Brick Chicken with Orange + Rosemary Pan Sauce

If the only thing I ever accomplish as a recipe writer is that I teach you how to make a really good roast chicken, I’ll be happy. This Brick Chicken with orange + rosemary pan sauce is yet another attempt at reaching that goal.

winner winner chicken dinner – brick chicken with orange + rosemary pan sauce

Several factors come into play to make this roast chicken a winner, none of which are particularly difficult or time consuming.

1. Spatchcocking – Removing the backbone and flattening the chicken results in all of the skin being on one side of the chicken, and much quicker cooking time. Toss the backbone into a freezer bag and use when you make broth.
2. Dry brining – This is just a fancy term for seasoning ahead of time. This results in evenly seasoned, juicier meat and crispier skin.
3. The brick – Weighing the chicken down with another heavy skillet or another kind of weight helps to retain moisture while ensuring even browning.

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This isn’t the first Brick Chicken recipe I’ve posted here on this site. Back in the summer of 2017, I published Chicken Grilled or Roasted Under a Brick, and it’s still one of my favorites. But for this recipe, I wanted to also include a tasty and simple pan sauce.

For the sauce, you’ll need to chop up a shallot, slice a little garlic, and remove the peel and pith from a couple oranges. (For a tutorial on that, subscribe to my Patreon.) All of that is easily done while the chicken is in the oven, with plenty of time to spare!

And then, when you remove the chicken from the skillet to rest, the oranges, shallots and garlic get thrown into the pan with a couple sprigs of rosemary, to combine with the schmaltz that’s in there for pan sauce perfection.

Brick Chicken with Orange + Rosemary

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• Author: zenbelly
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings
• Category: chicken
• Method: roast

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, about 4 pounds, spatchcocked and ideally dry brined (see above video)
• salt 
• your favorite spice blend (skip the salt if your blend already has it) 
• 1 large shallot, sliced or minced 
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced 
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 oranges, peel and pith removed, cut into sections or rounds (see this video)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth, wine, or water

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Instructions

1. Position an oven rack in the bottom third of your oven, with plenty of room above it. Heat your oven to 425ºF and place a large cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up with it. Find something heavy you can use to weigh down the chicken – a dutch oven is good, or another cast iron pan. Or an actual brick wrapped in foil. 
2. Take the chicken out of the fridge and coat the skin side with olive oil. Let it hang out at room temperature while your oven heats up. (if you didn’t dry brine your chicken, just season it now) 
3. When the oven comes up to temp, carefully remove the skillet from the oven and place on the stove. Transfer the chicken to the skillet, skin side down, and cover just the chicken (not the entire skillet) with a double later of aluminum foil. 
4. Place your weight on top and put it all in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, and then remove. You might want to remove the weight first so it’s not so heavy. 
5. Remove and discard the aluminum foil and then remove the weight. Flip the chicken so it’s skin side up and return to the oven. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to a temp of 160 in the thigh. Transfer to a cutting board to rest. 
6. Place the skillet the chicken was in over a medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes until they’re browned and softened and smell great. Stir in the rosemary sprigs and oranges with their juice. Cook for about a minute, just until the oranges start to fall apart. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. 
7. Cut up the chicken and serve over the sauce. 

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