Chicken Skins

[Smokin' Hicks]

i am a professional chef and, have been in the industry 25+ years....just started doing competitions and i LOVE it....so i have started using some of my resources in the indusrty and this is what i have found.....i can order 40# cases of nothing but chicken skin. The skins have the thigh skin removed and it is all the skin from both breasts of the chicken, makes the skin a very large easy workable sheet. Since it is the breast skin it comes from the leanest part of the chicken therefore, the fat on the backside of the skin, which is a pain to scrape all off, is for the most part almost completely gone. This has pretty much cut my chicken prep time in half. Here is my question. Is this legal to do in a comp.? Seems like a good idea but have never seen anybody talk about it so, i dont know if this is legal or not. If it is, everyone should look into doing this it is so much easier to work with and you can size the skin however big you like. No more torn up magled skins you get at the store sometimes. Feedback would be great, thanks.

[Finney]

Should be legal...

Let the discussion begin!

[Big George's BBQ]

That is a great idea

[Smokin' Hicks]

skins are very hard to get by the general public but if you can get a hold of a major food brooker they will have them with a little prodding...they are awesome

[The_Kapn]

Do they come in one biggo frozen block?
How are they packed?

Interesting concept.

TIM

[Smokin' Hicks]

lol
a HUGE 40# block of chicken skins, it pretty disgusting
took about 8 hours to thaw out under water

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Hicks

lol
a HUGE 40# block of chicken skins, it pretty disgusting
took about 8 hours to thaw out under water

Well, it WAS an interesting concept

Thanks for the info.

TIM

[Smokin' Hicks]

hmmmm.....dont like it now cause they are frozen? im telling you i have cooked with them a BUNCH of times and done several tests and the frozen part doesnt make a bit of difference....but if you like prepping chicken that much, have fun....but this concept does work very very well

[Smokin' Hicks]

the idea, from what i have learned, is to get all that fat off the back of the skin so when a judge cuts into the chicken it doesnt all slide off in one piece....the chicken thigh is the fattiest part of the chicken, so taking the skin frm this part of the bird for the purpose i want it for is just not thinking sart....the breast skin is about 75% cleaned of all fat to begin with and the skins are HUGE....should give it a try you will love it...i will be at the north kansas city BBQ coming up march 11th and 12th feel free to stop by if anyone wants to and shoot the ****, pick up a few of these skins i have and give it a shot....im telling you it worth the try

[The_Kapn]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Hicks

hmmmm.....dont like it now cause they are frozen? im telling you i have cooked with them a BUNCH of times and done several tests and the frozen part doesnt make a bit of difference....but if you like prepping chicken that much, have fun....but this concept does work very very well

Actually, the "frozen" part was not a concern at all.
And I have used breast skins for thighs--works great!

I am just trying to envision thawing that biggo block of skins and then doing something productive with the 35# that I don't use.

That's all.

TIM

[glenntm]

The process you're describing can be accomplished without scrapping the skin and even without removing it from the thigh. It sounds like a lot of work when the results can be obtained using a much easier process.

[Smokin' Hicks]

lol, very good point....have big sinks at work, and just cryo vac the rest in small packs and freeze

[Smokin' Hicks]

can you please please for the love of god and all my sanity tell me that easier option

[Hub]

The only judging requirement regarding skin on chicken is to "taste it" if it is provided. From there it gets complex. In general, judges will mark down if the skin is tough and just hangs on or falls off the piece. Some look for "bite through" meaning a tender piece of skin comes of in conjunction with the bite taken from the contest piece. Some cooks like to finish with high heat to get crisp skin. I look for the skin to complement the tasting experience and don't care about its consistency so long as it tastes good. Yes, I've had a few "rubber chicken" experiences, but most cooks deal pretty well with it.

There is no requirement at contest meat inspections that the skin be on the piece -- it can be separate.

[chambersuac]

Originally Posted by glenntm

The process you're describing can be accomplished without scrapping the skin and even without removing it from the thigh. It sounds like a lot of work when the results can be obtained using a much easier process.

Can ya fill us in on this process? I'd be interested...thanks.