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Chicken feet can be served as a beer snack, cold dish, soup, or main dish in a variety of regional cuisines. They were first used in Asian dishes as a result of the Chinese ethos of not wasting food.
Truth be told, the least appetizing of all chicken parts, by all standards are the feet. It has the texture of crocodile skin and contains very little meat. Despite the stigma attached to it, chicken feet are a delicacy in China and are offered in most restaurants with other chicken parts.
In several countries, chicken feet are cooked and eaten. The majority of the edible tissue on the foot consists of skin and tendons, with no muscle when an exterior layer of hard skin is removed. The feet have a different texture than the rest of the chicken meat as a result of this.
Where Is Chicken Feet From
Much of Asia, as well as areas of Mexico, Peru, and Jamaica, consider chicken feet to be delicacies. They’re usually served chilled and with a beer in China. However, demand for the snack has grown to the point where a black market has formed a market alliance, to ensure that supplies can keep up.
What Chicken Feet Tastes Like
If prepared properly, it tastes really nice. Chicken feet are high in collagen and are commonly boiled as part of a stew. The feet, unlike other parts of the chicken, have very little edible meat, consisting primarily of skin and tendons. Also, they can be chewy if they aren’t cooked properly.
Chicken Feet Preservation
To preserve your chicken feet, the first thing you will want to do is thoroughly wash the feet. No detergent is necessary, you’ll simply want to wash them in plain water. If the feet are fresh like ours are, you’ll want to let them soak to remove all of the dirt first. This part of your chicken freezes well and can stay for at least six months as they are wrapped airtight to protect them from any freezer burn.
When you’re ready to prepare your it, the feet should be submerged in hot water, so that the outer layer of the skin can be removed by peeling it off, and thereafter, covered in seasonings and grilled for consumption.
Chicken Feet
Ingredients
- 32 chicken feet (about 2 pounds)
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1/3 cup water
- 6 large thin slices fresh ginger
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 dried hot chiles, crushed
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 pods star anise
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 cup sliced scallions (1-inch pieces)
- 2 tablespoons minced scallions, garnish
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted, garnish.
Instructions
- Add the chicken feet, in batches if necessary, to a large pot of boiling and cook for approximately 30 seconds.
- While you can add more than 1 chicken foot at a time, make sure not to overcrowd the pot.
- Set each chicken foot on a plate to cool. Once cool enough to handle, begin peeling off the skin one foot at a time.
- You may find it easier to peel the top layer of the nails first before removing the skin from the rest of the foot, but either way is fine. The goal is to remove the top layer of skin and nails.
- Proceed to fully cut the nails off of each chicken foot at the first joint. The scaly skin and nails are unusable and should be discarded. You can clean the chicken feet up to a day prior to cooking. Just place them in the refrigerator until you are ready to proceed with the recipe.
- Rub the cleaned chicken feet with kosher salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Rinse the salted chicken feet under cold water.
- Boil another pot of water, salt it generously, and add the chicken feet; blanch for 5 minutes and drain well.
- Blanch chicken feet in a pot of water.
- Place a 14-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add the chicken and dry-sear until lightly brown.
- Dry-sear chicken feet in a pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining spicy chicken feet ingredients to the pot.
- Uncover and simmer until the sauce has become thick and cooked down, tossing frequently to coat the feet as the sauce reduces.
- Chicken feet cooking in the sauce
- Garnish with minced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy.
