Husk’s southern fried chicken skins recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups chicken skins (ask your butcher to save them for you, or remove from 2 small chickens)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

• Peanut oil, for frying
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Honey and hot sauce, for serving

Bake the Skins
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using the back of a knife, scrape away all visible fat from the skins (save the fat for use in a future recipe). In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, cayenne pepper, and salt. Add the scraped skins to the buttermilk and toss to coat. Transfer the skins and buttermilk to a 10 × 10-inch baking dish, cover with tin foil, and bake for 1 hour, until the skins have tenderized and rendered some additional fat.
Fry the Skins
2. Fill a 4-quart saucepan halfway with oil and heat to 350°F. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and pepper. Remove the skins from the buttermilk and coat liberally in the flour mixture. Lower the skins into the oil and fry, stirring every minute or two to prevent sticking, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on the rack, season with salt, and serve hot, family style, with a drizzle of honey and a splash of hot sauce.