chicken skin

Use your newly skinless thighs in a braise.

Crispy Salt-and-Pepper Chicken Skin

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Bon Appétit

Preheat oven to 350°. Trim meat and excess fat from chicken skin; cut into 3" pieces. Flatten, flesh side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper; top with another sheet of parchment and baking sheet (to keep skin from curling). Bake until browned and crisp, about 1 hour. Remove top baking sheet and paper; let cool 10 minutes.

Do Ahead: Skin can be baked 3 hours ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

In this unusual recipe, seasoned, rendered chicken fat and creamy butter are whipped with a little maple syrup for an earthy, rich and lightly sweet spread for bread. Make sure to cook the chicken skin until it turns nut brown — that’s what gives the fat its fried chicken flavor. While you could use schmaltz in place of rendering the fat yourself, the flavor won’t be quite the same because schmaltz usually includes onions in the rendering. If you haven’t been saving your chicken skin and trimmings in your freezer to render, you can usually order the skin from a butcher if you give them enough advance notice. And make sure to save the fried chicken skin as a cook’s snack. It’s the crunchy, salty byproduct of this excellent spread.

Chicken Butter

chicken

bay leaf

unsalted butter (1 stick)

maple syrup

salt, more for sprinkling

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, add chicken skin and fat and bay leaf and cook until skin is crispy and brown, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat and let chicken fat cool slightly. Transfer chicken skin to a paper towel-lined plate and lightly salt it if you want to eat it as a snack. Discard bay leaf.

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup rendered chicken fat with the butter, maple syrup and salt. Remaining rendered chicken fat will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Schmaltz is rendered poultry fat, in this case made from chicken, while gribenes are its crispy, crackling-like byproduct that comes from bits of chicken skin. The key to this recipe is to go low and slow: You want the fat to cook gently and thoroughly so it renders completely without burning. Some would argue that the onion is mandatory and not optional, but if you plan to use the schmaltz for very delicate recipes, or sweet recipes (chilled schmaltz works wonderfully as the fat in pastry dough), feel free to leave it out. Your schmaltz won’t have as deep a flavor, but it will be more versatile. Schmaltz will last for at least a week in the refrigerator and up to six months in the freezer. If your butcher won’t sell it to you, the best way to obtain chicken skin and fat is to collect trimmings in the freezer every time you buy a whole bird. Or you can strip the skin and fat from chicken thighs and save the skinless meat to use in other recipes.

Schmaltz and Gribenes

salt

onion,

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, toss chicken skin and fat with salt and 1 tablespoon water and spread out in one layer. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until fat starts to render and skin begins to turn golden at the edges.

Add onions and cook 45 to 60 minutes longer, tossing occasionally, until chicken skin and onions are crispy and richly browned, but not burned.

Strain through a sieve. Reserve the schmaltz. If you want the gribenes to be crispier, return to the skillet and cook over high heat until done to taste. Drain gribenes on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Try this addictive combination of crisp-skinned chicken and juicy roasted grapes for your next dinner.

Chicken roasted with red wine and grapes

red onions,

large seedless red grapes,

(60 milliliters) balsamic vinegar, plus extra to drizzle

rosemary

olive oil

chicken thigh cutlets (with

light red wine (such

bay leaves (see Notes)

Creamy mashed potato, to serve

The bittersweetness of the marmalade, the warm heat of the mustard and the fresh tang of orange juice combine to give the roast chicken stacks of flavour.

Roast marmalade chicken with winter salad

tbsp bitter orange marmalade, warmed gently

Dijon mustard

chicken thigh cutlets (with skin on)

orange, orange

tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar (see Notes)

parsley leaves

(120 grams) kalamata olives, pitted

feta, crumbled

oranges, peeled, white pith removed, cut into 5mm-thick rounds

A flavorful chicken stew that gets every iota of value from the chicken bones. Serve with fixings that guests can pick and choose to build their own bowls.

Chicken Stew with Kale

garlic clove, finely grated

Tbsp. finely chopped parsley

lemon zest

sugar

bacon (about 6 slices), chopped

shallots, peeled, quartered lengthwise

dry white wine

parsley, stems

bay leaves

curly kale leaves

radishes

Skip inferior store-bought broth and just add water to this stew and make your own. We found a way to get every iota of value from the chicken bones. Letting the stew sit the full 12 hours really helps all the flavors meld together. Serve the stew as the centerpiece surrounded by fixings that guests can pick and choose to build their own bowls.

Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange chicken skin in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dark golden brown and crisp all the way through, 12–18 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Combine chicken skin, garlic, parsley, and lemon zest in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Combine lemon, olive oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and let sit at least 10 minutes, mixing once or twice.

Do Ahead: Lemon oil can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Season chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring often, until brown and crisp, 7–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a small bowl.

Increase heat to medium-high. Working in 2 batches if needed, cook chicken thighs, skin side down, in the same pot until skin is golden brown, 7–10 minutes. Transfer to a large plate and turn skin side up. Remove pot from heat. Let chicken cool slightly, then pull skin from meat and transfer to a shallow bowl; cover and chill (save for making the gremolata).

Return pot to medium heat and cook shallots and garlic, cut side down, in the same pot, tossing shallots occasionally, until shallots are browned in spots and garlic is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add wine, stirring to release any bits stuck on the bottom of pot, and cook until reduced by two-thirds, about 2 minutes. Add parsley, bay leaves, reserved bacon, and 8 cups water, season generously with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Return chicken thighs to pot and bring stew back up to a simmer. Cover with a lid, leaving slightly askew so steam can escape, and cook, adjusting heat to maintain a very gentle simmer and skimming foam from surface as needed, until meat is tender and easily pulls away from bones, 1–1½ hours.

Transfer thighs to a cutting board and let cool 10–15 minutes; keep liquid at a simmer. Pull meat from bones and tear into bite-size pieces; discard bones. Transfer meat to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Add kale and simmer until kale is tender and liquid is very flavorful, 25–30 minutes.

Remove stew from heat, add meat back to pot, and let cool uncovered until no longer steaming. Cover pot and chill stew at least 12 hours (you can skip this step, but it will dramatically improve the flavor).

Uncover stew and spoon off half to three-quarters of fat on the surface; discard. Gently reheat stew until barely simmering. Pluck out and discard parsley, bay leaves, and garlic heads (don't worry about any cloves that may have escaped into stew). Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve with Chicken Skin Gremolata, Lemon Oil, radishes, and/or red onion as desired.

Do Ahead: Stew can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Don&#039;t throw away those poultry skins! Cook them up into cracklins, those crispy, savory snacks that double as a garnish for the cooked poultry they came from.

Chicken Skin Cracklins Recipe

whole skin-on chicken, turkey,

Salt

Prep. Remove the skins from your chicken, turkey, or duck. Turkey skins are thin with little fat underneath, chickens have a bit more subcutaneous fat, and duck has a lot of fat. Cut the skins into squares or strips about 1&quot; (2.5 cm) long and 1/2&quot; (1.3 cm) wide.

Cook. Roasting method. Preheat your smoker or set up your grill for 2-zone indirect cooking and get the air temp in the indirect zone to about 325°F (163°C). Spread the skins onto a flat pan like a cookie sheet, sprinkle them with salt, not too much, and place them in the indirect heat until they are crispy. Turkey will take about 30 minutes, chicken 45 minutes, duck an hour or more. Your time will vary depending on the amount of fat on the bird. If you wish to add wood and flavor them with smoke, go for it. You can even do this in your indoor oven.

Frying pan method. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with about 1/4&quot; (6.3mm) of water and add the skins. Heat until it simmers gently but does not boil. Add the skins. It is important that you do not simmer too vigorously or they bill spatter all over the place and then burn. Wear a shirt you don&#39;t care about. Stand by the pan and stir the skins every three minutes or so until the water evaporates. Pour off the fat and save it. Continue cooking over low heat until the skins are golden and crispy. Scoop them out and place them on a double layer of paper towels to drain. While they&#39;re hot, sprinkle on some salt.

Top 7 chicken skin recipes from across the web

The most viewed chicken skin recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Crispy Salt-and-Pepper Chicken Skin

Chicken Butter

Schmaltz and Gribenes

Chicken roasted with red wine and g...

Roast marmalade chicken with winter...

Chicken Stew with Kale

Chicken Skin Cracklins Recipe

Top 7 chicken skin recipes from across the web

The most viewed chicken skin recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Crispy Salt-and-Pepper Chicken Skin

Chicken Butter

Schmaltz and Gribenes

Chicken roasted with red wine and g...

Roast marmalade chicken with winter...

Chicken Stew with Kale

Chicken Skin Cracklins Recipe

The most viewed chicken skin recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine