MIKEY BELL

I’m disgusting.

There is no other word that comes to mind quicker when I think of a descriptive word for my appetite, other than disgusting.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not an adjective I scoff at or am ashamed of, but ultimately I do have a disgusting appetite. There are no food groups I ostracise and there is no plate I would question on offer. You offer it, I’ll try it. This delicious snack here is testament to this.

I recall having an ex-partner a few years back really question our relationship when I managed to throw back handfuls of pork scratching without care in a pub in East London. What seemed so casually normal to me was apparently dubious to everybody else however I have a very strong stomach and a very unapologetic appetite and when something tastes so good, I see no reason to pass the chance to taste it.

Which brings me to my Chicken Crackling.

I read about a recipe for Chicken Crackling (which is basically just seasoned, baked chicken skins) in Simply Nigella, my favourite cookbook by… well, take one guess. It’s a battered, dog-eared cookbook bound together by celltope but I refuse to replace it (it’s even signed by Nigella herself, damn it!) but I was absolutely charmed by her recipe.

I love pork crackling and had never really realised that every time I was eating crunchy chicken skin after roasting it that I was indeed, eating Chicken Crackling.

Nigella salts and cayennes her chicken skins, which on any given day would also have been my approach however I am brand loyal to Halen Mon and my stoveside station is always equipped with a little bowl of Chili & Garlic Salt.

That was when I remembered reading that the Chili & Garlic Salt was indeed created by Halen Mon when they wanted to create a salt seasoning for a supplier who was making Pork Crackling. So it all clicked into place and made complete sense to me.

Spicy, salty and mouth wateringly more-ish crackling that is easily achievable from leftovers.

It guarantees a bar snack to snatch at when you’re feeling slightly peckish or if you just want to freak out your partner with your ambitious appetite.

Or disgusting, your choice – either way, these are shamelessly delicious. Judge if you choose. I will enjoy my chicken skins in the shadow of your judgement.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Now my sad, spoilt-dog owning arse happens to always have an 8 pack of chicken thighs in the fridge every week. I roast them all up, remove the bone, chop them all up and that’s the dogs food (along with some dry and a little wet) so access to chicken skin is not a problem for me. But this recipe makes a few handfuls of scratchings out of 8 chicken skins, nonetheless.

Take 8 chicken skins and throw them in a bowl. Drizzle in some flavourless oil. I want nothing to interrupt these spices.

Now sprinkle over a big, generous pinch of Halen Mon Chili & Garlic Salt however if you do not have any of this, throw in some sea salt, some chili powder, some cayenne and garlic powder.

Toss everything together with your hands until the skins are coated in the spice salt mix,

Grab a roasting dish that comes equipped with a wire rack but if not, grab any old roasting tin and place a wire rack within it, like a rack you would usually use for cooling baked treats.

Spread the chicken skins across the rack, stretching them as much as you can (but not to the point of ripping).

Slide them in the oven and roast for 20 minutes until the skins have turned golden and crispy.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool before smashing up into smaller bite size chunks.

Serve simply with a cold beer, but I also love serving these alongside a small cup of my Miso Mayonnaise (just a quick 1:2 combination of miso paste and shop-bought mayonnaise)