Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

Yes, we are evil.

These chicken skin tacos are evil. And the fact that we are telling you about them, and that you might get the crazy idea to make them too, means that we are definitely up to no good.

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Except that these tacos, made with crispy fried chicken skin as the star ingredient, are really really good. If they weren’t, we certainly wouldn’t risk ridicule and disdain by sharing them. But they are worth it, my friends. Truly they are.

We even made them twice. First with leftover chicken skins from a recipe, then again with chicken we bought just for the skins because not surprisingly our grocer doesn’t sell straight chicken skins.

How did these tacos come about? Leftovers and odds and ends. Hank and I were refining a recipe for Colombian chicken soup (great recipe by the way), and we had leftover chicken skins, and leftover habanero sauce.

Hank can not resist frying leftover fat (pork fat, turkey skins, chicken skins, even pie dough) to snack on. (He’s more evil than I.) Lunch time was beckoning and the soup needed at least another hour to cook. So into some tortillas the fixings went, and an epiphany was born.

Chicken Skin is the Best part of fried chicken

Some of you reading this will think, “oh, mmm, chicken skin, my favorite part of fried chicken” and will have no trouble imagining how incredibly good crispy fried chicken skin could be in a taco. (You are my people!)

Some of you reading this may have the opposite reaction. (I still like you.)

For those of you in the second camp, before we lose you forever, I ask you, do you like bacon? Because if you do, think of fried chicken skin as “chicken bacon”. They’re just tasty fried, fatty, salty bits.

Warning. Something this good can’t possibly be good for you to eat every day. So don’t. It’s a treat. Enjoy!