I have failed to make crispy chicken skin in many different ways. This one worked better than any of my previous attempts. Bone in skin-on chicken thighs (salted) went into a 155 degree water bath for four hours. Tastes differ. I like this time and temp for thighs and the result is tender along the lines of braised thighs.
After coming out of the hot water, the thighs went into ice bath until cold. When they came out of the ice, I realized that I would never get good contact between the skin and the hot surface, so I deboned them. A small sharp paring knife made quick work of it. With the bone missing the thighs fell open causing the skin to take a somewhat flat form.
I heated the smooth side of Grillgrates over one burner on my Weber Genesis. The surface temp of the smooth surface was about 400 when the chicken went on. I kept the cover open and kept the temp of the surface between 300 and 400. This low heat allowed the fat in the skin to render. The thighs went onto the grill skin side down and got good contact with the smooth side of Grillgrates. The skin stuck, but I stayed patient and it released on its own.
Once golden, I flipped the thighs for a quick brown of the non-skin side and served. The skin was crisp but did not come loose from the meat when I cut into it.
The only flaw was that I had a couple of bites of chicken that were a smidgen dry. I assume the grill allowed the temp of the meat to go a little bit to high. On the other hand, it was the best bare skin-on chicken thigh I have ever made.
The pilaf in the picture below is Cooks Illustrated basic pilaf (a simple but remarkably tasty starch).
After coming out of the hot water, the thighs went into ice bath until cold. When they came out of the ice, I realized that I would never get good contact between the skin and the hot surface, so I deboned them. A small sharp paring knife made quick work of it. With the bone missing the thighs fell open causing the skin to take a somewhat flat form.
I heated the smooth side of Grillgrates over one burner on my Weber Genesis. The surface temp of the smooth surface was about 400 when the chicken went on. I kept the cover open and kept the temp of the surface between 300 and 400. This low heat allowed the fat in the skin to render. The thighs went onto the grill skin side down and got good contact with the smooth side of Grillgrates. The skin stuck, but I stayed patient and it released on its own.
Once golden, I flipped the thighs for a quick brown of the non-skin side and served. The skin was crisp but did not come loose from the meat when I cut into it.
The only flaw was that I had a couple of bites of chicken that were a smidgen dry. I assume the grill allowed the temp of the meat to go a little bit to high. On the other hand, it was the best bare skin-on chicken thigh I have ever made.
The pilaf in the picture below is Cooks Illustrated basic pilaf (a simple but remarkably tasty starch).
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