Chicken Under A Brick Is The Answer. Heres A And How-To-Brick Video.

• 1 smallish (2 1/2 - 3 1/2 pounds) whole chicken
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup harissa paste, homemade or store-bought (I like Les Moulins Mahjoub brand for its bright color), plus more for serving
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 bricks, available at hardware stores or filched from a construction site

1. Preheat the oven to 500F.
2. Double-wrap your two bricks in aluminum foil.
3. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board.
4. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut out the backbone (or, in other words, make a cut on either side of that little piece of skin that sticks out at the end of the chicken, then cut a 1 1/2-inch wide strip up through to the other side of the chicken).
5. Discard this, or pop it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for stock if youre so inclined.
6. Flatten the chicken with your hands, then, using a sharp chefs knife, cut the chicken into two equal-sized halves.
7. Trim off any excess skin and trim the last joint off the wings (this helps the chicken lie flatter in the skillet).
8. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
9. In a small bowl, combine the harissa with the garlic and shmear it all over the chicken.
10. Heat a standard cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, add the oil and heat until the oil shimmers this will happen fast, so don't go doing anything else while youre waiting.
11. Place chicken skin-side down in the skillet, weigh down with the foil-covered bricks, and cook for 7-8 minutes to really begin developing that crispy crust.
12. Transfer to the oven (use both hands; were talking bricks on chicken on cast iron, people) and cook an additional 12-13 minutes.
13. The chicken may smoke a little at this high heat, so make sure you open a window or turn on the exhaust fan.
14. Remove from the oven, remove the bricks (theyll be hot use oven mitts!
15. ), flip using tongs, return to oven and finish cooking for an additional 10 minutes.
16. Remove from oven, let rest for a couple of minutes, then carve, trying to preserve as much of that incredible skin as you can and serve with additional harissa.

smallish, salt, olive oil, harissa paste, garlic, bricks

Taken from www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/chicken-under-a-brick-is-the-answer-heres-a-recipe-and-how-to-brick-video/ (may not work)