buy the premade bags. Make your own for this.

I don’t understand your comment as the recipe doesn’t use Chex Mix. Homemade Chex Mix uses butter traditionally but I have never had the commercial variety.

What is the issue with fleishig? Most people eat meat although schmaltz went out of favor but is having a revival moment and in terms of health is pretty equivalent to most other fats especially when eaten in moderation. 🤷‍♀️

↑ kenz ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 6:12 pm

Amarante wrote:

She’s just making people aware in case they wanted to shortcut. It was a nice fyi.
The recipe looks interesting but I can’t wrap my head around a bowl of munchies made with schmaltz. Let us know if you make it.

↑ Amarante ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 6:18 pm

kenz wrote:

I made it and it was delicious.

I am not sure what the horror is about 1/2 cup of oil as an ingredient use in a large quantity of food. That is 10 cups of product - I.e. a large bowl which is intended to be shared by a number of people.

That is 4 tablespoons in total which means that the amount of fat in each portion is about about a teaspoon and a half since it is intended to be eaten to be eaten by 8 to 10 people

Many desserts and junk food snacks have equivalent amounts of fat. Schmaltz is just chicken fat and I would imagine that many people eat more than that amount of chicken fat in food unless they cook only with skinless and boneless chicken breasts. Very Happy

↑ PinkFridge ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 6:23 pm

Amarante wrote:

(1/2 c =8, I thought. But) I was thinking this too. Yes, some people are "allergic" to margarine. Maybe they have the same horror for schmaltz.
I'm just imagining a great bubbe a few generations back who - time machine - might try Chex Mix and say, I'll be it'd be even better with schmaltz Wink

↑ Amarante ↓

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 7:04 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

I think the Time Machine would have to go back even further than our Bubbes because most of them were totally into the wonderful magic of "modern food" and eschewed old fashioned stuff like schmaltz. I don't think you could even buy it commercially until fairly recently so they would have had to store the chicken fat until they had enough to make gribbenes. My Bubbe actually made gribbenes very occasionally but it was done as a very rare treat and not so that she had a supply of schmaltz on hand for normal cooking.

It is only relatively recently that schmaltz has reappeared as a trendy ingredient. I have a cookbook which is all schmaltz recipes and since it has a better flavor than neutral oils it is not just tasteless fat.

But I am not understanding the terror of schmaltz or of this recipe. A normal portion is about equivalent to the amount of fat in commercial chips and the fat isn't less healthy than any other form of fat.

I was going to write that no one was using it as a spread for bread the way it was used in the past - some restaurants had a jar of schmaltz on the table the way a restaurant might have butter. But then I realized that many people use fat based spread on their bread products - butter or even cream cheese is pretty classic. Peanut butter?

↑ PinkFridge

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 7:12 pm

Amarante wrote:

That's why I said "a few." One set of greats raised their kids in the US at the turn of the 20th century, the other set in Poland, at about the same time. So if you go back a few, we're probably in schaltz territory.

↑ Amarante

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 7:19 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

Oh definitely in schmaltz territory as the generations coincided

My Great Bubbe came from Poland in the late 1920's and so was on the cusp of stuff in terms of having very traditional recipes while also being enthralled by some of the "wonders" of modern food processing like canned fruit cocktail and gelatin type of desserts. Very Happy

Crisco was "invented" at the turn of the 20th century and was considered a wonder to replace animal fats for cooking. And then it fell almost completely out of favor although there are certain recipes that absolutely require some amount of "shortening" for the ideal result.

↑ kenz

Mon, Dec 13 2021, 7:56 pm

Amarante wrote:

You got me, I actually only cook with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and on the rare occasion I use other chicken parts, I deskin them. So does that make my horror more understandable? LOL

Also it makes the snack fleishig, and for me - and I am guessing may others - snacks and fleishigs are not usually a thing. Also schmaltz is heavier than oil and definitely gives a different taste. But I'm glad you enjoyed it!