StovetopAmerican
Chicken under a brick
Spatchcocked, weighted, a screaming skillet or grate. Skin like glass.
Made it?
50 min · 25 min hands-on · pull 160°F · rest 10 min
Ingredients
4.5 lb on the fire · ~2.9 lb to the table · 6 plates at 8 oz
- chicken, backbone off, flattened4 1/2 lb
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- oil2 tbsp
- chopped rosemary1 tsp
Method
- 1
Salt overnight if you can. Oil, rosemary, pepper.
- 2
Hot skillet, skin down, a foil-wrapped brick or a second pan on top. 12 minutes. Flip, 8–12 more until breast 160, thigh 175.
- 3
Rest 10. Grill version: same weight on the grate, two-zone.
If you don’t have it
- whole chicken → a neighboring cut on the same animal. Keep the same pull. Leaner cooks faster and dries sooner.
- chicken, backbone off, flattened → What you actually have, if it is the same muscle family. The sheet-pan roast chicken is the unweighted twin. This is for shatter skin.
Same cook, different day
Weeknight
Less time. Same seasoning, hotter fire, watch the probe. Do not skip the rest.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making potato salad.
While the meat rests. Waxy potatoes, salt in the water, mustard-mayo, pickle, celery. Fold when the potatoes are still warm.
45 min
- With this dish, try making skillet mac.
In the oven while a roast rests, or the last stretch of a smoke. A real béchamel, cheddar, a breadcrumb top. Do not start it at the same time as a packer and expect timing to match.
40 min