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    Home » Recipes » Poultry » Chicken Under A Brick- Pollo al Mattone

    Chicken Under A Brick- Pollo al Mattone

    Eating Italian, Poultry, Recipes

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    The chicken is butterflied, seasoned with herbs then flattened on a grill with a cast-iron skillet. The In this pollo al mattone the skillet does double duty by roasting the potatoes. This method ensures a crispy skin, moist meat that is evenly grilled. The potatoes finishes up when the chicken under the brick is done.

    The minute we saw this recipe for making Pollo al Mattone – Chicken Under A Brick, we knew we had to try it out. What’s different about this recipe is that it uses a large iron skillet instead of a brick. The method does double duty as it grills the chicken on the grill and the potatoes in the hot iron skillet.

    Pollo al Mattone with Grilled Potatoes in Cast-Iron Skillet @allourway.com

    Pollo al Mattone with Grilled Potatoes in Cast-Iron Skillet

    Table Of Contents

    History

    This method of cooking chicken is really old — as in ancient. There are pictures in Etruscan frescoes of chicken on what looks like grills and the birds are being weighed down by stones to flatten them.

    The Etruscan era ended around 500 B.C. but, hey,  if a cooking method like pollo al mattone works well,  why change it?

    Pollo al Mattone with fresh thyme, rosemary, sage and tarragon in cavity @allourway.com

    Pollo Al Mattone with Fresh Thyme, Rosemary, Sage and Tarragon in Cavity

    Why use the method

    We’ve been butterflying {spatchcocking} chicken for a long time, if you need a refresher course on how to do it,  you can find it here.

    We always found that grilling a butterflied chicken, made the meat cook evenly and fast.

    Cast-iron skillet is heating on direct heat side of grill for Pollo al Mattone @ allourway.com

    Cast-Iron Skillet Heating on Direct heat for Pollo al Mattone

    How to do it

    This is really a very easy method to prepare the chicken — don’t be intimidated, it is very easy to do.

    First we prepare the grill is for indirect heat– that is with the charcoal on one side. If you need to see how we do it you can find the entire instructions here, when we made pulled pork.

    We use this technique many times when grilling meats such as pork and chicken.

    The beauty of doing a pollo al mattone is that by using the cast iron skillet or a mattone is that the chicken not only cooks evenly but the skin gets extra-crispy.

    How to season

     The seasoning is very simple –we use sprigs of thyme, rosemary, sage and tarragon from our garden, and a little bit of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, olive oil and lemons.

    Cast iron skillet with potatoes is placed on top of the chicken to flatten it @allourway.com

    Cast Iron Skillet With Potatoes is Placed On Top Of The Chicken to Flatten It

    Preparing grill

    Once the grill is up 300° F to 350°F we put the cast iron skillet on the hot side of the grill for 10 minutes.

    Then we add olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet and toss in the russet potatoes that we cut in 1 1/2″ chunks and we season them with salt and pepper.

    Add the chicken

    We move the skillet to the cool portion of the grill and place the chicken skin side down on the grill. The sprigs of herbs are on the inside cavity of the chicken.

    The cast iron skillet with the potatoes goes on the chicken to flatten it for about 10 to 15 minutes with the grill covered.

    Chicken is moved to the unlit portion of the grill for the pollo al mattone @allourway.com

    Chicken is Moved to the Unlit Portion of the Grill

    Next we remove the skillet and transfer the chicken to the unlit portion of the grill.

    We again place the cast iron skillet over the chicken.

    Cast iron skillet is placed on the chicken now over indirect heat @allourway.com

    The Cast Iron Skillet is Placed on the Chicken Now over Indirect Heat

    We cover the grill and cook for around 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165°F.

    For extra crispy skin

    We remove the chicken from the grill and let it stand 5 minutes. ( For crisper skin, place chicken on lit side of grill, and grill without lid for about 5 minutes or until the skin reaches your crispy preference).

    Pollo al Mattone is Resting before it is cut @allourway.com

    Pollo al Mattone is Resting Before It is Cut

    Char the lemons

    When the chicken is resting, we place the halved lemons cut side down, on lit side of grill, and grill, covered with lid, about 5 minutes or until charred and softened. We serve them with the pollo al mattone and potatoes.

    Leg quarter of chicken under a brick with potatoes and green beans.

    Our Menu For The Evening: Pollo al Mattone with Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans Almondine

    The meat turned out as promised — by grilling the meat first over the heat and flattening it . . . then cooking it for the remainder of the time over indirect heat, the meat cooked evenly and didn’t dry out.

    It was perfect.

    Guide For Spatchcocking chicken

    Tutti a tavolo è pronto!

    You may need…

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    We love our heavy duty cast 12- inch iron skillet. It is a workhorse and it gives us such great results. Here it did heavy duty as a brick and as a skillet for the potatoes.

    What’s new? check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We’ll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy. 

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    Chicken under a brick recipe

    Pollo al Mattone with Grilled Potatoes in Cast-Iron Skillet @allourway.com

    Pollo al Mattone { Chicken Under A Brick}

    The chicken is butterflied, seasoned with herbs then flattened on a grill with a cast-iron skillet. The skillet does double duty by roasting the potatoes. This method ensures a crispy skin, moist meat that is evenly grilled.
    5 from 12 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    5 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 385kcal
    Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
    As An Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound russet potatoes cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
    • 1 3 to 4 pound whole chicken
    • 2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
    • Freshly ground black pepper and Kosher salt
    • 12 fresh herb sprigs we used 3 each of thyme, rosemary,sage, tarragon
    • 2 lemons halved

    Equipment Needed

    • 12-inch cast iron skillet
    • charcoal grill

    Instructions

    • Remove and discard giblets and neck from the chicken and rinse the bird thoroughly under cold water.Pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Remove excess skin, fat, the wing tip and the little tail part at the bottom. Keeping the chicken in the same position, slide your knife on either side of the neck, pull it back and cut that portion off. Using kitchen shears, cut chicken down the center of the backbone.Open the chicken as you would a book. Turn the chicken, breast side down, and using a sharp knife make a slit on either side of the keel bone, then bend breasts back to spread the cuts. Once the keel bone is loose, separate it from the skin and then pull out. Put the chicken on platter and rub with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. The chicken should be breast side down on the platter. Place the herbs in the cavity side of the chicken and cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to start the grill.You can prepare the chicken several hours ahead of time.
    • When you’re ready, heat 1 side of grill to 300 F to 350 F (medium) heat; leave other side unlit. Remove chicken from refrigerator.
    • Once the grill is ready heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet on the lit side of grill for 10 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to hot skillet; place potatoes in skillet and season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to the unlit side of the grill.
    • Slide the prepared chicken, breast side down, over the lit side of grill. Place the cast iron skillet with potatoes on the chicken to flatten it. Grill, covered with grill lid, for 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is browned. Remove the skillet. Transfer the chicken to the unlit side of the grill. Place the cast iron skillet on the chicken. Grill, covered with grill lid, for 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of breast registers 165 F. Remove the chicken from the grill, and let it stand for 5 minutes. (For crisper skin, place the chicken on the lit side of the grill, and grill, without the grill lid, 5 minutes or until crisp.)
    • Meanwhile, place lemons, cut side down, on lit side of grill, and grill covered with grill lid, about 5 minutes or until charred and softened. Serve chicken with potatoes and charred lemon.

    Notes

    • Note: You can find additional pictures and instructions on how to butterfly a chicken and how to prepare a grill for indirect heat in previous posts. Follow the links in this post.
    • Inspired by Southern Living – October 2014 “Cast Iron Love”

    Nutrition

    Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 616mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 345IU | Vitamin C: 28.1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2.1mg

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      First Published: January 12,2015… Last Updated: April 2, 2020

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Trish Bozeman

        August 28, 2019 at 12:03 pm

        5 stars
        I love trying out ancient ways of cooking! It always feels like I’m getting far from the processed reality of food these days, which feels great. Looks fantastic!

        Reply
        • Marisa Franca

          August 29, 2019 at 10:37 am

          Thank you, Trish! It really is amazing how it turns out – the skin is perfect on the chicken.

          Reply
      2. Debra

        August 27, 2019 at 11:17 am

        5 stars
        I see this on restaurant menus all the time. I always imagined an actual (and dirty) brick! Using a cast iron pan makes so much sense….since they feel like they weigh a ton of bricks…LOL. This looks totally doable and those fresh herbs…YUM.

        Reply
      3. Dana

        August 21, 2019 at 4:25 pm

        5 stars
        I love a recipe with a neat history lesson or story behind it! As soon as I read “chicken under a brick” my mind went straight to ancient times. But really, this is so efficient. Cooking your chicken and potatoes at the same time, stacked… I dig it!

        Reply
      4. Jenni LeBaron

        August 20, 2019 at 1:01 pm

        5 stars
        I’ve never heard of this technique for cooking chicken, but I totally want to try it now. I love that it allows the chicken to get a nice crispness on both sides. I love the simple seasoning for this chicken and I think the potatoes are the perfect pairing, but then, when are potatoes not the perfect pairing? DELICIOUS!

        Reply
        • Marisa Franca

          August 20, 2019 at 2:34 pm

          Thank you, Jenni! The chicken turns out great every single time. xoxo

          Reply
      5. Sean@Diversivore

        August 19, 2019 at 12:37 am

        5 stars
        First of all, can I suggest that we call this “Bricken” in English? Second, I love how simple and distinctive this recipe is. The herbs are perfect with chicken, and the cooking method keeps things so nice and even. It’s a very cool recipe. Thanks for introducing me to it! Cheers!

        Reply
      6. Sandra

        August 18, 2019 at 2:29 am

        5 stars
        Love all the fresh herbs in this dish and so smart to use a cast iron skillet. That is one of my favorite cooking tools. We’ve been grilling all summer and bookmarked this to cook this week.

        Reply
      7. Sarah

        August 16, 2019 at 7:46 pm

        5 stars
        This is an amazing idea! Cast iron pans are HEAVY, and it probably works even better than a big rock. Plus you get a side dish– win win!!

        Reply
      8. Gloria

        August 16, 2019 at 8:27 am

        5 stars
        I have NEVER tried this…but it sure looks like FUN. Hubby will be doing some grilling this weekend. I think I will give him a challenge…and see what he can do.

        Reply
      9. Stephanie Simmons

        August 7, 2018 at 6:14 pm

        5 stars
        This is brilliant! At first I was like ummmm I don’t own any bricks – lol! But I DO have a skillet – and I love that it turns into a multi-tasker in this recipe! Can’t wait to give it a try!

        Reply
      10. Jyothi (Jo)

        August 7, 2018 at 9:11 am

        5 stars
        I’m in love with recipes like this. It’s a gem. Chicken under a brick, just sound of it makes me so happy and I so wish I could give this wonderful recipe a try. Book marking it to try for later

        Reply
      11. Tammy

        August 7, 2018 at 12:53 am

        Wow, wow, wow! I’ve never seen this method before but I cannot wait to try it out! What an absolutely brilliant idea, Marisa! 😀

        Reply
      12. Valerie

        August 7, 2018 at 12:26 am

        5 stars
        I’ve never seen or heard of chicken under a brick before. Cooking it that way certainly makes for a nice looking presentation!

        Reply
      13. Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness

        August 6, 2018 at 11:13 pm

        I have never heard of chicken under a brick before, but I am really intrigued right now! This looks so good!

        Reply
      14. Claudia Lamascolo

        August 6, 2018 at 9:28 pm

        what a great tip I will surely try this and I love chicken and never used this method or heard of it.. Thanks for posting.. going to print this off I think its super!

        Reply
      15. Noel Lizotte

        August 6, 2018 at 8:01 pm

        5 stars
        This looks fabulous! Like fancy and difficult and all that … but it sounds so simple. I’m thinking I’ll make this for the next bbq gathering and impress all the neighbors!

        Reply
      16. Rosemary @anitalianinmykitchen

        February 25, 2015 at 6:23 am

        Oh my gosh Marisa, I am going to do this for sure when the weather warms up, looks so good!

        Reply
      17. Jovina Coughlin

        January 13, 2015 at 8:46 am

        Great post. I have always used a brick when I made this dish. I will have to try your method.

        Reply
        • Marisa Franca @Allourway

          January 13, 2015 at 6:22 pm

          We always wanted to try it but was one of those things of getting a brick– we had plenty but they were in the ground with another purpose. This recipe seemed just right to try! Let me know how it goes.

          Reply

      Trackbacks

      1. Butterfly a Whole Chicken says:
        April 1, 2020 at 11:58 am

        […] Pollo Al Mattone Chicken Under a Brick — a classic Italian recipe. We use a cast iron skillet and make potatoes at the same time.  […]

        Reply

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