Best of the Best, Day Two: Crisp-Skinned Roast Chicken

In honor of the Olympics, we’ll be sharing the keys to one of our gold-medal worthy recipes every day until the closing ceremonies on August 12th.
 

When it comes to roast chicken, we’ve always put juiciness and evenly cooked meat first and have simply made do with so-so skin. But chicken skin has much more potential—it should crackle against your teeth with every bite before melting into rich chicken flavor. So, why not find a method that guarantees both?

WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE A WINNER

• Before allowing our bird to dry out in the fridge, we rubbed it with a mixture of salt, pepper, and baking powder. The final ingredient helped the skin dehydrate more readily, enhancing the effects of our overnight air-dry and producing a crunchier texture.
• To prevent any accumulated juices from turning our once-dry skin wet and flabby, we gave them a way to escape: We poked holes in the fat deposits of each breast half and thigh and separated the skin from the meat. This allowed the rendered fat to flow freely from the skin.
• Finally, roasting the chicken breast at a high heat sped up browning and ensured our skin was shatteringly crisp by the time our meat was cooked through.

Want to try it out for yourself? Here’s our recipe for Crisp-Skinned Roast Chicken for free until August 12.