Spatch-Cock Is Fun To Say.
Dec. 15th, 2019 09:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Brick Chicken.
1 4-lb chicken, spatch-cocked and split in two
2 1/2 Tbsp thyme leaves
2 Tbsp rosemary, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (Ha! I used... actually that amount, because I didn't have any more.)
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Combine the other ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Add the chicken and refrigerate overnight.
Heat the oven to 450. Remove the chicken from the fridge, drain off the marinade, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add just enough oil to lightly film the pan. Put the chicken halves, skin side down, in the pan and immediately put a foil-wrapped brick on top of each half. Turn the heat to medium and cook (without moving the chicken) until the skin is a deep golden brown and the bird is cooked about halfway through, 20-25 minutes. Remove the bricks, turn the chicken halves over, and put the pan in the hot oven to finish roasting until a thermometer registers 165 F, another 20-25 minutes.
What worked: I made a half recipe and used a metal bacon press. The chicken was tasty and moist. I'm not entirely convinced that the press smooshed the chicken down sufficiently, but it cooked adequately.
What didn't: I'm still calibrating our stovetop, which is higher heat than our old range. The skin got a bit extra crispy (just on the edge of burning). Because I didn't take the chicken out ahead of time and it's been cold, the marinade solidified a bit and I wasn't able to drain off the oil. That, combined with the probably-too-high heat, meant that oil spattered everywhere. Including inside the oven.
Also, it set off the smoke alarms three times when I removed it from the oven.
Will I make it again? Quite possibly; we have the purpose-built metal presses, after all. However, there are some other similar recipes I might also try.
1 4-lb chicken, spatch-cocked and split in two
2 1/2 Tbsp thyme leaves
2 Tbsp rosemary, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (Ha! I used... actually that amount, because I didn't have any more.)
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Combine the other ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Add the chicken and refrigerate overnight.
Heat the oven to 450. Remove the chicken from the fridge, drain off the marinade, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add just enough oil to lightly film the pan. Put the chicken halves, skin side down, in the pan and immediately put a foil-wrapped brick on top of each half. Turn the heat to medium and cook (without moving the chicken) until the skin is a deep golden brown and the bird is cooked about halfway through, 20-25 minutes. Remove the bricks, turn the chicken halves over, and put the pan in the hot oven to finish roasting until a thermometer registers 165 F, another 20-25 minutes.
What worked: I made a half recipe and used a metal bacon press. The chicken was tasty and moist. I'm not entirely convinced that the press smooshed the chicken down sufficiently, but it cooked adequately.
What didn't: I'm still calibrating our stovetop, which is higher heat than our old range. The skin got a bit extra crispy (just on the edge of burning). Because I didn't take the chicken out ahead of time and it's been cold, the marinade solidified a bit and I wasn't able to drain off the oil. That, combined with the probably-too-high heat, meant that oil spattered everywhere. Including inside the oven.
Also, it set off the smoke alarms three times when I removed it from the oven.
Will I make it again? Quite possibly; we have the purpose-built metal presses, after all. However, there are some other similar recipes I might also try.
