Cast Iron Skillet Roasted Chicken Aka Picnic Chicken Recipes

CAST-IRON ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place a rack in upper third of oven and set a 12" cast-iron skillet or 3-qt. enameled cast-iron baking dish on rack. Preheat oven to 425°F. Once oven reaches temperature, pat chicken dry with paper towels and lightly coat with half of the oil. Drizzle remaining oil into hot skillet (this helps keep the chicken from sticking and tearing the skin). Place chicken in skillet and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breasts registers 155°F, 50-60 minutes (temperature will climb to 165°F as chicken rests). Let chicken rest in skillet at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and carve legs off, followed by breasts.

SKILLET-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PICO DE GALLO

Steps:

• Chop 1/4 of the red onion and place in a small mixing bowl. Cut remaining onion into rough wedges and reserve for the chicken.
• Add tomato, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro to the chopped onion. Add olive oil and 1/2 of the lime juice; stir mixture together and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Mix cayenne pepper, chile pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
• Trim and clean chicken thighs. Lightly brush both sides with olive oil, then coat with the spice mixture.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat until you can see steam coming up from the pan. Add chicken and sear on both sides until skin is crispy, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with reserved onion wedges and remaining lime juice.
• Place in the preheated oven and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 12 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Plate chicken and top with pico de gallo.

CAST IRON SKILLET ROASTED CHICKEN (AKA ' PICNIC CHICKEN ')

Steps:

• *Note: the original recipe specified dried thyme.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• If using a whole chicken/spatchcocking: Place chicken on the cutting board breast side down. Use kitchen shears to cut down the length of the spine on both sides. Discard the spine.
• Turn the bird breast side up. Gripping the 2 cut sides where the spine used to be, open up the bird, pressing down firmly at the center to flatten it.
• For chicken pieces: Rub the spice mixture all over the chicken pieces and brown on both sides for 5 minutes each side.
• In a small bowl, mix together the salt, garlic powder, thyme (or other dried herb of choice) and black pepper. Rub the mixture evenly over the entire chicken.
• Set a large cast-iron skillet on a burner over medium-high. When the skillet it hot, add the chicken breast (or chicken pieces) side down. Let the chicken brown for 5 minutes, then use tongs to carefully flip the bird so the breast side is up. Brown the other side 5 minutes.
• Set the skillet in the oven and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the thickest part reaches 165 degrees. Depending on if you use a whole chicken, bone-in chicken pieces or boneless, roasting time will vary. It only took about 25 minutes for our chicken pieces to roast all the way through.
• Either serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate for use in a picnic.

PICNIC CHICKEN

Steps:

• Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasonings. Place egg in another shallow bowl, dip chicken in egg, then in the crumb mixture. , In a large skillet, brown the chicken in oil and butter over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until chicken juices run clear.

PICNIC CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in blender and blend until garlic and bay leaf are finely chopped. Transfer mixture to bowl. Add chicken to bowl and turn to coat. Marinate chicken in bowl in refrigerator, breast side down, overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place rack in roasting pan. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Place chicken on prepared rack and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with reserved marinade, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

CAST-IRON SKILLET CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 F, or as high as it will go. Preheat cast-iron skillet over high heat. (Note: Chef Gillespie uses an 8-inch skillet to cook 2 servings; use two 8-inch skillets or one 14-inch skillet to cook 4 servings.) Butcher the chicken: First, make a cut along one side of the backbone, as close to the bone as possible. Carefully cut down until the breast and tenderloin can be pulled away from the carcass in one piece; pop the thigh bone out of the joint, and continue cutting from thigh to wing joint to detach the entire half from the carcass. Repeat procedure with the other side of the chicken. (Reserve the carcass for stock.)
• Extend the wing and cut through joint between the flat and the drumette. (Reserve the wing for stock.) Make a cut to separate the breast from the thigh, so you have a leg-and-thigh piece and a breast-and-drumette piece. When the skillet is smoking hot, add the grapeseed oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Pat the chicken pieces completely dry with paper towels; then generously season on all sides with salt.
• Very gently lay the leg-thigh in the skillet, skin side down, and cook until the skin is nicely browned, about 2 minutes. No need to peek or move the chicken-just let it cook undisturbed. When the skin is browned, it will release easily from the pan; flip it over so it's skin side up. Add the breast to the skillet, skin side down. Place skillet in the oven and cook, 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, remove skillet from the oven and check to see if chicken is done: the juices bubbling at the bone should be clear, and the meat should be retracting at the thigh bone. Serve.