Cast Iron Iron Chicken

There's a popular recipe for making a fast roasted chicken, namely "chicken under a brick." It involves taking a brick, wrapping it in foil, and using it to press down on your chicken when you cook it in the oven at high heat. This is a good way to get a well-cooked chicken, done really fast. However, why use a BRICK, when you probably already have something in your home that works just as well or even better? The odds are good that somewhere in your home, on a shelf or in a box, there's a cast iron sad iron from the 1800s, which was either handed down from your great-grandparents or purchased as a novelty item at a flea market or junk store. (The name "sad iron" uses the noun "sad" to mean "solid and heavy," cast from a single piece of metal. A sad iron is solid and not hollow, or made from separate pieces of metal fitted and fastened together.) These things can be found everywhere, at flea markets and yard sales and antique stores, and they're usually used as doorstops or paperweights. But here we have a new use for this iron, in the kitchen. This is a twist on "chicken under a brick" that works even better, because it involves two secret weapons. And those weapons are not one, but two, cast iron skillets.
Pans needed: Two large cast iron skillets. The second skillet doesn't have to be the same size as the first one, but it should be large enough to cover most of the chicken when placed on top. Plus, a large heavy oven-safe weight to press down the chicken. I love using a cast iron sad iron for this!

Ingredients

  • Anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, depending on how large your cast iron pan is!
  • Basic chicken spice rub: salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder
  • Any additional spices you prefer (Adobo, sazon, cajun chicken seasoning, etc.)
The steps for preparing the chicken are fast and simple:
Place two cast iron skillets into your oven. Don't oil or grease the pans – place them in the oven while dry.
Preheat the oven, and the pans, to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Wait until the oven reaches 500 degrees Fahrenheit before taking the chicken out of the refrigerator.
When the oven reaches 500 degrees, pat the chicken dry with paper towels, to remove excess moisture from the skin and the surface. This will help to crisp the skin as it cooks.
You can use your favorite spice rub to coat the chicken: salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, cajun seasoning, curry, chili…whatever your favorite chicken spices are. Even generic "chicken seasoning" purchased at the dollar store will work fine here.
Use heavy heat-resistant gloves or welding gloves. The pans will be EXTREMELY HOT! Take precautions to avoid burning anyone. Keep children OUT of the kitchen when these hot pans come out of the oven!
Remove the hot pans from the oven and place them on the stovetop, or onto trivets. Don't risk damaging your countertop by placing a 500 degree heavy piece of metal atop it.
Place the chicken into the bottom skillet, skin side down Listen to the sizzle!
When the chicken has been arranged in the skillet, take the second skillet and place it on top of the chicken.
Place a heavy heat-resistant weight – namely, the sad iron – into the top skillet. This, plus the weight of the top skillet, will press down on the upper surface of the chicken, and sear both the top and bottom at the same time.
Place the entire set of the weight pans and chicken into the oven – carefully! – and roast it all at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and remove the sad iron and the top pan. Let the chicken rest in the pan for five minutes before serving.

CONTACT

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