Crispy Chicken Skin Cracklings... great substitute for bacon. I know. Seriously? Chicken skin cracklings? I never thought I would one day post about such a recipe. Over the years, crispy chicken skin has become more and more popular. You know, sort of like the bacon and maple doughnuts. I mean, who would have thought that bacon would one day be used in in a variety of sweets. But you know, I tried the bacon and maple doughnut ... and it was delicious! It seems that crispy chicken skin has made it as the next "bacon".... maybe it's just a fad. Or maybe it's come and gone already, and I'm still behind times:). However, I've certainly seen creative recipes using chicken skin cracklings. Aside from simply serving them as an appetizer with hot sauce, there's the crispy chicken skin ice cream.... and ice cream served in crispy chicken skin "cups". Yes, ice cream. No surprise there, because if bacon is used, why not crispy chicken skin? It almost tastes like crispy bacon... salty and crunchy. And it is delicious! I'm not even kidding...
I've always been one that enjoyed eating the crispy chicken skin from baked chicken. So I knew I would probably enjoy the chicken cracklings... actually I was hoping they would be much better:). Baked chicken skin, even fried, isn't always crispy to the point of being called a crackling. So I was excited to take the chicken skin to the crackling stage... this way I'd get rid of most of the fat and remain with all the flavor.
For some time now, I've been saving my chicken skin. I know... most people would toss it out. Not me. I've been keeping them in the freezer so that one day I could make a big batch of crispy chicken skin:). The day finally arrived. And all I can say is yum!! They were incredible. So light and crispy. Reminded me of chicharrones... especially the chicken skin pieces that were completely rendered of their fat.
My husband and I ate the chicken skin cracklings as a snack, and enjoyed every bite:). They were gone so quick, that all my plans for using them in a variety of recipes went out the door. I had big plans for them.... for chocolate chip cookies, in chocolate, with popcorn, in tacos, on top of egg sandwiches, and in all sorts of salads. I guess I'll just have to start saving the skins again:). If you like bacon, you'll love these... at least it would somewhat make sense:). Hope you enjoy...
Note: It is important to monitor the chicken skins as they are baking... you don't want them to burn... every oven is different, and chicken skins vary.
You will need:
chicken skin
salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 deg F
- line a sheet pan with parchment paper
2. Cover chicken skin with another parchment paper and place another equal size sheet pan on top. Add a couple of heavy oven-proof pots, or a cast iron skillet... I used a couple of small cast iron casserole pans.
3. Bake for about 40-45 minutes checking halfway, and a few times after that, to ensure chicken skins are not burning. Cook skin until crisp, being careful not to burn... the more fat is rendered, the crispier the crackling.
You can drain the fat that accumulates... a few minutes before the end of the cooking time, and then bake the skins uncovered until nice and crispy. You can likewise keep them covered throughout the whole cooking process. Keeping them covered eliminates splattering of fat all over the oven:).
11 comments:
I keep alternating between two extremes: the probable horror of the fat and cholesterol levels of this and the mouth-watering temptation to make this anyway. I'm sure my children and I would be fighting over every last scrap of this!
Nothingblows, Yes:)! Same thoughts I had initially... except I made it anyway:). There's really not much fat left after the skin is baked to the crackling stage. That alone should help you make the decision:). I think it's worth making... at least once.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope you give it a try.
G'day! I'm intrigued, too!
Would provide great texture...when I was little, used to eat the skin off the Thanksgiving turkey, so is no different except is crunchy!!! Thanks for posting this as love learning all things new!
Cheers! Joanne
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a bar I used to go to in the 80s served these during happy hour. It was great. I think the skin is the best part.
Joanne, Glad I could be of inspiration:). Yes, this is crunchy skin... much better than the turkey skin, though that has it's own charm:).
Ellen, I've been behind times:). Wish I knew of this earlier! There's a high end restaurant in L.A. that sells these as apps... so, they're obviously popular. I agree, the skin has such great flavor!
The problem with Chicken Skins is the difficulty in purchasing them, especially in the Northeast (Pennsylvania). When you ask butchers to sell them to you, they look at you like the devils horns are growing out of your head...."they feed them to DOGS and you are EATING them?". I usually fry mine....Clean, Pat Dry, Season & Dust with Flour first. Deep fry @ 350 (they soak up too much oil when fired flat in skillet). Drain and Drizzle with Honey and Hot Sauce...Serve Immediately. You can also Skip the hot and sweet and instead serve with Salsa Dip. I'm going to try your recepie...sounds much HEALTHIER!:-)...(Might be worse though because I will tell myself I can eat MORE because of less oil! HAHA!)LOL
Traci, Too funny:)... thanks for sharing your version. Sounds really delicious with the honey!
I love baking the skins, as the result I'm sure is similar to frying... they actually "fry" in their own rendered fat as they bake. The nice part is that you don't have to waste oil, as when frying. Give it a try, I think you'll love them:).
Thanks for stopping by...
I have a Philips Air Fryer and wondered how this would come out vs. oven baked?
newagetomboy, You know, I really am not familiar with the Air Fryer as I don't own one... However, it would definitely be worth trying out. It just might work... and if it doesn't work, you can always bake them:)
Sorry I can't be of much help, but thanks for stopping by.
I was wondering if you could take two cookie cooling racks .
put parchment paper on one .
Add skins . Put parchment paper on top of skins .
Add second cookie cooling rack upside down
Then weigh down with cast iron skillet and bake.
Anon, I don't see why not... But you would need to place it on a cookie sheet so it catches the fat that drips. It should work otherwise:)... Hope you enjoy!
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