Best Chicken Under A Brick With Fresh Herb And Garlic Sauce Recipes

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• Spatchcock the chicken: Use kitchen shears to cut out the backbone from the chicken. Lay the chicken breast-side down on a cutting board and use a large knife to cut through the breastbone. Push the chicken down to flatten it out. Cut the wings off at the third joint (at the wing tip). Now locate the thigh bone. Use a small and sharp knife to cut the flesh off away from the bone, working all the way down to the joint. Once you're at the joint, bend the thigh bone back until you hear it pop and use your knife again to help remove the thigh bone completely. Repeat with the remaining thigh bone.
• Turn the chicken over, blot it dry and refrigerate on a large plate or baking sheet, uncovered, overnight to dry out the skin (this will help make it extra crispy). If you have to skip this step, then dry the chicken as best you can with paper towels and refrigerate, uncovered, for as long as you can.
• Sprinkle the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large 12-inch cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Lay the chicken, skin-side down, in the skillet. Add the garlic and herbs to the skillet. Now use either 2 bricks wrapped in foil or another heavy, slightly smaller skillet filled with large cans (tomato cans work nicely) directly on top of the chicken. Cook, leaving the chicken mostly undisturbed, checking every once in a while to make sure the skin is browning evenly and not getting too dark too quickly, and adjusting the heat as needed, until almost all of the meat is white (except for the very top of the breast) and the skin is a deep golden brown and crispy, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the bricks or weighted skillet and turn the chicken over using tongs and/or a spatula, being careful not to rip the skin. Continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 165 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes more.
• Remove the chicken and let rest for a few minutes before carving. Serve with lemon wedges.

30 MINUTE GARLIC-PARSLEY CHICKEN-UNDER-A-BRICK

Steps:

• Preheat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high to high heat and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the garlic, parsley, almonds and lemon zest in food processor and pulse to grind into a dry paste. Loosen skin on chicken and layer 1/4 of the mixture under the skin on each piece of chicken. Wash your hands, grease the breasts with a liberal drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and season with grill seasoning. Place skin side of the breasts down in the skillet and top with another, smaller skillet. Weight the pan with a brick. Cook to crisp skin, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the pan to hot oven and roast for 15 minutes.

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• Place the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and using your hands, press down hard to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of the mixture under the skin as well. If time permits, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes of marinating boosts the flavor).
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press rosemary sprigs, if using, into the skin side of the chicken. Put remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.
• Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and garlic; weight it with another skillet or with one or two bricks or rocks, wrapped in aluminum foil. The idea is to flatten the chicken by applying weight evenly over its surface.
• Cook over medium-high to high heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so). Serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.