Roast Chicken Skins A Salty, Crunchy Snack

Ditch your chips for chicken skin

Our favorite part of a roast chicken might be its perfectly crisped skin.

No longer simply an added value, chicken skin is now becoming a centerpiece in its own right. For good reason, we say: The skin delivers a punch of salty richness alongside a shattering crunch.

At Yusho in Chicago, chicken skin takes the place of bread, served as a snack and topped with pickled mustard seeds.

In Richmond, Virginia, chicken skins are fried and served as the centerpiece of a slider adorned with pickles and kimchee mayonnaise at The Roosevelt

To further our chicken skin education, we turned to Jason Fox at San Francisco's Commonwealth. He uses them in lieu of chips, calling them the "ultimate vessel."

He'll be schooling us when he comes to the Test Kitchen on September 5, 2012, as part of our Guest Chef Series (buy tickets here); he plans to serve the chicken skins as a crunchy pedestal to house-made fromage blanc and fresh herbs.

But Fox's ethereal skins are a cinch to replicate at home. Simply spread the uncooked skins on a baking sheet and cook them in an oven set to low heat for three hours, or until they're crisp. Then season with salt and enjoy–no roast chicken required.