Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Marsala, these are all names of chicken dishes that you’ve probably heard of.
But, Brick Pressed Chicken?
Also called Brick Chicken or Paver Pressed Chicken, this “recipe” is actually more of a method, than an actual list of ingredients.
While the practice of this somewhat unique cooking method is rather old, it became quite vogue in the late 80’s and early 90’s as somewhat of a novelty, and appeared on menus of trendy West Coast restaurants such as Campanili Restaurant in Los Angeles, which at first, called it Crisp Flattened Chicken.
So, what’s the secret?
Whether you use a brick, a paver, a weighted burger-press or simply any flat, heavy plate, the idea, is that this method does a number of wonderful things.
All are good.
1). It seals in the juices of the chicken
2). It makes the skin extra crispy
3). It gives the skin, of any exposed meat, great color.
4). It actually cooks a bit faster.
For this technique, some Chefs prefer to lay out a “spatchcocked” whole chicken (that is one that is butterflied open to lay flat on a pan or griddle), while others use the skin-on chicken breast.
Nearly always, the skin is left on. That’s one of the appealing parts of this whole thing anyway. To get a crispy skin.
The chicken is seasoned on both sides, with some coarse salt place on the skin side, (which also helps in the crispness department), then placed skin side down on a medium-hot skillet or even a griddle.
Lastly, the brick (or bricks) is/are placed on top of the chicken to weight and press it down on the pan.
Most Chef’s pre-heat the bricks or weight which help in the cooking process, and most, do this whole thing in a large skillet or fry pan which then is placed in a hot oven to both pan-sear and roast simultaneously.
The result is a chicken both equally juicy and crispy. A combination you don’t often get with most any other cooking method for chicken.
Some tips:
- Generally, if you’re going to use an actual brick, it’s best to buy the solid kind, not the ones with holes. This gives you a more uniform weight and heat distribution.
- Wrap it with foil. Of course, unless you like the taste of brick.
- Pre-heat the foil wrapped bricks in a 400 F oven before using them in your recipe.
- Either spray or baste your raw chicken with vegetable oil (or the more preferred clarified butter) before placing it into your pan, and before placing your weight on top.
- Pan-sear or pan-sear roast your chicken to an internal temperature of 165 F.
