A test - Does corn starch make chicken skin crispier?

JethroVA

Hypothesis: corn starch makes for more crispy.  Methods: Did this limited scale test recently.  All the wings got salt, pepper, garlic.  Most got a dusting of cornstarch.  Left six without corn starch. Cooked indirect. Results: Compared to the control group, the intervention group was crispier.  In the finished photo, you can actually see that the corn starch wings on the upper left look a bit more textured vs. the unstarched ones on the right.   Discussion:  I will definitely add a dusting of corn starch to future poultry cooks.  Needs further research and wider scale testing so I may have to invite buddies over for blind tasting! 

GregW

Isn't it great when science and good eats come together so nicely.
I even use corn starch dusting on steaks if I want to develop the ultimate crust.

blasting

@JethroVA.  Love a good side by side test.  Thanks for posting.

Jeepster47

Thanks for the testing ... it's on my to-do list to try the next time wings are on the grill.

GregW

I seem to recall first seeing that corn starch could be used to get crispy skin on either America's Test Kitchen or Cook's Country. Can't remember which one it was.

XC242

We're all on your buddies list, right?

lousubcap

Yep, air dry over night in the fridge and a light dusting of cornstarch and crispy outcome every time.  Gotta admit that need to finesse my corn starch application process.  I can get that white powder everywhere...  

HeavyG

J. Kenji of The Food Lab suggests separating the skin from the meat in order to allow the skin to crisp.

I think you should take the time to do that to each wing before you dust them with cornstarch. Shouldn't take that long.

HeavyG

lousubcap said:

Yep, air dry over night in the fridge and a light dusting of cornstarch and crispy outcome every time.  Gotta admit that need to finesse my corn starch application process.  I can get that white powder everywhere...  

Big Ziploc is your friend.

Carolina Q

I'm visiting Mom and she has a weber kettle, no egg. Last night I grilled a dozen chicken thighs. Normal seasonings (no oil or cornstarch). Indirect for most of the cook, then direct to finish. Crispiest skin I've had in a LONG time. I have a kettle too and may start doing most of my chicken there from now on. I had forgotten how good (and CRISPY!) it can be. 

blind99

Carolina Q said:

I'm visiting Mom and she has a weber kettle, no egg. Last night I grilled a dozen chicken thighs. Normal seasonings (no oil or cornstarch). Indirect for most of the cook, then direct to finish. Crispiest skin I've had in a LONG time. I have a kettle too and may start doing most of my chicken there from now on. I had forgotten how good (and CRISPY!) it can be. 

@Carolina Q  I'm with you... i still like doing wings on the kettle.  so easy to go back and forth between indirect and direct.

GregW

blind99 said:

Carolina Q said:

I'm visiting Mom and she has a weber kettle, no egg. Last night I grilled a dozen chicken thighs. Normal seasonings (no oil or cornstarch). Indirect for most of the cook, then direct to finish. Crispiest skin I've had in a LONG time. I have a kettle too and may start doing most of my chicken there from now on. I had forgotten how good (and CRISPY!) it can be. 

@Carolina Q  I'm with you... i still like doing wings on the kettle.  so easy to go back and forth between indirect and direct.

I like my Portable Kitchen (PK) grill for that reason also.

Ozzie_Isaac

Crispy skin I get is when I deep fry

pgprescott

Carolina Q said:

I'm visiting Mom and she has a weber kettle, no egg. Last night I grilled a dozen chicken thighs. Normal seasonings (no oil or cornstarch). Indirect for most of the cook, then direct to finish. Crispiest skin I've had in a LONG time. I have a kettle too and may start doing most of my chicken there from now on. I had forgotten how good (and CRISPY!) it can be. 

It is precisely the inefficiency of the kettle, or many other cookers,  that require dramatically higher air flow resulting in "drier" or crispier food. Not necessarily good for butts etc.  The moist and low air flow environment of the ceramic cookers makes crispy skin a challenge. However, as the OP points out, it's able to be overcome with a very simple "trick". For the record, I'm all for the Weber kettle. It's the single greatest grill ever produced in my estimation. Based upon performance and longevity of the innovation. 

SmokinTiger81

Use the small hand held flour sifter for application or a shaker container with wire mesh top.  Shakers on Amazon for under 10$--best solution

Dawgs8033

Also another tip for crispy chicken or crispy bacon on poopers...when cooking indirect spray whatever you want crispy with Pam about 15 minutes before you take it off I always cook around 400 and it crips wight up.

Skiddymarker

SmokinTiger81 said:

Use the small hand held flour sifter for application or a shaker container with wire mesh top.  Shakers on Amazon for under 10$--best solution

What he said. 
@lousubcap - you might have to spend $10-$15 and get one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Pampered-Chef-Flour-Sugar-Shaker/dp/B000XLU22C
SWMBO won one as a door prize at a PC party, I commandeered it right away, awesome for corn starch. 

lousubcap

@Skiddymarker - I may go down that road or related but so far I time it so the clean-up has no witnesses.  

SmokinTiger81

Here, under $7 on Amazon with free prime shipping.  And you can tell your wife it is for sprinkling powdered sugar on that great bundt pound cake she makes.

https://www.amazon.com/Ateco-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Shaker/dp/B000KESQ7A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1468193536&sr=8-7&keywords=flour+shaker

And there are several options in the up to $12 or so range.

Skiddymarker

lousubcap said:

@Skiddymarker - I may go down that road or related but so far I time it so the clean-up has no witnesses.  

You know, if you dusted your wings over the living room carpet, the corn starch that makes it to the floor will freshen the carpet.....just saying you might get some atta boys from the boss. 

lousubcap

Nothing like a comic on a Sunday night...

SmokinTiger81

At least it's food comedy.  And humorous.  I think the main thing on the shaker is it gives you a light dusting.  Too much CS messes things up--don't ask me how I know this.

Toxarch

The only time my chicken skin ends up crispy is when I fry them. Never been able to get crispy skin on the egg, even using corn starch. 

JethroVA

Shameless, self-promoting bump for my brethren doing wings today. 

PigBeanUs

dries the surface, which is where the crispiness comes from.

you can air-dry the chicken too, but takes longer

Botch

50% cornstarch, 50% baking powder, on wangs.  
(Kenji's recipe is 1/3 BP, 1/3 CS, and 1/3 salt, but I prefer brining my wings the night before).  

4TheGrillOfIt

JethroVA said:

Shameless, self-promoting bump for my brethren doing wings today. 

I am! 

jdMyers

Baking powder surly does