September
25
Chicken Under a Brick
Chicken Under a Brick
Author: trotsig
Type: Main
Prep time:
Cooking time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 large (~ 2 kg) chicken
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh garlic
- 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons sweet butter
- 1 lemon, quartered
Instructions
- Butterfly split the chicken.
- Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, garlic
- Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and massage this all over the poor chicken
- Tuck some of it under the skin as well
- Allow to marinate, if time permits, for up to a day, refrigerated of course
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Preheat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.
- Press the rosemary sprigs into the skin of the chicken.
- Put the butter and remaining olive oil in the pan and wait a minute for it to heat up.
- Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, along with pieces of rosemary and garlic.
- Weight the chicken with another skillet or use a flat pot cover and a couple of bricks or rocks.
- The basic idea is to flatten the chicken by applying a fair amount of weight evenly over its surface.
- Cook over medium-high to high heat for 10 minutes; transfer, still weighted, to the oven.
- Roast for 25 minutes more.
- Take the chicken from the oven and remove the weight
- Turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast 25 minutes more.
- Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.
Notes
This recipe originated in Lucca, Italy, it should always be made with the best olive oil available. I weight the chickens with a cast-iron pan and a couple of big rocks.
The only problem is that handling the hot, heavy pan.
This requires strength, so use both hands.
This is the simplest and best method for producing a beautiful, crisp-skinned bird
I specify rosemary here, which is delicious. But most herbs are equally wonderful.
Try savory (in similar quantity); parsley, basil, chervil, chives (use twice as much)
or tarragon, marjoram, or thyme (use half as much)
Carbs: Zero carbs.