Crispy Chicken Under a Brick is a whole chicken, seared and pressed on the grill, making it super crunchy on the outside with tender, juicy meat on the inside.
My friends laugh when they hear that this dish is called Crispy Chicken Under A Brick. How quickly the laughter stops when they dive in to gobble up this incredibly crispy and juicy chicken. The crisp comes from the chicken being seared on the grill under a weight, while the even cooking keeps the juices inside. At my house, we call this Chicken Under a Skillet, because I use a cast-iron skillet instead of a brick as the weight. Works perfectly!
There is a little process involved in making this dish. The whole chicken must have the backbone removed, allowing it to be flattened for cooking. This is called a fun and giggle worthy word….spatchcocking. For help on how to remove the backbone, check out Fine Cookings “Butterfly A Chicken” video. Jennifer Armentrout makes it look so easy!
So, now that your chicken has no backbone, let’s get started!
Heat up your grill for indirect cooking. This just means half the grill should have minimal or no heat under it.
Don’t have a brick? A cast-iron skillet is plenty heavy to weigh down your chicken. I prefer the skillet because it has a handle that makes moving it easy.
Grill the flip side of the chicken without any weight. The chicken should be flat as a pancake by now, so you’re good! Check that the chicken is at least 165 degrees on a meat thermometer before taking it off the grill.
Look at that crispy skin…amazing!
Crispy Chicken Under a Brick
Ingredients
- 3 pound Whole Chicken backbone removed
- 1/2 cup Italian Salad Dressing
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 2 tbsp lime juice 1/2 lime
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix Italian Dressing, Garlic, Old Bay Seasoning and lime juice. Place whole chicken into a large ziplock bag, pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag and work marinade around to evenly distribute marinade over the ckicken.
- Place the ziplock bag on a plate and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Heat one side only of grill to medium-high: leave one side of burners off for Gas, or rake hot coals to one side of charcoal grill. When grill is hot, brush grill rack lightly with oil on the side NOT over direct heat.
- Place the chicken, skin side down, on the unheated side of the grill. Place skillet or foiled wrapped brick on top of the chicken to flatten. Grill for 25-30 minutes, and until skin is golden brown.
- Remove skillet and turn chicken over onto the direct heat side of the grill. Grill another 25-30 minutes. (you do not use the skillet or brick for this step)
- Chicken is done when a meat thermometer reads at least 165°F when placed in the thickest meaty part of the chicken.
- Remove from the grill, cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. Cut into serving size pieces and enjoy.
