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What can I do with piles of chicken skin?


Afterburner

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So, continuing down my path towards actually cooking real food for dinner every night instead of microwaving Hot Pockets for dinner every night, tonight I mangled...er...deboned a whole chicken.

Skinless, boneless chicken breasts: $3.99/lb

Whole chicken (which, after a suitable amount of work, contains, in addition to other stuff, 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts): $0.89/lb (it was on sale)

The economic argument here is compelling.

But I digress.

Anyhow, since I was cutting this chicken up for the express purpose of having two (2) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, I removed the skin. And then...had no clue what to do with it.

I had asked my foodie friend if skin was good for stock, and he said "Not really. It adds more fat than it adds flavor, and you're just gonna hafta skim that out anyways."

And I can't throw it into the trashcan because I have a dog who will gladly dig it out.

And I'm a little hesitant to throw it down the disposal.

So what can I do with this stuff?

* AB drinks one of those "Guiness Pub Draught" beers, with the nitrogen cannister in the bottom of the can.

* AB wonders what Budweiser would taste like with one of those...

<AB> . o O (Like shit, still, I should think.)

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Salt it, bake it until crispy and then use it on top of salads or (let's be honest) eat it straight out of the oven like a potato chip.

But why on earth would you want a boneless, skinless chicken breast?

edit: oops, I was too slow. Great minds think alike, I guess.

Edited by Behemoth (log)
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I doubt there's adequate material there to say, render chicken fat from it, so it's going to be crackling or nothing.

Behemoth is however, right: chicken breast with the skin on allows you to do things like keep the chicken breast moist while cooking, having something to slip flavoring agents under and adding another texture and related flavor to the final dish.

Unless you're doing something like microwaving the pieces straight, keep the skins on the next chicken you section.

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chicken skin makes great yakitori! Thread it onto a skewer brush it with some yakitori sauce and grill.

I also once saw a recipe for a pseudo Peking duck, made by cooking chicken skins until crisp then adding then to Chinese style pancakes with some hoisin sauce, cucumbers and scallions....

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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I also once saw a recipe for a pseudo Peking duck, made by cooking chicken skins until crisp then adding then to Chinese style pancakes with some hoisin sauce, cucumbers and scallions....

That's a cool idea and beats that heck out of trying to inflate a chicken. What did they use to substitute for the slivers of duck meat? Slivers of chicken I presume…

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I also once saw a recipe for a pseudo Peking duck, made by cooking chicken skins until crisp then adding then to Chinese style pancakes with some hoisin sauce, cucumbers and scallions....

That's a cool idea and beats that heck out of trying to inflate a chicken. What did they use to substitute for the slivers of duck meat? Slivers of chicken I presume…

nothing! it was just chicken skin and nothing else...

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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you can render it over med-high heat and save the fat that runs out; this is what Jews call "Schmaltz," and it is a valuable cooking medium and ingredient. Use it instead of butter the next time you make roux, and you will introduce a nice chicken flavor to your dish. Use it to fry in, as long as you're not using super high heat (the schmaltz doesn't have a really high smoke point, as is the case with a lot of saturated fats).

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render it with salt like everyone says. then crush it over pasta,,,rissoto or a good chicken and dumpling. i use it pureed into a ravioli filling ,,,but maybe a crush it into a meatball filling or spring roll. hmmmmmm the ideas are there,,,just think intense chicken flavor.enjoy! :wink:

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Damn ... I need to upload some pictures here.

Peppyre and I did duck confit last week, and the duck fat she picked up from the butcher was riddled with little bits of duck skin. Once the fat was rendered (and happily confit-ing the duck legs) we took the bits of skin, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and put them under the broiler for a bit to get them all crispy.

The result was little, Freeto-sized bits of crispy duck skin ... some with bits of meat still attached. I've conditioned myself over the last 10 years to not eat poultry skin (fat issues) but this was just too damn good! At the very least I have a bag of really fancy dog treats!

A.

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Damn ... I need to upload some pictures here. 

Peppyre and I did duck confit last week, and the duck fat she picked up from the butcher was riddled with little bits of duck skin.  Once the fat was rendered (and happily confit-ing the duck legs) we took the bits of skin, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and put them under the broiler for a bit to get them all crispy.

The result was little, Freeto-sized bits of crispy duck skin ... some with bits of meat still attached.  I've conditioned myself over the last 10 years to not eat poultry skin (fat issues) but this was just too damn good!  At the very least I have a bag of really fancy dog treats!

A.

Ok, forget the chicken skin, Im drooling over the fabulous kitchens you designed.

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Absolutely!!! I have been waiting for this post, what a great thing. We used to serve a chicken skin salad for staff meal at my restaurant in Provi before we closed. It consisted of heriloom tomato scrap wedges, thin red onion, roasted corn, balsmac vinaigrette, large soft crutons of toasted bread (think panzanella) and then these gorgeous pieces of deep fried until crispy chicken skin. It was the best!! We do really need a drooling smillee...

Tonyy13

Owner, Big Wheel Provisions

tony_adams@mac.com

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Salt it, bake it until crispy and then use it on top of salads or (let's be honest) eat it straight out of the oven like a potato chip.

But why on earth would you want a boneless, skinless chicken breast?

Why on earth, indeed? :raz:

edit: it occurs to me that Behemoth and others may not know that particular eGullet in-joke....so click here, here, here, and here.

Soba

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And yes, you are going to skim the fat off your chicken stock but the fat still imparts flavor. Think of it this way -- you don't skin your chicken before making stock. I throw all that in a bag in the freezer, rescued carcass parts, bones, skin. When I've collected as much as I want I make stock. A little -- just enough for a meal if I need it -- or a full load.

Judith Love

North of the 30th parallel

One woman very courteously approached me in a grocery store, saying, "Excuse me, but I must ask why you've brought your dog into the store." I told her that Grace is a service dog.... "Excuse me, but you told me that your dog is allowed in the store because she's a service dog. Is she Army or Navy?" Terry Thistlewaite

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When whole chickens go on sale, I purchase them two at a tiime. Save the wings for Buffalo Style, debone (don't forget the oysters!) , the carcass and leg thigh bones of the two birds are the base for chicken soup of whatever ethnic variety you want. The rest of the boneless meat can be used any way you want. The skin is rendered and the Schmaltz used as described. The cracklins ala duck are used as is or on salads. Had duck Pomme Frites the other night!

After the soup is done, you can debone the cooked chicken that was left on the bones and use it in a chicken dish like tetrazinni. Only problem is that it is mushy. We always add uncooked chicken to our stock about 30 minutes before serving. The texture of the chicken is much better than letting it cook for a couple of hours in the stock. -Dick

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