AA - Crispiest Poultry Ever-Trick

By stancec44

But of all the handy tips and methods I've learned over my years at Serious Eats, there's one poultry-related trick that I turn to more than any other. In fact, I use it literally every single time I cook skin-on chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. That trick is a sprinkling of baking powder, and it'll get you the crispiest, crackliest bites of fatty, salty skin imaginable, whether you're cooking just one thigh, a plate of wings, or an entire bird.

Ingredients

• to skin's surface area, allowing it to develop a crunchy texture once cooked.
• to skin's surface area, allowing it to develop a crunchy texture once cooked.
• to skin's surface area, allowing it to develop a crunchy texture once cooked.

Preparation

Step 1

To reap those benefits, simply combine one part baking powder with three to four parts kosher salt (about a teaspoon of baking powder per tablespoon of kosher salt will work), add some black pepper to taste, then sprinkle it evenly over the surface of the skin. Then—and this is key—let it rest, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. This resting period doesn't just give the baking powder time to form all those little bubbles; it also lets the salt do its thing, dry-brining the meat for more intensely flavored, better-seasoned results. It's a whole lot of bang for very little buck, and all it really requires is a bit of advance planning and some space in the fridge. Put the method to work on our classic roast chicken, your Thanksgiving turkey, a Christmas goose, these baked Buffalo chicken wings (that really taste fried), or pretty much any skin-on poultry preparation you please. Oh yeah, and while we're at it, it'll totally work on pork skin, too. You're welcome.