First, you take the skin off and make sure you scrape off any fat that’s on the skin otherwise you’ll end up with chewy chicharrones and nobody likes chewy chicharrones. Then I brine the skin, rinse off the brine, then pat it dry, dehydrate it at 135F for 2-3 hours.  You want to make sure it’s not completely stiff or you will end up with sheet rock chicharrones, and nobody likes sheet rock chicharrones.

At this point if you’re not going to use them immediately (WHY WOULDN’T YOU) then you can freeze them for later chicharrones excitement and enjoyment (good for a week in the freezer).

Heat up neutral oil in a pan (canola oil for frying, safflower oil (my favorite), grapeseed oil (if you have deep pockets), or whatever, just don’t follow the television’s advice and use olive oil, you’re going to end up with nasty chicharrones and nobody likes nasty chicharrones).  I use an induction burner and a high sided pan so that I can control the temperature.  Using an at home deep fryer is not the way to go, trust me.  I’ve pretty much deep fried the world using at home deep fryers and they suck, all of them.  Heat up the oil to 350F, no more, no less…temperature is key here, don’t pay attention to temperature then don’t pay attention to this recipe.

I had two pieces and I wanted to see how the edges fried up, center, and whole.  These are the results.

From left to right..   Rolled over edge piece that I cut off:  Meh.   Center piece that I cut from one whole skin, perfect.  One whole piece:  perfect!

I took the skin off of two turkey drumsticks.  I took the meat and ground it together with Draymiller and Kray bacon, my new favorite. So now, I have fresh turkey/bacon sausage, turkey chicharrones, and an unlimited supply of high fives.

Eric