This recipe is inspired by my mom. I’ve used the same ingredients and just tweaked a couple of the cooking instructions. I love how simple this is to make. The way my mom cooks it, the skin always comes out crispy and close to (but not) burned. The skin is salty, extra crispy, and… wow. YUM. And the meat comes out so juicy. I’ve actually had a friend bite into this and say, “F*** this is good!”
Though I haven’t had problems getting crispy skin, I’ve heard a lot of tips for it and decided to try cutting slits into the skin to see what would happen. The logic is that cutting the skin helps drain/render the fat, making the skin crispier. The skin came out crisp, but not as crispy as my mom’s, so I’m going to skip that step next time. You can try it on a few pieces and see which skin you like better (with or without slits). Slits or no, the meat in this recipe comes out ridiculously tender and juicy, as you can see from the pictures.
Though I haven’t had problems getting crispy skin, I’ve heard a lot of tips for it and decided to try cutting slits into the skin to see what would happen. The logic is that cutting the skin helps drain/render the fat, making the skin crispier. The skin came out crisp, but not as crispy as my mom’s, so I’m going to skip that step next time. You can try it on a few pieces and see which skin you like better (with or without slits). Slits or no, the meat in this recipe comes out ridiculously tender and juicy, as you can see from the pictures.
This dish is best served immediately, but you can also make this ahead and refrigerate it for future consumption as long as you don’t mind that the skin won’t be crispy anymore. I love cold chicken – it’s great for my favorite picnic meal: cold chicken and potato salad! It’s also delicious as a leftover in general. For lunch this week, I sliced up the chicken to make some very full-flavored, delicious sandwiches.
When you buy chicken, save yourself money and ensure the best flavor by choosing thighs or quarter legs, with skin on and bone in. Chicken breasts dry out very easily. The chicken skin helps ensure that the meat stays juicy (think of it as a protective shield from the heat) and the bone, in my experience, makes the meat more flavorful. In any case, I eat marrow, so I also choose bone in for that reason. If you’ve got to use other parts of the chicken, I highly recommend brining it before cooking. Nothing ruins a meal as quickly as dry or tough meat.
Broiled chicken serves as a great center piece for an endless amount of marinades and rubs. Experiment with your favorite types!
Serves 6-8.
Yum… look at all that juice!
yum yum yum :)
ReplyDeleteI made this last night for dinner. Left out the scallions because I didn't have them in my fridge. The chicken came out juicy and crisp and delicious.
ReplyDeleteI broiled them skin side down a little less than 15 minutes and broiled them skin side up a little longer than 2 minutes, the skin was bubbling when I took them out - perhaps that was too long but it tasted perfect and crisp.