Use a roasting pan with a rack to keep chicken out of its drippings
Elevate chicken on a rack so fat and juices drip away, helping the skin brown and crisp instead of steaming.
Set chicken pieces on the rack of a roasting pan so they sit above the liquid that renders out. The drippings collect in the pan below while the chicken roasts more dryly.
The short version
- Elevating meat helps it brown/crisp better in the oven
- Drippings fall into the pan instead of soaking the chicken
What you need
- roasting panPreferably with a rack
- rackKeeps chicken elevated above drippings
What goes wrong
Roasting chicken directly in a pool of drippings
Use a rack (or another way to elevate) so liquid drains away
Why it works
Keeping the surface drier reduces steaming and promotes better browning/crisping; drippings fall away instead of "swamping" the meat.
Put it to use
Learn next
Start chicken skin-side down in a cold stainless steel pan over low heat to crisp the skin
Put oiled chicken skin-side down in a cold stainless steel pan and cook on low heat to develop crispy skin.
Season chicken thighs with just salt for a simple crispy-skin method
For this method, use only salt on the chicken thigh before cooking.
Use the oven as an alternative to an air fryer for finishing the pizza
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can finish cooking the topped pizza in the oven instead.
Finish a topped pizza in an air fryer at 180°C for 7 minutes
After topping the base, cook it in an air fryer at 180°C for about 7 minutes to melt cheese and heat through.