The Chicken Carving Tip To Keep In Mind For The Crispiest Skin

Besides the myriad ways you can reuse a leftover roasted chicken, one of the best things about it is the crispy skin in all its salty and delicious, and decidedly unhealthy, glory. But, wanting a perfect roasted juicy chicken with crispy skin sounds like they would be opposite missions; you can't reliably have both without sacrificing the other. Getting the skin crispy is step one, but keeping the skin crispy after resting and carving is another matter because it always ends up rubbery and limp, which is a bummer.

The trick is to avoid the juices when you're carving the chicken; they will soften the skin if they make too much contact. But, if you don't have room for the whole carving operation on your cutting board, use two. Granted, that means an extra item to clean up after the meal. But you cooked, so someone else can do the dishes.

Roasting the chicken was the easy part. Now comes the hard part because your chicken will likely be super juicy when you carve it. The first task — after resting — is to separate the legs from the rest of the body before tackling the wings and breast meat — like quartering a chicken. Using short strokes, slice through the skin where the thigh meets the body, and gently pry the leg and thigh away to reveal the joint. Pulling it further will pop it out of the joint — it should pop out with no problem. Then, slice right through everything with a sharp knife or boning knife.

At this point there will be juices on the cutting board, so grab another one and place all your fresh cuts there to keep your crisp skin from getting wet. You can leave the legs whole, or slice through them by finding the joint between the drumstick and the thigh, which is easier if you flip the leg over.  Find a spot with no juice on your first cutting board and follow the fat line along the joint. Repeat with the other leg, then move on to the wings, and finally the breast, making sure to avoid any spots on your board where juice dripped. 

The best way to ensure crispy skin is to do most of the legwork before you roast the chicken. There are many ways to achieve crispy skin; you just have to find the right method that works for you and the time and space you have available.

Some swear by dry brining the chicken and letting it rest, uncovered in the refrigerator. The salt dries and tightens the skin so it gets all crackly when roasting in the oven. Another method is to add baking powder to the dry brine mix, which through the magic of science will give you the crispiest chicken ever. You can also employ a trick that Peking duck chefs use to get that trademark crispy duck skin. Slap on a pair of gloves, gently separate the skin from the meat, and then season. This is so the fat has somewhere to go as it renders instead of staying underneath the skin and making things soggy.

Last but not least, do not put the chicken in a foil tent as it rests. The tent will trap any steam being let off, which will soften the chicken skin and leave it limp and rubbery.