Recipe: Cracklin’ Chicken

I cannot stress enough how much I detest cleaning chicken thighs.  But this recipe is absolutely worth all the trouble…and gagging. 

Ingredients:

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (approximately 4 pounds)

1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (remember, not all salts are the same!)

2 teaspoons ghee

2 teaspoons seasoning blend of choice (optional)

Directions:

1. Grab some chicken thighs and a sharp pair of kitchen shears. Blot the chicken dry with a paper towel. Then, starting at one end, carefully cut out the bone, making sure you don’t cut through the meat. Stay as close to the bone as possible. When you get to the other end, trim around the joint and cartilage and remove the bone. If extra skin or fat is flapping around and hanging off the thighs, you can trim it off as well. But don’t cut too much away, because the skin will shrink when you fry it.

2. Flatten the chicken with a meat pounder (or cut a gash in the thickest part of each thigh piece with your scissors) to ensure uniform cooking. Turn the chicken skin-side-up, and sprinkle salt on the skin from way up high, like it’s snowing. That way, the skin will be seasoned evenly.

3. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt the ghee in the pan and place four chicken thighs skin-side down in the hot pan.

4. Season the meat side with your favorite seasoning blend. Let the skin fry undisturbed until crispy and golden brown (around 7-10 minutes), rotating the pan 90 degrees at the halfway point to make sure the heat from the burner is uniformly distributed. Flip the chicken and cook for 3 more minutes or until cooked through.

Recipe inspiration found HERE.

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