I’m a Professional Cook — Here’s the One Thing I Do with Every Rotisserie Chicken I Buy

Who doesn’t love a rotisserie chicken? It’s an undeniably convenient shortcut. You can use it for everything from taco filling to a batch of chili to a summery salad. While I’ve been known to turn to a rotisserie chicken for lots of recipes, I can’t say I’ve ever just treated one as I would a roasted chicken. Which is to say, I’ve never carved a rotisserie chicken. Every application I can think of involves picking the bones clean and using the meat, which inevitably involves discarding the skin. I find this to be a shame because the skin is spiced up and flavorful (even if I don’t want it in my chicken salad).

All of this got me thinking about rotisserie chicken skin and how I could use it instead of discarding it. It didn’t take me long to realize that I should be treating rotisserie chicken skin the same way I treat any raw chicken skin I don’t need — by frying it in a pan.

Fried chicken skins are a pretty perfect topping, if you ask me. They’re crispy, crunchy, and flavorful. I never discard raw chicken skins — instead I keep them in my freezer until I’m ready to make a batch of crispy skins to sprinkle on top of a bowl of congee or add a crunchy element to soup. 

Rotisserie chicken skins can be used in a similar way. Even though they’re already cooked, they’ll still crisp up nicely in a pan. Because they’ve already been seasoned, you also don’t need to worry about flavoring them yourself. I like to cut them into small pieces and use them in the same way I would use crumbled cooked bacon (I sprinkle them on top of salads, pastas, and whatever else could use a hit of crunchy, meaty flavor). The next time you have a rotisserie chicken at home, give it a try — it might be your new favorite part of the chicken.

• You don’t need to add fat to the pan. It might seem like you do because the fat from the skin has already been rendered (when it was cooked the first time), but trust me — just cook over low to medium-low heat and give it a little time. It might take a few minutes, but those skins will get nice and crispy.
• Try out different flavors of rotisserie chicken. I usually avoid flavored rotisserie chickens because I know I’m going to be using the meat in recipes that have their own flavor profile, but when I know I’m going to crisp up the skin as a topping, a little extra spice beyond the typical salt and pepper is nice.