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Hey, Food Dude: It’s been years since you ran one of these columns pitting your near-encyclopedic knowledge against questions that you generally make up yourself. And I, for one, have missed them as little as everyone else.

So I thought I’d ask you this: What is the best way to get a really crispy skin on chicken? — Jacques Pepin

Dear Chef: Wow, I am truly honored that such a great chef as yourself would ask such a question of me. This whole thing about controlling both sides of the conversation sure comes in handy.

For the absolute crispiest, best-tasting skin, you need to cook with direct heat, which is to say the stovetop. There are two related ways to do this, and they both result in skin we food writers always call “shatteringly crisp.”

You can either start with a hot pan or a cold pan. I recently made a hot-pan version, recipe by Eric Kim, and it was amazing.

You begin by taking four large chicken thighs out of the fridge for 10 to 30 minutes. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium or even medium-low heat until it shimmers. Season the thighs with salt and pepper on both sides, and place skin-side down in the hot oil. Cook — without moving them — for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sizzling noise they make starts to quiet down.

Add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, and flip the thighs to cook until the bottoms are brown and the chicken is cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes more. Place the chicken on a single layer on a plate and pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

Add ½ cup of chicken stock (or ¼ cup of water), 2 tablespoons of lime juice and 2 teaspoons of maple syrup or honey. Season with salt and pepper and cook until reduced by half. Add 1½ tablespoons of cold butter cut into a couple of pieces, and stir or swirl the pan until the butter is completely incorporated.

Pour the sauce around the chicken but not over it, to avoid moistening the crisp skin. Serve with wedges of lime, and enjoy.

Hey, Food Dude: I happen to be familiar with that recipe for Crispy Chicken with Lime Butter, and I know for a fact that it calls for you to remove all but 3 tablespoons of fat, instead of 1, and for you to add 3 tablespoons of butter instead of 1½. What gives? — Auguste Escoffier

Dear Auggie: You’re right, but as written that recipe results in six tablespoons of fat for just four chicken thighs, not to mention the fat left over in the skin and the chicken.

That’s more fat than you need. Yes, the additional fat will make it taste better and will more closely mimic the culinary experience you’d get at a restaurant. And mind you, this is a restaurant-worthy dish.

But I still say: That’s more fat than you need.

Hey, Food Dude: What about that method you mentioned for getting crispy skin on chicken thighs by starting with a cold pan? — Alain Ducasse

Dear Al: That method was actually promoted by our first letter-writer, Jacques Pepin.

First, make cuts along each side of the thigh bone on the non-skin side — run a knife most of the way through the meat down each side of the bone. Season both sides with salt and pepper and place the thighs skin-side down on a skillet.

Turn the heat to high. When you start to see rendered fat bubbling beneath the thighs, cover the pan and lower the heat to medium-high. Cook 20 to 25 minutes until done.

Remove the chicken, pour off most of the fat and use the fond (the brown bits on the bottom) to make a pan sauce. You could add, say, a cup of chicken stock — or a half-cup of white wine and a half-cup of chicken stock), a clove of crushed garlic and a couple of sprigs of a chicken-friendly herb such as rosemary, thyme, tarragon or chervil.

Cook until the sauce is reduced by half, add a a tablespoon of cold butter and swirl the pan until the butter is blended into the sauce. Pour the sauce around the thighs to avoid moistening the crispy skin.

Hey, Food Dude: Which version is better? — Thomas Keller

Dear Tommy: The hot pan makes the skin more crisp and also more delicious. But both versions are good.

Hey, Food Dude: Did you write this whole column just as an excuse to discuss two ways to get crispy skin on chicken thighs? — Julia Child

Dear Jules: No. Why do you ask?