Nothing beats a juicy, oven-roasted chicken with crispy skin. With a little prep time, you can achieve perfect crispiness using salt and another common kitchen staple.
Photo by J. Kenji López-Alt.
Dry-brining a chicken will give you great flavour, but you’ll need more than salt to get that crispy texture you want on the outside. J. Kenji López-Alt at Serious Eats says the secret is baking powder (not bicarbonate of soda). Combine one part baking powder with three to four parts kosher salt, add a little black pepper to taste and sprinkle it over the chicken. Now let it rest in your refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before you stick it in the oven.
The baking powder raises the skin’s pH levels so the proteins break down more efficiently. The baking powder also mixes with the chicken’s juices, creating carbon dioxide bubbles that increase the skin’s surface area, giving it a crunchier texture when the bird starts to cook. You can use the same trick for turkey too.
For the Crispiest Chicken (and Turkey) Skin, Grab the Baking Powder [Serious Eats]
Comments
6 responses to “Get Super Crispy Chicken Skin With Baking Powder”
We tried this the other night, super crispy chicken skin that made you want to vomit with the bubbling baking powder aftertaste. I could still taste it the next day.
I’m not sure if there is a difference between AU and US baking powder, or if we just did something wrong?
Are you sure it was baking powder as opposed to baking soda or bicarb soda? I know I personally tend to use the terms interchangeably, but in a recipe like this the distinction is pretty important!
The label on the Tupperware says Baking Powder, but I suspect it was bicarb soda, not baking powder.
I’ve used this trick on chicken wings and it’s great! But definitely it has to be baking powder, NOT baking soda.
Yep, tried this on chicken wings a few weeks back. They were amazingly crispy and in no way tasted like anything except chicken and salt. That said, I’m pretty sure my recipe was 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp baking powder for 20 wingettes/drumettes.
In fact, here’s the recipe I followed:
http://thecookful.com/bake-chicken-wings-crispy/
Highly recommended.
This was the recipe I tried: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/crispy-honey-sriracha-chicken-wings.html It also comes with a video version.