Chicken Maryland

The thigh and the drumstick left joined, with the skin on. Sold as a leg quarter in most of Europe. Worked muscle. It holds far more type I collagen, more myoglobin and more intramuscular fat than breast. That collagen is the reason to cook it far past the temperature you would use for a breast: take the thigh meat to 88 degrees C and hold it there. At 70 degrees C the meat is safe but tough. The gelatin arrives above 80 degrees C. Dry-brine it uncovered in the refrigerator for 4 hours or longer. The salt draws water out, then the meat takes the brine back in. Leaving it uncovered also dries the skin surface, which is the slowest part of getting skin to crisp. Keep it above the braising liquid. Skin that sits in liquid cannot dry and cannot brown.