Bacon is soooooo last year. Seriously, when you find an ingredient shoved into every food out there, I think it’s time to declare that its time has passed. Do we really want bacon in our cupcakes and booze? Really? I’m here to declare fried chicken skin as the successor to bacon. C’mon, just admit it. You might be all hoity-toity about eating boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you know (deep down inside) all you really want to do is peel the skin off a freshly roasted chicken and devour it. The skin is what has all the flavor in a chicken.
Makes 12 servings
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
- Chicken skin (cleaned of excess fat and any stray feather stuff)
- Sea salt
- BBQ dry rub
Lay chicken skin between 2 layers of paper towels and roll up to remove as much moisture as possible.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Cover one rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove chicken from paper towels and lay out chicken skin as smooth as possible.
Lightly sprinkle each piece of skin with some of the sea salt or BBQ dry rub.
Cover the skin with another sheet of parchment paper and lay another rimmed baking sheet on top.
Weigh the whole thing down with a cast iron skillet and slide into the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes. Check for doneness by lifting up top pan. Skin should be crisp. You may need additional 10–20 minutes depending on how thick the skin is that you use.
Drain off the fat and lay out fried chicken skin on a paper towel lined dish.
Quick Notes
You can use breast or thigh skin, it doesn’t matter. Once these are made, you can also crush them up and top salads or soups. It’s an addicting little snack.
Using a rimmed baking sheet is important because there is quite a bit of fat that will render out of the skin. If you use a regular baking sheet you run the risk of the fat dripping down onto the floor of your oven and making a real mess.
Pamela Braun writes the food blog “MyMansBelly.com“ and believes the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.
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