A Simple Trick for the Crispiest Chicken Skin

I get excited about crunchy food textures and crispy chicken skin is one of my favorites. After enjoying it for years at one of my favorite local restaurants, I finally figured out the secret behind that crispy magnificence. All you need is salt and some patience for getting that craveable, crispy chicken skin at home.

Start With Salt

Moisture is the enemy when it comes to achieving a crispy texture. That’s why the goal is to find ways to remove it. The best and easiest way to accomplish this is by “dry-brining” the chicken. Dry brining involves applying a heavy coating of salt to the skin of the chicken, then giving the salt time to do its magic. “The salt will draw out moisture from the skin, as well as provide moisture deep within,” says Matt Moore, author of Butcher on the Block. 

Any salt will work, but Moore recommends kosher because it has a nice coarse texture, making it easy for sprinkling, spreading, and adhering. You’ll need about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of chicken. If you prefer fine salt, use half as much by volume.

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The Process

Moore recommends salting your chicken at least one hour in advance if using chicken pieces, and ideally 24 hours if you’re working with a whole bird. For best results, he suggests sprinkling the salt over the chicken and then, if needed, rubbing it into all of the crevices. Next, place it skin-side up on a wire rack on a sheet pan before refrigerating. 

Leave it uncovered, he suggests, since “the fridge is an incredibly dry environment which also helps draw moisture from the skin.” To keep things food-safe, keep the bird on the bottom shelf, with some distance between it and other foods. Be sure to clean the surfaces once you remove the bird and before you reload the refrigerator.

Ready for Cooking

Once you’ve dry brined your chicken, it’s time to cook it. Resist the urge to rinse off the salt (that will undo all of your progress in drying out the skin) and instead, take it right to the heat. Moore recommends pan-searing for getting that ultra-crispy chicken skin.

Heat oil in a large skillet, add the chicken skin-side down, and cook over medium-high heat until golden and crispy, then flip and cook until the internal temperature reaches 155 F (you’ll want to transfer bone-in chicken pieces and whole birds to a 425 F oven to finish cooking through). Let the chicken rest, uncovered, for five minutes before enjoying the crispy chicken skin of your dreams.