Crispy Chicken Skin
So the primary inspiration for this comes from some cheeky chicken-based scratching that Dave had been treated to somewhere. I had also got hold of a decent chicken from my local butchers. So whilst roast chicken skin is good, salted chicken scratchings are better!
This is super easy to make as long as you don’t mind pulling the skin off the chicken.
I tend to take off the breast, wings and legs (don’t forget to remove the oysters off the back) then make stock from the carcass, ensuring that not a single scrap of the chicken is wasted.
To be honest with a beer on the go, the bowl I made didn’t even make it to the table, the lot was snaffled in a few minutes!
Step 1 - Setup
Put your oven on at 190C
Get a trivet or wire rack to allow the heat to get all around the skin and to stop it sitting in the rendered fat. Place the trivet over a tray to catch the dripping
Get a bowl of hot soapy water ready for your hands
Step 2 - Skin your chicken
I didn’t take any in-progress pictures here as my hands were covered in raw chicken but its pretty simple and you are not after any prizes for presentation so getting it all off in one piece is not essential.
But here are some simple tips:
Cut the wings off
Cut the knuckles off at the bottom of the drum sticks
Cut down the backbone
Now start by loosening the skin from the breasts, starting at the neck and working towards the parson’s nose until it’s all loose
You should, with a little force, be able to pull out the carcase so the legs come out and away
Step 3 - Crisp that skin
Lay the skin, flesh side out, on the trivet or rack and cover with salt
Turn it over and stretch it out. Again cover with salt
Stick it in the oven and check it every 10 minutes. When it’s starting to get crispy and golden, pull it out for a minute and see if it crisps up. If not, put it back in for another 5 minutes
Be careful when pulling it out as there will be hot fat that may be in the pan.
Leave it to cool for 5 minutes, it should be super crunchy and crisp.
Break it up as designed and serve as a great little beer snack.
Crispy Chicken Skin
The skin of a chicken
Salt
