Get Super Crispy Turkey Skin With Baking Powder
There is nothing like juicy, oven-baked turkey with crispy skin. With a little preparation time, you can achieve the perfect crispness using salt and other common kitchen products.
Dry turkey brine will give you great flavor, but you will need more than salt to get the crisp texture you want on the outside of the turkey. Serious Eats ‘ J. Kenji Lopez-Alt says the secret is baking powder (not baking soda). Combine one part baking powder with three to four parts kosher salt, add some black pepper to taste and sprinkle over the turkey. Now let it rest in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours before placing it in the oven.
The baking powder raises the pH level of the skin, so proteins are broken down more efficiently. The baking powder also mixes with the turkey juice, creating bubbles of carbon dioxide that increase the surface area of the skin, giving it a crisper texture when the poultry begins to cook. The same can be used with chicken.
For the crispest chicken (and turkey) skins, use baking powder | Serious food