Description
Straight-up deviled eggs here, super-easy to make and nice and bright from lemon, mustard, and hot sauce. Can’t beat that, except with some salty crunch. For that, I look to the other star of my Southern picnic memories: fried chicken. But just the skin, which after some diligent fat-scraping, a quick blanch, a simple dredge, and a bath in hot oil steals the show.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chicken skin
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying (about 2 quarts)
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornmeal, preferably coarse but fine works, too
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs, finely ground
- 2¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons celery salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
- 12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
- ¼ cup mayo (Duke’s or bust)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Louisiana-style hot sauce, or more if you like
- Heaping 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal or about half as much Morton)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Torn dill for garnish
Method
- To make the chicken skins: Put the chicken skin bumpy-side down on a cutting board. Working with one piece at a time, use a spoon or butter knife to scrape off as much of the opaque layer of fat as you can (do it pretty gently, so you don’t tear the skin).
- You’re trying for pieces of more or less translucent skin-the more fat you’re able to scrape off, the crispier the end result will be. If you leave some little pockets of fat, though, that’s not the end of the world.
- Put the scraped skins in a small pot, add enough water to cover them, and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat, let them hang out for 15 minutes, then drain well.
- Let them cool, then tear or chop them into roughly 2-inch pieces.
- Get 2 inches of oil to 350°F in a large pot over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, stir together the flour, cornmeal, bread crumbs, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, and cayenne in a medium mixing bowl. Line a large plate with paper towels and put it near the pot.
- When the oil’s ready, add the chicken skins to the flour mixture and toss until they’re well coated. Working in batches if necessary so you don’t crowd the oil, carefully fry the skins— stand back at first, because they tend to pop and spit early on—until they’re fried-chicken brown and crispy, about 4 minutes per batch. Give them a stir occasionally so the skins don’t stick together.
- Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to move them to the paper towel-lined plate, then season immediately and generously with salt. They’ll stay crispy for a while. Cooled, they keep in an airtight container at room temp for a few days.
- To make the deviled eggs: Pop the yolks out of the whites and put in a food processor. Reserve all but four of the white halves, which you could eat, I guess, or feed to your dog. If you’re feeling fancy, rinse the whites under cold water to remove any lingering yolk, then pat dry.
- Add the mayo, hot sauce, mus-tard, lemon juice, and the salt to a food processor and pulse just until well mixed, smooth, and slightly fluffy. Don’t over-process, or it’ll get liquidy.
- Put the egg whites on a platter.