Chicken Al Mattone Under A Brick Recipes

POUSSIN "SOTTO MATTONE" OR BABY CHICKEN COOKED UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• To marinate poussin, first slice lemon into rings and place on cookie sheet. In 475 degree oven, or preferably, wood roasting oven, char lemon until very fragrant. Allow lemon to cool and toss with thyme, olive oil and poussin. Marinate at least 2 hours. Prepare eggplant and figs by cutting each in half, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill eggplant and figs and keep warm. Lay poussin skin side down on grill. Place brick atop poussin and grill 3 to 4 minutes. Remove brick, rotate poussin 90 degrees and grill 3 more minutes under brick. Finally flip over poussin and grill 2 minutes without the brick. Assemble on large platter with grilled eggplant and figs. Drizzle dish with fruity olive oil and fresh herbs.

POLLO AL MATTONE: CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Mince the garlic and parsley and combine with the zest, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Wash the chicken under cold running water and dry. With poultry shears, remove the wing tips, any excess fat, and cut out the backbone. Put them aside for stock. You may want to remove the ribs and breastbone, too. Mix together the marinade ingredients. Lay the chicken flat, skin side up. Stuff the garlic mixture under the skin, place in the marinade, then cover and marinate for a few hours or, even better, overnight. Turn two or three times.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron pan large enough to hold the chicken (I use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet). Place the chicken skin side down and weigh it down with the two clean bricks wrapped in foil. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then place the skillet and bricks in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, after which you'll remove the weights and turn the chicken over, cooking another 10 minutes or so, until done. Cut into serving- sized pieces.

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• Remove first 2 wing joints, backbone, and breastbone from chicken (or have your butcher do this). Rinse chicken well and pat dry; place in a container just large enough to hold it, skin side down. Pour lemon juice over chicken and turn over completely to coat both sides.
• Finely mince rosemary, thyme, and garlic together on a cutting board with the salt. Transfer to a small bowl or measuring cup and add paprika. Pour in olive oil and mix well. Pour half of mixture over chicken in container, rubbing it into meat. Turn chicken over, skin side up, and smear remaining herb mixture over and under the skin. Cover and refrigerate in marinade, skin side up, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Remove chicken from refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking so it can come to room temperature.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over a high flame until hot; add a film of olive oil, put chicken in skin side down and immediately place 2 foil-covered bricks on top, pressing down to flatten the chicken. Let cook, undisturbed, until skin side is crispy (about 20 minutes) then remove bricks, turn chicken over, and replace bricks. Continue cooking on other side until meat in thigh is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more. To serve, cut into leg and breast portions.

POLLO AL MATTONE

Steps:

• Special equipment: weights such as foil covered bricks or cast iron saute pan
• In a small bowl combine the garlic, crushed red pepper, lemon zest and juice, rosemary, pimenton, and cumin. Drizzle in olive oil until the mixture becomes a paste. Place the chicken into a large bowl and massage with the spice mixture. Let marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator or 2 hours at room temperature.
• * If refrigerating the chicken, remove from the refrigerator 45 minutes to 1 hour before cooking to let the chicken come to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay the marinated chicken in the pan, skin side down. Oil the bottom of another large saute pan, lay it on top of the chickens and place bricks or weights in the second saute pan. Cook the chicken until the skin starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Place the whole shootin' match in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pans from the oven and remove the weights and the top pan. At this point the skin should be lovely and dark brown. Check the chicken for doneness, it should be cooked through but still succulent and juicy. Remove the chickens from the pan and reserve on a large platter.
• Remove the excess fat from the saute pan and add the white wine. Cook over high heat until the wine has reduced by more than half. Add the chicken stock, season with salt and reduce by half.
• Arrange chicken on serving plates or a platter. Spoon the juices over. Tastes like chicken!

CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Steps:

• Put the chicken on a cutting board, skin side down, and press down as hard as you can with your hands to make it as flat as possible. Mix together the minced or dried rosemary, salt and pepper, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and rub this all over the chicken. Tuck some of the mixture under the skin as well. If time permits, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to a day (even 20 minutes helps).
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 500°F. Preheat an ovenproof 12-inch skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Press the rosemary sprigs into the skin side of the chicken. Put the remaining olive oil in the pan and wait about 30 seconds for it to heat up.
• Put the chicken in the skillet, skin side down, along with any remaining pieces of rosemary and garlic; weight it with another skillet or one or two bricks or rocks wrapped in aluminum foil. 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 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the weights; turn the chicken over (it will now be skin side up) and roast for 10 minutes more, or until done (large chickens may take an additional 5 minutes or so). Serve hot or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

CHICKEN AL MATTONE (UNDER A BRICK)

Steps:

• Rinse and clean chicken. With kitchen shears, cut chicken up backbone and lay flat, press down to flatten until hear a crack. Place chicken in ziploc gallon bag. Add all other ingredients and marinade at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Pat dry chicken of marinade and season outside with salt and pepper.
• Heat grill to medium. Place chicken skin side down in coolest spot on grill, and place a foil wrapped brick on top. Leave skin side down on grill for 10 minutes watching that it doesn't flare. Flip over and cook ten minutes more. When done, carefully lift brick off using oven mits. Let chicken rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Shouldn't have to carve it, meat should tear apart with ease.
• Good with grilled veggies or baked pasta and salad.