CHICKEN UNDER A BRICK

Tender, juicy and savory chicken with a perfect crispy skin - paired with a delicate pesto verde sauce. Even better? It's ready a flash. We've used chicken thighs here to speed up the recipe, you could use a whole spatchcock chicken if you like (that's a chicken with the backbone removed, pressed flat). This recipe is stovetop, using a skillet. If you want a smoky flavor, prepare your wood grill and use a skillet, just close the grill to trap in the smoky goodness. With either method - don't overcook the chicken. Enjoy!

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American, French, Italian

Keyword: bbq, brick, chicken, stovetop

Servings:

Ingredients

4 skin-on chicken thighs. Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are used here for more flavor, or boneless if preferred.
2/3 tsp Sel Magique Classic Blend
Fresh ground black pepper
5 tbs olive oil
1 oil-packed anchovy fillet, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tbs sherry or red wine vinegar
3 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch red pepper chili flakes

Instructions

CHICKEN

Wrap 2 bricks with foil (if you don’t have any bricks lying around, use a smaller heavy skillet just remember weight is your friend and what helps to make the skin crispy). Season chicken on both sides with Magique and pepper. Pour oil into a medium cast-iron skillet. Place chicken in pan skin side down (it’s okay if the pieces touch, but make sure they don’t overlap). Heat pan over medium-high and place a prepared brick on top of each piece (or, place a sheet of foil over chicken, then set a second cast-iron skillet on top). Cook chicken, checking halfway through to make sure skin isn’t taking on color too quickly and reducing heat to medium if needed, until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and flesh is almost completely cooked through, about 10 minutes.

PESTO VERDE

While chicken is cooking, place anchovy, garlic, and 2/3 tsp Magique in a mortar and use pestle to pound to a paste, about 1 minute. Add parsley and continue to pound until completely pulverized, about 2 minutes. Mix in oil, vinegar, mustard, and red pepper flakes with pestle, then add scallions. Taste and season with more salt, if needed.
Carefully remove bricks (foil will be greasy) and check chicken. There should be only a hint of medium-rare flesh on the thickest part of the thigh. Using a thin spatula, release chicken skin from pan and turn onto flesh side. Remove from heat and let sit to finish cooking through, about 1 minute.
Serve into a shallow plate or bowl. Spoon in some pesto verde and top with chicken, skin side up. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!