Best Chicken Skin Croutons Recipes

LEMON CHICKEN WITH CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Take the giblets out of the chicken and wash it inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers. Toss the onion with a little olive oil in a small roasting pan. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle the inside of the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the lemons inside the chicken. Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels, brush it with the melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
• Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Cover with foil and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The onions may burn, but the flavor is good.)
• Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil until very hot. Lower the heat to medium-low and saute the bread cubes, tossing frequently, until nicely browned, 8 to
• 10 minutes. Add more olive oil, as needed, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place the croutons on a serving platter. Slice the chicken and place it, plus all the pan juices, over the croutons. Sprinkle with salt and serve warm.

CRISPY CHICKEN SKINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Gently pull the skin off the chicken breasts (reserve the breast meat for another use), pat dry and cut in thirds lengthwise. Place them skin-side up in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
• Mix the salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary together in a small bowl, crushing the spices with a spoon. Sprinkle the chicken skins with some of the spice mix; it makes more than you need, but you can keep it for another day. Cover the skins with a layer of parchment and top with a baking sheet to weigh it down, making sure the top sheet presses down on the skins.
• Bake until the skins are browned and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet and parchment and transfer the skins to a plate lined with paper towel to cool and crisp up.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH CROUTONS AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Rinse chicken, pat thoroughly dry with paper towels, and allow to reach room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (199 degrees C).
• Rub olive oil over outside of chicken and sprinkle skin and inside of cavity generously with salt. Rub black pepper and chopped rosemary onto chicken skin. Place 2 or 3 chunks of onion and French bread into cavity, along with whole rosemary sprig. Place chicken into a cast iron skillet and arrange remaining onion and bread chunks around the bird; squeeze lemon juice over the chicken, onion, and bread cubes.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes and turn chicken over so breast side is down. Bake 30 more minutes; turn chicken back over so breast side is up. Bake until chicken is browned and the juices run clear, an additional 30 minutes (90 total minutes roasting time). An instant-read meat thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let chicken rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing chicken meat and serving with onion and bread cubes.

CHICKEN CROUTON HOT DISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the broth, soup, sour cream and butter. Stir in croutons and chicken. , Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 20-25 minutes.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CROUTONS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. When hot, put a cast-iron skillet in the oven to preheat, about 5 minutes.
• Dry the chicken with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Generously season the chicken inside and out with the salt mixture. Stuff the chicken cavity with the thyme, rosemary, garlic and onion.
• Slice the baguette on the bias into five 2-inch-thick slices. Spread some butter on one side of each slice. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and arrange the baguette slices buttered-side down in the center of the skillet. Place the chicken on the baguette slices, making sure all of the bread is covered by the chicken. Roast until the chicken is golden brown, an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees F and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Remove the baguette slices from the skillet and reserve.
• For the pan sauce: While the chicken is resting, put the skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in the wine and scrape with a wooden spoon to remove all the brown bits. Add the chicken stock and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. If any juices from the chicken have collected on the cutting board, pour them into the skillet now. Add in the butter piece by piece, waiting for each to melt before stirring in the next piece. Stir in the rosemary and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
• For serving: Carve the chicken and serve with the baguette slices, pan sauce, Dijon mustard and Bistro Salad.
• Combine the lettuce and herbs in a medium bowl. In a glass jar or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, vinegar, shallots, mustard, salt and pepper. Shake to combine. Pour over the salad and toss. Serve immediately.

CHICKEN-SKIN CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the skin flat on a baking sheet, making sure not to let the pieces overlap; sprinkle with salt.
• Roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until the skin releases easily from the pan. Flip the pieces and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until it's very crisp. Remove the pan from the oven; put the skin on paper towels and reserve the fat. Crumble into a salad or serve as a premeal snack, with more salt if necessary.

SPRING SALAD WITH CRISPY CHICKEN AND BACONY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in center of oven; preheat to 475ºF. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Using kitchen shears, remove bones, keeping skin and flesh intact; discard bones. Season chicken all over with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.
• Heat a medium cast-iron or heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Sear chicken skin side down, undisturbed, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until fat renders and skin is golden brown, 4-6 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate. Carefully pour off all but 2 tsp. fat and wipe off any fat that drips onto side or bottom of skillet. Return chicken to skillet skin side up. Transfer to oven and roast chicken, tenting skillet with foil if skin becomes too dark halfway through, until skin crisps and meat is cooked through, 8-12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until just crispy, 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a large heatproof bowl. Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. fat. Heat fat in skillet over medium. Add bread in an even layer, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook, turning pieces occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat; add 1 Tbsp. vinegar and toss until absorbed. Let cool a few minutes, then taste and season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer croutons to bowl with bacon.
• Remove chicken from oven and transfer to a plate; reserve skillet with fat and pan drippings. Let chicken cool 5-10 minutes, then cut into 1" pieces.
• Cook shallot, peas, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper in reserved skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, until shallots are softened and peas are cooked, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in oil and remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar (mixture will bubble) with a heatproof spatula. (If you want to ensure bright green peas, cook them separately in a small saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave and sprinkle over top of salad after plating.)
• Add escarole, fennel, and radishes to bowl with bacon and croutons. Pour warm dressing over. Toss to combine and slightly wilt greens.
• Mound salad among plates; nestle in chicken pieces. Top with mint. Serve immediately.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FISH-SAUCE BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and pepper. (The fish-sauce butter is plenty salty, so don't overdo the salt here.) Arrange the chicken skin-side up on a sheet pan and drizzle the oil over the chicken skin, coating it evenly. Roast until the chicken is light gold and the sheet pan is pooling with hot, rendered chicken fat, about 25 minutes.
• Take the sheet pan out of the oven, scatter the bread around the chicken and toss gently to coat in the chicken fat. Place the pan back in the oven and roast until the chicken is golden, crispy and sizzling (you'll hear it), about 15 minutes.
• While the chicken roasts, combine the brown sugar, fish sauce and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, occasionally swirling the pan or stirring the sauce with a wooden spoon, until bubbling vigorously and the mixture has reduced by about half, 2 to 3 minutes. This part is fun: Turn off the heat and add the butter, constantly swirling the pan or stirring with a wooden spoon, until all of the butter has melted and incorporated into the fish sauce mixture.
• To serve, scatter the cilantro all over the chicken and bread and spoon some of the fish-sauce butter over each chicken thigh, reserving some to add to each plate for dipping the chicken and croutons while eating (which is divine).

GARLIC AND THYME ROASTED CHICKEN WITH CRISPY DRIPPINGS CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange oven rack so that it is in center of oven. Lay bread slices in a thick, heavy-duty metal roasting pan in one layer. (Try not to use a thin or dark colored pan, which may cause bread to burn: see note.) Drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Rub 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper inside cavity of chicken. Stuff cavity with garlic, bay leaf, lemon and thyme. Rub outside of chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle all over with remaining salt and pepper. Place it breast side up on bread.
• Roast chicken until it is deeply browned and juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a knife, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve chicken with bread from pan.