Chicken under a brick

Tonight I tried "chicken under a brick", except it wasn't under a brick, but under a smaller skillet.

Italians have been pan roasting chicken under a brick for centuries. The brick keeps the chicken flat and ensures even cooking.

You need a split chicken, or a half chicken. If you have a whole chicken, you have to remove the breastbone and flatten the chicken.

Marinate the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, rosemary and thyme*.

*Some like to add tobasco sauce too, but I didn't.

Bring the chicken to room temperature and dry thoroughly.

Heat a cast iron skillet until it's very hot. Meanwhile, heat up a slightly smaller skillet.

You don't want a skillet the same size; That would "steam" the chicken. But you don't want one too small either. Use the next size down.

Spray some Pam and then place the chicken skin side down. Place the second skillet on top of the chicken and press down.

Let the chicken cook until the skin is browned and crisp, then flip over, and let it cook some more under the "brick".

Then put it in the oven at 300 to make sure it cooks all the way through, without scorching.

The skin was darker than I'd have liked it to be, because I let it cook too long on the stove, but besides that, it was good.