Tuscan Chicken Under a Brick
Prep Time
10 minutes
Prep Notes
This is an impressive dish. You can have your butcher take the backbone out. I remember one of my cooking classes they did it..screamimg !!!
This way of cooking a chicken insure you that it cooks evenly.
Cooking Time
30-45 minutes
Yields
1-4
Ingredients
2 Cornish Hens or 4 to 6 pound roasting chicken
2 lemons zest and juice
2 cloves of garlic peeled and grated
10 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoonssea salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 parchment paper or aluminum foil - covered bricks
Directions
Cut the backbone of each of hens to open them flat you can do this with kitchen scissors
In a plastic ziplock bag zest and juice lemons pull off thyme leaves drop them in, sprinkle salt, red pepper flakes and grate garlic to bag .
Add Cornish hens seal the bag than smooch the chicken and so the marinade all over hens ..place in refrigerator for a day or overnight
Preheat oven 400 degrees and let hens come to room temperature
Heat a large saute’pan that can go into oven and stovetop . Take out hen and save marinade for later place hens skin side down on the pan place bricks on top of birds cook them on moderate heat 10 minutes.
Than place Hens in the oven leaving the bricks on top cook for 15 minutes .
Take the pan out of oven wearing oven mitts carefully remove bricks turn hens over with tongs.
Add remaining marinade place bricks top hens and cook for another 15 minutes or when juices of hens are clear.
Take out Cornish hens out of oven remove bricks carve each bird and drizzle pan juices all over and ENJOY!!!IF USING ROASTING CHICKEN increase cooking time 30 minutes
Notes
Delish... My son goes crazy for this, and now he make it himself. That's how easy it is.