Fried chicken skin (chicken skin cracklings) makes a tasty, crispy snack for low carb keto diets. Perfect for those who don’t like or eat pork!
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Do you throw away the raw chicken skin from chicken thighs and chicken breasts you buy from the store? After making these crispy chicken skin chips, you won’t want to throw away that chicken skin any more! Seriously, these are so good my kids were fighting oven them. But don’t eat too many at one sitting because they are very rich.
What are chicken skin cracklings, chicharrones, or chips?
Cracklings are pieces of animal fat and skin that have been fried until crispy and seasoned with salt and other seasonings. Chicharrones specifically refers to pork – a misnomer for chicken skin. This recipe is closer to pork rinds – which includes just the skin and no fat.
Does Fried Chicken Skin Have Carbs?
Fried chicken skin a great keto snack that is high in healthy fats, moderate in protein, and has zero carbs, depending on the seasoning you choose. These zero carb chips are a wonderful low carb alternative for your favorite dip ((https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/herbed-crackers-bacon-horseradish-dip/) or topping with guacamole, sour cream or salsa.
How to make crispy chicken skin in the oven.
Making pork rinds at home is a laborious task. Pork skin is very thick, tough and fatty. It must go through an hours-long process of boiling to soften the skin before baking can even begin. Skins are baked low and low for 2-3 hours in order to completely render out all the fat and produce that that nice, crispy texture. That’s a lot of work for a snack.
Chicken skin is much easier because it’s thinner, contains less fat and cooks up quickly. The best skin for making oven fried chicken skin comes from chicken breasts or thighs. The skin from these cuts are easy to remove in one piece and can be laid out flat on a baking sheet.
Start by preheating the oven to 400 F. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Line a stainless-steel rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. I like this parchment paper from Costco. It comes in a two-pack at the store, is very good quality and each roll that lasts forever.
Using a sharp knife, remove the chicken skin from the thighs or chicken breasts. Trim any large pieces of fat from the edges. Scrape away any extra fat or skin from the underside of the skin.
Moisture will prevent the skins from crisping, so be sure to dry the skins completely on paper towels. Then stretch them out onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet in a single layer.
Season lightly with salt and pepper or add some extra flavor with your favorite herb seasoning blend or dry rub. Go easy on the seasoning because the chicken skin shrinks as it cooks (as much as 50%), concentrating the seasoning. The chicken skin frys in its own fat and becomes very crispy.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until browned and crisp. They should be a deep golden brown, a little darker than the photos. Remove from the pan and drain excess fat on paper towels.
How Long will Chicken Skins Last?
Let the chicken skins cool completely before moving them to an airtight container. Since homemade chicken skins don’t contain all the preservatives found in store bought pork rinds, it’s important to store them in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage.
Chicken skins should be eaten within three days. If the chicken skins become stale, simply place them on a sheet pan in a 350 F oven for several minutes to re-crisp.
Oven Fried Chicken Skin Cracklings (Chicharrones)
Ingredients
- 8 raw chicken skin pieces from thighs or breasts
- salt and pepper
- seasoning of your choice
Instructions
NOTES
- I struggled finding nutritional information for chicken skin from one thigh or chicken breast as sizes vary. I did find information per 1 ounce (28 g) of chicken skin, so that is what I used to calculate nutritional information for this snack. Actually, the serving size is 2 pieces of skin, but the actual food weight will vary depending size.
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 F and place rack to middle position. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Method
- Remove the chicken skin from the thighs or chicken breasts. Trim any large pieces of fat from the edges with a knife. Scrape away any extra fat or skin on the underside of the skin.
- Dry the skins completely on paper towels and stretch out onto the parchment paper in a single layer.
- Season lightly with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning. Go easy because the chicken skin will shrink (as much as 50%) as it cooks, concentrating the seasoning. The chicken skin will fry in its own fat.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until browned and crisp. They should be a deep golden brown, a little darker than the photos. Remove from the pan and drain excess fat on paper towels.
- Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Place on a sheet pan in a 350 F oven for several minutes to re-crisp if needed.
- Makes 8 oven fried chicken skin chips. Nutritional Info: per 1 ounce/28g: Calories: 126g, Fat: 12g, Carbs: 0, Protein: 4.5, NET CARBS: 0
Nutrition
Hi Kim, do you know or have you tried using your fried chicken skin as “breading” in place of “pork rinds”? for like breading Orange Chicken? I do not eat pork… or can you suggest another alternative for a BREADING agent for Keto/Paleo recipes?
Thank you so much!!
Donna
Hi Donna. I don’t think the chicken skin would work like pork rinds as a breading. Some people like to use unflavored whey protein powder as a coating. I would season it. Or you could use half almond flour and half Parmesan cheese in the green can (it’s more powdery) as a breading. -Kim
I make these, and since I am from Maryland, I use Old Bay seasoning to flavor them. They are delicious! I call them “Chickarrones”.
I do mine in a deep skillet in the oven, unseasoned, so I can save the fat for use as schmalz. I buy chicken skin by the pound from a ranch that has its own market. They raise cows, pigs bison, goat, lamb, and various poultry. Everything is organic and free-range. You pay a premium price but the quality is unmistakable. Their products are worth every penny.
I made these for a race day snack and they were a hit! I am making them again and placing on top of chicken and rice for a crunch factor.
Thank you!!
So glad that I found this recipe! Have wanted to make chicken skin crackling for years, but never had 1) enough chicken skin or 2) a good method. Now that I have both, I can confirm that everything worked exactly as the recipe said it would!
I’m so happy, April. -Kim
Why will mine not puff up? I’ve tried and tried and it just doesn’t happen:(
Hi Natalie. I’m not sure why yours aren’t puffing up. I turn the skins over and scrape the fat off of the undersides with a butter knife. Then, I dry them completely with a paper towel and put them fat-side down on the cookie sheet before baking. -Kim
Oh my gosh, Kim! You’re a life saver! We don’t eat pork and soooo many tasty keto recipes call for pork rinds. I thought, “for surely somebody makes chicken rinds”. The reviews of “store bought” chicken chicharrones on Amazon are very low. I felt discouraged until I found your very easy recipe😊
Thank you, I appreciate your work in the kitchen for us!
Thank you T.J.! -Kim
I have always done this with the chicken skins, l season it pop it in the toaster oven and put it out for my husband to munch on whilst l cook dinner, he loves them.
I love that you give your husband a little treat while he waits for dinner, Tommie! Thanks for sharing. -Kim
Glad I tried this! I’ve been wasting chicken skiing for a few weeks and now I have a DELICIOUS Cajun seasoned snack. Thank you for sharing!
I was watching Iron Chef and never thought to use chicken skins as crackling!! Oh.my.gooooosh…. thank you for your ‘recipe’, I just needed the cooking time and happened across your site via google. I did cook a little longer though. We keep all our pork lard, so now I’ve started a jar for chicken lard!! I used legs and backs, deboned and deskinned them. You are right though… I had to hide them until dinner was done lol. 17 pieces for us, big fam and they are gone in one sitting lol. Thank you for sharing.
Never thought to do chicken crackling, we have always done pork. Cooking time I increased and seasoning was canning salt and a concoction of garlic pepper seasoning my hubs makes. Spot on recipe. Thank you. I will never ever disgard chicken skins again!
Completely dry is next to impossible unless u wanna let them sit a while. Maybe i need to buy Super Bounty. Anyway, turned out great.
Making curry chicken and just skinned the bird. Came on looking for this and found your recipe.
LOVE that their oven baked. Seasoned with salt and unsalted cajun seasoning, about to put them in. Skin side up or down on parchment?
Will let you know how they turn out.
Tried it tonight. They turned out great!
Good! My kids love this and I like that the skin doesn’t go to waste. Have a nice day. -Kim
Oh WOWers!!! I was just looking at purchasing bagged fried chicken skins online. Not now!
Off to call my local butcher shop for their “scraps”.
As always thanks so much! xo
Before seeing this recipe, I tried making them in the toaster oven but they got burned and were inedible. I’m going to try your method. I bet they’d be good with a cinnamon sugar topping!
No way Kim, heee …I had the pork skin called pork rind from http://www.gtanutrition.ca but I cannot eat chicken skin. lol
However thanks for the recipe.
I had my first chicken skins at a little Spanish tapas restaurant. They were so delicious!! We ended up ordering a second batch. I had no idea they were so easy to make at home! I can’t wait to try them. Thanks Kim, for the great instructions and recipe!! YUM!