Food Musings

For even cooking, succulent chicken and the crispiest skin you could imagine!

I’ve been wanting to try this Brick technique for a long time.    The key to success is to cook the chicken over medium-low gas grill or coals so the skin slowly renders out the fat.  It’s crispy and juicy…so perfect for grilling season!

Recently I asked our butcher to butterfly a whole chicken and take out the backbone.  Asked Greg to buy a couple of bricks and convinced him to help me try the technique and we were on our way!

While the picture above may not be how you want to present your chicken I wanted you to see how crispy the skin gets and also  what a butterflied chicken should look like. Also take a look at that left leg and how the meat is literally falling off the bone.  This is really, really, really delicious.

Chicken Grilled Under a Brick

6-8 Servings

• 1 3 1/2–4-pound chicken, backbone removed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves diced.
• 1 red onion, cut into 1/2″ slices
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed in salt and olive oil

• Open chicken and place on a work surface, skin side up. Using your palms, firmly press on breastbone to flatten the breast. Season chicken all over with salt through garlic ingredients, even under the skin. Place in a baking dish. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Build a medium-low fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium. Place chicken, skin side down, on grill and place a foil covered brick or heavy skillet on top of chicken to weigh it down. (This will expose more skin to direct heat, making it crispy; the chicken will also cook faster.) Cook until skin is crispy and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Using tongs, set brick aside. Turn chicken, cover grill, and cook for 10-15 more minutes. Continue cooking and turning chicken every 10 minutes, covering grill between turns, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°, about 50 minutes total. Transfer to a carving board; let chicken rest for 10–20 minutes. (Resting will make for juicier meat.)