Scraping chicken skin

Goddahavit

Goddahavit

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Hello, all, have my first comp coming up in a month or so, so I have been trying this bite through skin thing....

Well, it sounds easy enough, scrape the skin, to take the fat off.

Well, I'm not having much luck, am I missing something?

Can anyone give me an idea how to cut or scrape this off? I thought I was using a sharp knife, I tried holding the blade straight up and down, and scraping, but nothing seemed to come off.

i tried slicing it off but now I have holes, lol not so good.

obviously I'm missing the technique, any ideas out there?

Thanks, Eric
 
Part of the scraping process is to remove the extra fat found on the inside of the skin. The other part is to actually make small holes on the membrane to allow the remaining fat to render out on to the meat....

Oopps... I mean that's the theory... not what I do... Really.... Don't listen to the man behind the curtain....
 
musicmanryann said:
You are taking the skin off and scraping the inside of the skin, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, inside meat side of the skin.

jacked up, thanks, I appreciate the input, its a nasty thing, and if its not going to help...

I have personal issues with the whole soft skin, so im open for any suggestions as I search for ideas.
 
I've found that most of the chicken thighs I get have very differant thickness'... I scrape them to make them as thin and uniform as I can...
 
Goddahavit said:
Yes, inside meat side of the skin.

jacked up, thanks, I appreciate the input, its a nasty thing, and if its not going to help...

I have personal issues with the whole soft skin, so im open for any suggestions as I search for ideas.
Click to expand...

Sorry I had to ask j.i.c. lol.

It seems it may be easier if they were pulled right out of the fridge, it would be more difficult to scrape em'. Just a thought.
 
I used this method in the past for many years and it was helpful in acheiving good bit through skin.

Remove the skin and flip over.

Start the scraping 360* around the edges where there is significant fat build up. Then move into the center. I found using a dull knife helped, the key is not to tear the skin, especially in the center. You should end up with skin that is almost see through. Take your time, it takes awhile to get the hang of it.

Save the fat to make schmaltz for your breakfast toast :p
 
Easiest to do when the skin is quite cold, and we only do one or two at a time, and keep the rest in the fridge until we're ready. Use knife at an angle - go slow, it really takes a lot of time to get the hang of it as others have said.
 
I never knew how fat damn thighs were until I started scraping the skin. I do not eat thighs anymore unless they are boneless or I have scraped the skin. Use a knife that is not sharp.
 
Jacked UP BBQ said:
Don't waste your time scraping skin, I use to do it and never helped on placing
Click to expand...

We entered our first ever contest a couple of weeks ago and did numerous practice runs and experimenting with scraping the fat in the weeks leading up to the comp...very time consuming and not that easy of a task...even with a sharp Kiwi knife...:becky:
So about a week before the comp, we decided not to scrape and ended up taking 6th out of 84 teams...not too bad. :thumb:
By the way, the team next to us started prepping their chicken around 11pm and finished around 4:30am and they placed somewhere in the 60's in the chicken category.
 
Honestly, I think it's a waste of time. If you did want to do it, I would get one of these.


31C5R53PYPL._SL500_AA280_.jpg



I think it is more important of what kind of chicken you are buying. I have found that the cheaper chicken has thicker skin. If you go natural, the skin is a lot thinner. Just my observations...
 
Wow, this is rare... I actually agree with Scotty!:tea:!

The quality of the chicken makes a HUGE differance in how much you have to scrape.
 
I just don't care, as long as any monster fat goobuses are removed, and as long as I never have to eat thigh meat ever again in my entire life.
 
LOL you all have great advise, I usually just take off the skin at home.

I'll try with a duller knife, and the cold thing might help, I had all the chicken out as I was doing it.

I did not buy the cheap yellow chicken, but not sure it was exactly quality, I might have to check around a bit.

Thanks, all
Eric
 
Goddahavit said:
LOL you all have great advise, I usually just take off the skin at home.

I'll try with a duller knife, and the cold thing might help, I had all the chicken out as I was doing it.

I did not buy the cheap yellow chicken, but not sure it was exactly quality, I might have to check around a bit.

Thanks, all
Eric
Click to expand...

It's funny. One off-seasonw hen I was playing with this method. I tried just about anyway possible. I didn't find a dull knife woukld work. I even tried a putty knife. I found the best thing was a super sharp knife. Even the paint scraper wasn't was good as the knife. The paint scraper has sharp corners, whereas the knife doesn't...

I also know of many cooks will only use the yellow chicken. They say they do it for consistency of the chicken. Honestly, I agree that you can't get more consistent chicken. And if it works for your methods, don't shut the door on anything, because it doesn't sound right. Keep an open mind to trying any method. Experimentation is your friend.
 
When i scrape the skins I salt them all first put them in the fridge for 30 min or so then use my straight razor and shave them works like a charm.
 
Tweedle said:
When i scrape the skins I salt them all first put them in the fridge for 30 min or so then use my straight razor and shave them works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Not to be critical, Tweedle, but I hope you're not taking those salted thighs to a competition. Salt = seasoning according to the rules. Even if you are taking off that salt with the straight edge razor. If you were to add any seasoning prior to the official meat inspection, you are in violation of KCBS rules.
 
I have non scraped practice chicken on right now, I am just practicing for skin not anything else. I figured I would feed the office crew, just some store bought rub and sweet baby rays. I will let you know how the non scraped skin came out.
 
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