Tender chicken with an outrageous crispy crust pairs with a vegetables melange of carrots, turnips & corn and a rosemary pan-sauce.
The ultimate one-pan healthy comfort food main dish.
Cooking chicken breasts under a brick creates not only a crispy skin – but a perfectly cooked and tender interior.
“Brick Chicken” is seared skin-side down with a weight on top. The meat will flatten and cook within 15 minutes.
This recipe is for those who love to cook, want to master a new technique – and make a restaurant quality meal at home.
My technique uses chicken breasts – bones out, skin intact – it’s quicker to cook and only one pan is required for the whole dish. (Sometimes I spatchcock… butterfly a whole chicken so it lies flat.)
A “ragoût” (pronounced ra-gu) is French for a stew and it comes from the word ragoûter, which means “to revive the taste.”
Many vegetables can be used here, even potatoes – the trick is to cut them in similar sizes so they cook evenly together.
The Simple Rosemary Pan-Sauce is made in the skillet when the vegetables are sautéed and crisp-tender.
Rosé wine, chicken stock (or vegetable) and fresh rosemary are reduced – and cold butter is added to thicken and enrich.
Preparing the Chicken:
Enjoy this special recipe,
Karen
Chicken Breasts Under a Brick with Vegetable Ragoût
Tender chicken with an ultimate crispy crust pairs with a vegetables melange of carrots, turnips & corn. Quicker than a whole chicken and delicious! Method: Cook chicken skin side down in cast iron skillet - add vegetables; finish with rosemary for a beautiful pan-sauce.
Equipment
- 14" cast iron pan
- 2 bricks (covered in heavy foil)
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts on the bone with skin, (the bones to be removed) About 3 pounds
Marinade & for Under the Skin:
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper, mixed
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped
Skillet Cooking:
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, I use organic
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, organic
- 1 large ear fresh corn, cut kernals off cob; will have 1 1/4 cups
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium fresh carrots, I use yellow & orange carrots, 3/4 cup diced, organic
- 3 medium fresh turnips, peel if large, yields: 3/4 cup diced, organic
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons rosé or white wine
- 1/2 cup rich chicken stock, can use vegetable stock*
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter, organic
Instructions
- Debone the Chicken breasts and save the bones for stock (can freeze and make at a later date.) Ask your butcher to do, or simply cut away the bone, scraping with a boning knife until it is detached.Add the chicken to a large plate to hold. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper and mix in. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours.Dice the vegetables into 1/3" pieces, remove kernals from corn; set aside.
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator, pour off any marinade, pat dry. Add a portion of 2 t. minced garlic and 2 t. chopped rosemary under the skin of each chicken breast, smooth the skin on top. Season well a few pinches of salt & pepper all over. Cover two bricks geneousely wih heavy foil.
Cook the Chicken Under Bricks:
- Heat 2 teaspoons evoo and 1 tablespoon of butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When hot and foamy add the chicken breasts SKIN SIDE DOWN in skillet. Place each brick over 2 pieces of chicken - using 2 bricks. Continue cooking over medium heat, not higher until the skin is very dark golden and crispy 8 - 10 minutes.Remove bricks and turn the chicken over with tongs. Reduce heat to low. Cook the second side until just cooked through - about 5 minutes. This will depend on the size of your chicken breasts. (The chicken will flatten a bit due to the bricks!)Remove to a plate.
Sauté the Ragoût, Finish the Pan-Sauce
- Wipe the skillet clean add 2 teaspoons of butter and place heat at high. When hot and foamy add all the corn - quickly stir up, then leave to caramelize, do not stir. Corn will "pop" a bit. When golden around the eges - in just one minute - remove to a plate.Add 2 teaspoons evoo to the pan, place heat at medium- low. Add the carrots and tunips and cook, stirring from time to time for 10 minutes until tender crisp. Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic and stir in. Cook one minute.Add rosemary and wine and bring to a boil. After one minute add chicken (or vegetable stock) and cook 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Reduce heat to low - add cold butter, swirling in, a tablespoon at a time until emulsified. Taste for salt! Add up to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
Serve the dish:
- Add a portion of vegetable ragoût to each plate. Slice chicken 1/2" thick and lay on top of the vegetables. Pour over all with the pan-sauce in the skillet.Garnish with fresh herbs of your liking - fresh basil, rosemary or thyme.
- If desired - scatter some baby arugula leaves all over.
Notes
*Vegetable Stock I used: ORGANIC Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base.
This recipe may not be reproduced without the consent of its author, Karen Sheer.
Nutrition
Calories: 375kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 27gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 433mgPotassium: 548mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 3819IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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