Citrus Marinated Chicken Under a Brick ... or Four
- 3 ½ pounds fresh chicken, peferably organic or free roaming
- ½ large orange
- ½ large lemon, preferably meyer lemon
- ½ medium lime
- 3 teaspoons latin spice mix, see recipe or your favorite spice blend
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 T. flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Cut the chicken to butterfly by cutting down the back bone with a sharp knife. Cut out the back bone completely, or as I do, I leave it intact. Ask your butcher for help, if needed. Turn chicken over, skin side up and flatten by breaking each breast bone with the palm of your hand. Trim any excess fat.
Wash and dry the chicken. Place in a very large bowl or pan to hold. Squeeze the orange, lemon and lime all over. The three citruses should produce about 1/2 cup of juice. Marinate, covered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or over night.
Place a piece of plastic wrap of waxed paper on your work surface, place chicken - skin side down on it, reserving juice in bowl. Use citrus juices for "Little Orange Sauce with a lot of Flavor."
Blot chicken dry with a paper towel. Rub 1 t. seasoning on this side. Turn over, skin side up, rub in remaining seasoning.
Add 1 T. canola oil to a cast iron skillet. Turn heat up to medium - high. When hot, add chicken SKIN SIDE DOWN with tongs.
Cover with a flat heavy pan to fit. Add two bricks, then two more on top. Cover bricks with heavy foil if they are dirty. The ones I weighted with were never used ( I did not cover them), and they do not touch the chicken directly. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Take off the bricks and check for color. The chicken should be a very dark, rich color. If not ready yet, cover it for a few minutes.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Turn the chicken over carefully with tongs. Turn heat down to low. Cover once more with the pan and bricks. Cook 10 minutes
until golden brown, will not be fully cooked. Remove the bricks and pan, place in the warm oven until cooked inside, only about 10 minutes more. Take out, pierce the dark meat to test. Will be cooked through when the juices run clear. Place in the oven a few minutes more if necessary. Remove from the oven, cut into 4 pieces and serve. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. sea salt and parsley.
See blog for extra information and photos.
To serve with chicken:
Latin Style Spice Mix for Poultry
