My favorite part of any piece of chicken is the skin. Its so crispy and tasty—how could anyone resist it? Well....when it's not crispy. Chicken skin that's not crispy is just sad.
So how do you make sure you get crispy skin every time you cook skin-on chicken? Whether you're cooking a whole bird or just a breast or a thigh, these same tricks apply.
Start With Dry Skin
The dryer the chicken skin, the better it will crisp when cooked. When you unwrap your chicken from the package, pat it dry on all sides (and inside if it's whole) with paper towels. If you have time, pop it in the fridge uncovered overnight or even for an hour and let it dry out further in there.
Pull the Skin Tight
Sometimes chicken skin gets all bunched up in the package. (This is especially true for thighs) It needs a little tidying up before cooking. Make sure that each piece of chicken is evenly covered in skin—pull it, smooth it, do whatever you have to do to get it looking good and evenly distributed. Use kitchen sheers to trim off any unseemly or unwanted flabs of fat or skin—but don't trim it too much!
Cook It At High Heat
Whether you're roasting it in the oven or cooking it in a skillet on the stove, you want to start with high heat to get a nice crust going. On the stove, get some oil hot enough that it's almost smoking in a skillet, then sear your chicken, skin-side-down until it's nice and crisp. You don't need a skillet to get a nice crust though. If you crank your oven to at least 450°F and position a rack in the top third (the hottest part) of your oven and slide some chicken in there skin-side-up, the skin will be crisp by the time the chicken is cooked through. To help it out, baste it a couple times while it roasts with pan-drippings, butter, or oil.
Leave It Alone
The less fussing you do—in life and in cooking chicken—the better. When searing in a skillet, give the chicken skin time to actually sear and form a crust. If you push it around before it's done, the skin might stick to the skillet and tear. It can take up to 5 minutes, but you can start checking after three. For those first three minutes though, sit on your hands if you have to in order to keep yourself from getting all pushy. In the oven, the less flipping and poking and turning you do to your chicken the better, since each time you try to move it you're risking tearing or puncturing the skin.
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