Chicken Crackling Crostini
with Maple–Sea Salt Butter

Pork cracklings are a popular snack throughout the southern United States, but often forgotten are the equally delicious chicken cracklings. In this recipe, baguette slices spread with a delicious maple and sea salt butter are baked, then topped with crispy pan-fried chicken skin, sweet soft dates, and crispy leaves of sage. The result is the ultimate crunchy, smooth, salty, sweet flavor combination. • makes 12 crostini

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Maple–Sea Salt Butter

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2½ teaspoons pure maple sugar
• ¾ teaspoon flaked sea salt

Crostini

• 1 (4-inch) wide baguette, cut into 12 (½-inch-thick) slices
• Chicken skin from 2 leg and thigh pieces, cut into 12 (2-inch) squares
• 1½ teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
• ½ teaspoon finely minced fresh thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon flaked sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• 6 dates, cut in half lengthwise with pits removed
• Pure maple syrup, for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

For the maple butter, in a small bowl, mix together the butter, maple sugar, and sea salt until smooth.

For the crostini, lightly spread the butter mixture across both sides of the 12 baguette slices. Lay the slices flat on a baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between them. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until crisp and golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool completely.

In a bowl, toss the chicken skin with the rosemary, thyme, sea salt, and black pepper until the spices are evenly distributed. Set aside.

Add vegetable oil to a medium frying pan until the oil is about ½ inch deep. Heat the pan over medium heat until a drop of water flicked into the pan sizzles and hisses. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken skin pieces, one at a time, until you can’t add any more while maintaining 2 inches of space around each piece. Fry until the skin pieces turn golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and place the pieces on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until all of the chicken skin has been fried, leaving the reserved oil in the pan.

Add the sage leaves to the same pan, one at a time, making sure to keep the leaves from touching one another. Fry each leaf until crispy, 15 to 30 seconds, then remove with a mesh or slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

To assemble, place a date half on one of the baked baguette slices and press down gently to flatten the date a bit. Place a crispy sage leaf on top of the date and place a chicken crackling on top of the sage leaf. Drizzle with a small spoonful of pure maple syrup to finish, if desired. Repeat with the remaining baked baguette slices, dates, crispy sage, and chicken cracklings until all the crostinis have been assembled and then serve immediately.