Chicken Under a Brick
Instructions:
The wonderful dish associated with Lucca, Italy, in
which split chicken is weighted to flatten it, producing
an evenly cooked, crisp, and moist bird with little effort
(other than some heavy lifting). Mattone means “tile,”
but I usually weight the chickens with a cast-iron pan
and a couple of big rocks. The only problem is that handling
the hot, heavy pan takes a steady, strong wrist, so
use two hands.
I specify rosemary here, which is delicious. But most
herbs are equally wonderful: Try savory or dill (in similar
quantity); parsley, basil, chervil, chives (use twice as
much); or tarragon, oregano, marjoram, or thyme (use
half as much).
1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess
fat
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves or
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, plus 2 optional sprigs
fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
MAKES: 4 servings
TIME: 45 minutes
- Remove the backbone and split the chicken (see left). Heat the oven to 450 F. Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of it under the skin as well.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press the rosemary sprigs, if you’re using them, into the skin of the chicken. Put the remaining olive oil in the pan and wait a minute for it to heat up.
- Put the chicken in the pan, skin side down, along with any pieces of rosemary and garlic. Weight the chicken with another skillet or 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 15 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 for 10 minutes more. To check for doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; it should read 155–165 F. Cut into pieces and serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.