Sometimes poultry needs to be jazzed up – like a lot. Luckily you won’t have to scroll through countless recipes to find an easy and tasty solution. Use this one surprising ingredient and you’ll have the crispiest chicken or turkey skins, you’ll swear it’s from a deep fryer.
The secret to crispy poultry skin is baking powder – uh how? Rubbing poultry skin with baking powder increases the skin’s pH, which allows the protein to denature (breakdown) faster and more evenly. Don’t try to substitute baking powder with baking soda or else you’ll get an off-putting, metallic taste.
Making this rub is super easy, just combine three teaspoons of baking powder with three tablespoons of kosher salt, rub it over a bird that is cleaned and prepped. You can use this rub on wings, thighs, breasts, and even whole birds themselves (think about it, a crispy turkey sounds like the best Thanksgiving turkey ever).
You can either let the meat rest overnight or cook the meat right away. Keeping the meat elevated is the key factor for completely crispy skin, so use a metal rack, shaped aluminum foil, or even hardy vegetables or bread.
This method saves you both the oil and the mess that comes with deep-frying. Simple, easy, and no crazy ingredients, that’s the sort of trick I want to have up my sleeve.