CHICKEN UNDER A " BRICK" WITH ROASTED POTATOES

Chicken Under a

I used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen and tweaked slightly. Instead of the traditional brick you can use a cast iron skillet loaded with several cans or a large stockpot filled with water. It is important to use a non-stick pan beneath, so the skin doesn't have a chance to stick. This is the first time that I have eaten the skin from the chicken in years, due to health issues, but it is was a rare treat! It is also very pretty. Update: I changed this slightly so that I could add a little more flavor to the meat and not just the skin by adding the spices under the skin before cooking instead of over the skin. As much as I love the original recipe, I can't eat too much skin, so this is is another alternative.

Provided by nsomniak6

Categories Potato

Time 1h

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 12

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Ingredients

1 whole chicken, no larger than 3 lbs. trimmed of excess fat, giblet removed and discarded. rinsed and patted dry
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 1/2 lbs Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed dried and cut into 3/4 pieces

Steps:

Technique: Butterfly a chicken by cutting along the length of one side of the backbone. Turn chicken and cut along the other side of backbone and remove it. Turn chicken breast side up and flatten chicken with the palm of your hand. Then pound it with the flat side of a mallet to a fairly even thickness. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 450°F.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a heavy bottomed 12-inch ovenproof nonstick pan over med-high heat until it begins to smoke. Swirl oil to coat the pan. Place the chicken skin side down in the pan and reduce heat to med. Place the weight on the chicken and cook until evenly brown for about 25 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so. The chicken should be fairly crisp and brown after 20 minutes, if not turn up to med-high heat and continue to cook until well-browned.
Mix the remaining oil, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp thyme, rosemary, pepper flakes, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper in a small bowl.
Using tongs, carefully transfer chicken to a plate with the skin side up.
Pour off any fat from pan and add the potatoes, sprinkling them with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper and the remaining thyme. Place the chicken skin side up on the potatoes and brush the skin with the thyme-lemon juice mixture.
Transfer pan to oven and roast until the thickest part of the breast registers 160°F on a meat thermometer 10-15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
Return the potatoes to the oven and roast until browned and cooked through about 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to a large bowl leaving fat behind. Toss the potatoes with parsley. Cut the chicken in to pieces and serve with lemon wedges.