Chicken Under a Skillet with Lemon Pan Sauce
Wanna tasty chicken but don't have 3 hours to roast one? Spatchocking helps cut the cooking time in half and this recipe provides a crisp, crackly skin and
Servings: 4
Cost: $12
Equipment
- Oven safe skillet large enough for splayed chicken
- Cast Iron skillet smaller than the one holding the chicken
Ingredients
- 1 4 lb Whole chicken, patted dry
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces Honestly, I don't think unsalted is really necessary, but if it matters to you....knock yourself out.
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
Spatchcocking the bird
- Place chicken on a work surface and use kitchen shears to snip off wing tips (they get in the way of the breasts during cooking: save them for stock).
- Turn chicken breast side down and use shears to cut along both sides of the backbone to remove it (save for stock along with those wing tips).
- Open up chicken and use the tip of a knife to cut a shallow line along either side of the rectangular bone and strip of cartilage in the middle of breast.
- Turn chicken skin side up and press down on center of breast to flatten chicken--you should hear the breastbone crack. ( I know...the "ew" factor, but just do it.)
- Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Cooking the chicken
- Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a dry large cast-iron skillet over medium. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season all over again with a light sprinkling of salt. Add oil to skillet, then chicken, arranging skin side down. Cover the bottom of another smaller cast-iron skillet with foil.
- Place the smaller foil bottomed skillet over the chicken to weigh it down. Cook, peeking under foil and lifting chicken a bit to check, until skin is deep golden brown and crisp all over, 15 - 18 minutes.
- Remove top skillet and turn chicken skin side up. Transfer skillet to oven and roast chicken just until cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breast should register 160°F), 15 - 20 minutes.
- Carefully remove skillet from oven and place chicken skin side up (to preserve that crispness) on a plate to rest.
The Lemon Pan Sauce
- Set skillet over medium-low heat and add shallot and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until shallot is softened and golden, about 3 minutes.
- Add wine and lemon juice and swirl skillet to emulsify. Reduce heat to low and add butter; cook, swirling to combine, until melted. Pour in juices that have pooled under chicken on plate; mix in parsley.
- Return chicken to skillet to serve. (Note: with all due respect to the orignator of this recipe, really? How do you disassemble a flat chicken inside of a skillet without completely trashing your skillet?!? I recommend cutting apart your chicken, and THEN returning it to the pan with the sauce to serve.)