I use rendered duck fat quite a bit. It’s pricey, but you can pick it up at specialty stores and it lasts for quite a long time.
Makes excellent hash browns.
I lost fifteen pounds when I added naturally occurring fats back into my diet and got rid of “low-fat” and “FAT-FREE!!!” products.
My brother has a relationship with an excellent butcher, we might be able to try this.
You cut the chicken fat into manageable pieces and cover with cold water (enough to completely cover the fat). While it heats, cut the skin (most of it has fat attached) into 1” pieces. When the fat/water mixture is boiling (it looks like fatty soup), add the skin and turn down the heat. In about 30 minutes, the water will boil off and the skin will start to fry in the fat. Watch carefully. Stir constantly. It will stick, often and you need to keep it moving. You want to take the pieces of crackling out as soon as they are golden. Fried food always looks lighter when it is still in the fat. Drain the crackings and salt well. When the schmaltz (fat) has cooled, pour it carefully into a jar and place in the refrigerator. It keeps for a long time. An old-fashioned snack was to fry cooked chickpeas in schmaltz, drain and salt heavily. I cannot recall the Yiddish term for these, but we called them Jewish popcorn. They are heavy, so beware! The old folks would smear some schmaltz onto a piece of rye or pumpernickel bread and add a sliced white radish for a sandwich.
I use a bit of schmaltz for flavor with sauteed onions, use it to fry chicken livers, add a tsp to chopped liver.
The Greibens are crumbled and added to chopped liver or potato kugel or anything where you want some chicken flavor. Everyone always sneaks a few off the draining paper. They are best really hot and crunchy.
This will also add an intense chicken smell to the kitchen. I simply open a window for a bit, afterward.