A New Use for Masonry: Chicken Under a Brick

By John DeLucie

Ingredients

• 1 whole 3- to 4-pound chicken, trimmed of excess fat, rinsed, dried and split in two
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, optional
• 1 brick
• tin foil
  

Preparation

Place the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and using your hands, press down hard to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the rosemary leaves, salt, pepper, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and rub this all over the chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes of marinating boosts the flavor).

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Press rosemary sprigs, if using, into the skin side of the chicken. Put remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.

Place the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and weight it with another skillet or with one or two bricks, wrapped in aluminum foil. The idea is to flatten the chicken by applying weight evenly over its surface.

Cook over medium-high to high heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; roast 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so).