Blount: Best way to crisp the skin on a chicken

adding a layer of fat — butter, or olive or vegetable oil — to the skin. No, it won’t help the skin get crispy; the heat will do that. But it will add a great flavor and help the skin brown to that gorgeous George Hamilton bronze.

I like using butter because I love the flavor.

“I’m a butter guy, too,” said Jeff White, executive chef at The Palm in San Antonio. “I love the added benefit of the coloring.”

So melt some butter and paint it on thick to every part of the bird. As the late, great Anthony Bourdain told Oprah Winfrey: “Butter is pretty much the first and the last thing that goes into any pan. That’s why restaurant food tastes better.”

Now you’re ready to cook, and below are the best ways to get that meat moist and the skin crispy in the oven and smoker, and on the grill.

I cooked chicken leg quarters because dark meat is my favorite — so much more flavor — and it’s a great value at about $1 per pound. Your cooking time will be a little less if you’re cooking white meat.

If you’re cooking a whole chicken, cut it into leg and breast quarters before cooking (anyone at the meat counter can do this for you) and wrap the wing tips in foil, uncovering them for the final 10 minutes of cooking if you’re using the oven or grill.

The chicken is done when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Oven

Place the chicken in a roasting pan on an elevated rack skin side up. The rack will allow the heat and air to evenly flow over all the meat. Roast it about an hour at 450 degrees, basting with more butter about every 20 minutes.

Grill

The high heat of the grill will result in the crispiest skin. Set up your grill for indirect cooking with all the coals on one side. With a gas grill, light the burners on one half of the grill.

Heat it to about 500 degrees and set the chicken on the cool side. Cook it with the lid closed about 45 minutes, basting it and flipping it every 10 to 15 minutes.

Smoker

You cannot beat the flavor of smoked chicken, but the low temperature means you will never get crispy skin from the smoker alone. Set your smoker to about 300 degrees and cook the chicken about an hour and a half, pulling it out when it’s just underdone at about 155 degrees.

Finish the chicken over direct heat on a grill, about five minutes, flipping once, or under the oven broiler for three to five minutes, flipping once.

Photos by Josie Norris / Staff photographer Opt for the indirect cooking method when grilling.

In the oven, heat and air should flow over all the meat.

Finish smoked chicken over heat or under a broiler.