Chicken under a brick (pollo al mattone)
Pressing chicken thighs flat in a hot skillet gives the crispiest, most evenly golden skin you’ll ever make, with lemon, rosemary and garlic.
- 50 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 2
- About $3.15 a serving
- 660 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin on
- 1 lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
- 4 cups arugula
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
Each serving has about 660 calories, 46 g protein, 6 g carbs and 50 g fat, and costs about $3.15 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No bone-in chicken thighs? Chicken drumsticks work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh rosemary? Fresh thyme works.
- No arugula? Baby spinach or spring mix works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Rub the thighs all over with the lemon , garlic, rosemary, pepper flakes, salt and pepper, then cover and leave them in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Timer: 15 min
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Wrap the bottom of a second heavy in foil to use as your weight.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Dolly’s tip: No brick needed. A second heavy pan, or a pot with a few cans in it, works just as well.Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large cast-iron over medium. Lay the thighs in skin side down and set the weighted pan on top.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Cook 15 to 18 minutes, until the skin is deep and very . Peek at 10 minutes and if it’s smoking.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Medium heatTimer: 16 min
Dolly’s tip: The weight keeps every bit of skin touching the pan. That’s the whole trick.Take off the weight, flip the thighs, and cook 8 to 10 minutes more, uncovered, until the thickest one reads 165°F near the bone.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
the arugula with a squeeze of lemon, the last teaspoon of oil and of salt.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Serve the chicken skin side up on the arugula with lemon wedges and the pan drippings spooned over.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
