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.

Gravy!

  • 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • About 2 cups chicken broth, or just use hot water (Milk can be used to make a white gravy.)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
And of course, you can use the drippings from the chicken to make an outstanding gravy! After removing the chicken from the bottom pan, place the pan on your stovetop, and turn the stovetop burner on to medium heat. Use a whisk to scrape off the tasty bits from the bottom of the pot, mixing in with the juices from the chicken. Add half a stick of butter, and stir it to melt the butter and mix it in to the chicken schmaltz. Now add 1/4 flour and stir it all together to make a roux. Stir the roux for a couple of minutes to cook the flour and remove any flour-ey taste.
Start adding liquid to the pot, a little at a time; don't dump two cups of liquid into the pot all at once. The first time you add water to the roux, it will thicken up and turn into solid bits. This is correct! Keep stirring, and add more liquid, a little at a time, to thin it out and turn the roux into gravy. Keep adding liquid and stirring until the gravy is at the consistency you like. (They usually say "when it coats the back of a spoon, it's ready.") Some folks like thin gravy, others like thick gravy. (I like thick gravy!) At this point, add salt and pepper and mix it in until you get the taste you want. You can also add a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce if you want.
Serve your chicken with the gravy!
I've made videos before now of using this method to cook chicken in cast iron. However, some of the comments on those videos were from persons who didn't think you could cook chicken in only twenty minutes. That's why this video has been prepared in one unbroken take: it starts with the chicken being prepared and going into the oven, and it ends with the finished chicken being served, with bacon gravy being added. And I have to say here...man, did this chicken ever turn out good! The gravy was definitely something to take this over the top. This is a recipe I'll definitely be making for friends and family, very soon. I hope you enjoy this, and I especially hope it inspires you to try this yourself.

CONTACT

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modemac@modemac.com
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