Skip to main content

Chicken Skin Jus

Our favorite sauce is made from chicken skin. It is a delicious gravy that we use for a lot of dishes at Joe Beef—more than we would like to admit. It’s like an extraction of the deliciousness of crispy chicken skin. Ask your butcher for the chicken skin. More skinless chickens are sold out there than skin-on birds, so the skins must be somewhere other than at a schmaltz factory. Serve this on its own or as a sauce on guinea hens or other poultry.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 2 cups (500 ml)

Ingredients

2 pounds (900 g) chicken skins
1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic
Pinch of salt
2 bay leaves
4 1/4 cups (about 1 liter) water
2 cups (500 ml) dry white wine

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). In a large enameled cast-iron pot, combine the chicken skins, carrot, celery, onion, rosemary, garlic, salt, bay leaves, and 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the water. Place in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 2 hours, stirring and flipping the chicken skins occasionally.

    Step 2

    After the 2 hours, the skins should look like the skin of a roasted chicken. Drain off the fat and add the remaining water and the wine to the pot. Return the pot to the oven, lower the temperature to 300°F (150°C), and cook for 1 hour.

    Step 3

    Remove from the oven, strain, and serve right away or cool and refrigerate or later use. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week, or a month in the freezer.

Cookbook cover of The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan, and Meredith Erickson.
Reprinted with permission from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
Read More
Khao niaow ma muang, or steamed coconut sticky rice with ripe mango, is a classic in Thai cuisine—and you can make it at home.
With just a handful of ingredients, this old-fashioned egg custard is the little black dress of dinner party desserts—simple and effortlessly chic.
With rich chocolate flavor and easy customization, this hot cocoa recipe is just the one you want to get you through winter.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Crunchy and crowd-pleasing, this salad can be prepared in advance and customized to your heart’s content.
This vibrant cilantro pesto recipe blends blanched herbs, Cotija cheese, garlic, and toasted pepitas. Toss with pasta for a fresh and bold spaghetti pesto.
Hawai‘i's beloved fried chicken is crispy, sweet, and savory.
Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.