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Leite's Culinaria

Crisp Skin & a Sauce from the Pan 🧈

Published 18 days ago • 3 min read

Hi Reader,

I love the moment a piece of chicken hits a hot skillet more than is strictly reasonable.
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That ssssssssss.​
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It’s the sound of Monday dinner getting its act together.
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The One knows that when he hears it from the other room, dinner isn’t far off. I know that if I can resist fiddling with the chicken (turning it, nudging it, lifting one corner to “just check”), I’ll be rewarded with skin so crisp it practically shatters.
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The resisting is the hard part.
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But a skillet dinner is one of those small kitchen miracles that makes me look far more competent than I sometimes feel at six o’clock. Brown the chicken deeply, flip it, finish cooking, and suddenly the pan is filled with all those sticky, bronzed bits that lesser people might scrub away.
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Not me.
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I add wine, stock, mustard, lemon, herbs, perhaps a knob of butter, and scrape up every last bit. Five minutes later, what looked like a dirty skillet had become sauce.
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It’s not magic.
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Although on a Monday night, it comes pretty damn close.

The Gospel of the Golden Skillet

  • Dry the chicken. Moisture is the enemy of browning. Pat the chicken thoroughly dry before seasoning it, especially if crisp skin is what you’re after.
  • Get the pan properly hot. You should hear it the moment it hits the skillet. If you hear a timid little whisper instead of a sizzle, you started too soon.
  • Now leave it alone. This is where I struggle. Give the chicken time to develop a proper crust before poking, prodding, and flipping. If it’s sticking stubbornly, chances are it isn’t ready.
  • Don’t you dare wash that pan. After the chicken comes out, everything stuck to the bottom of that pan is your sauce waiting to happen. Deglaze with wine, stock, or another liquid, then bring in mustard, lemon, capers, tarragon, or butter and scrape up all that concentrated flavor.
  • One sauce, not seventeen ingredients. Perfectly browned chicken doesn’t need much piled on top. Make one punchy pan sauce, spoon it generously over the chicken, and get dinner on the table while the skin is still gloriously crisp.

WHAT'S INSIDE...

​Pan Seared Chicken Breast​

This pan seared chicken breast from Cook's Illustrated calls for just four ingredients—chicken, olive oil, salt, and pepper—but boasts shatteringly crisp skin, tender meat, and a stovetop that isn't spattered with grease. This is going to change your weeknight chicken game.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Skillet Chicken Thighs With Schmaltzy, Vinegary Radishes​

Add chicken thighs to a warmish skillet, let them take their time, and your patience will be rewarded with meat that’s never dry, skin that’s crunchier than a potato chip, and—if you ask me, this is the best part—lots of golden schmaltz.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Quick Skillet Chicken With Bacon​

This Skillet that rely on elements that can easily be found in your cupboards are always winners in my book; this quick pan-fried chicken is made all the more delicious by using staples like mustard, honey and capers for a punchy sauce. Serve with rice, couscous or just lightly dressed salad leaves.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Pan Roasted Tarragon Chicken​

Pan roasted tarragon chicken is a French classic and easier to pull off than you might think. Spectacularly flavored with cider vinegar and the subtle licorice-ness of tarragon, it's easy yet still impressive.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Crispy Chicken With Lemon & Capers​

Few items are as affordable as bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, and this is one of my favorite ways to make them. I always have parsley and lemon hanging around my kitchen, and I just pre-make a batch of House Seasoning Blend since I use it on almost everything. This dish takes just over 30 minutes to throw together and finishes in the oven, leaving plenty of time to whip up a quick vegetable side dish and tidy up the kitchen. Be sure to spoon plenty of the pan juices over the chicken when serving; it’s delicious.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Mustard Chicken | Poulet À La Moutarde​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 32 votes

This deeply flavored mustard chicken—made with chicken, mustard, thyme, and stock—is a classic French dish.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

Leite's Culinaria

David Leite

Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join 40,000 food lovers and subscribe.

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