Bricked Chicken with Grilled Oranges

It's physics -- flat chickens cook faster than round ones. Weighting down the bird with bricks helps the meat cook evenly and the skin get crispy.

Bricked Chicken with Grilled Oranges
Prep Time:
25 mins
Marinate Time:
2 hrs
Grill Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
25 mins
Servings:
4

Ingredients

  • 1 3 pound whole roasting chicken

  • 1 ¼ cup orange juice

  • 1 cup lemon juice (juice of about 5-6 lemons)

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • ¼ cup snipped fresh parsley

  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder

  • 1 tablespoon onion powder

  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1 recipe Citrus Rub

  • 1 medium orange, cut into wedges

  • Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

Citrus Rub

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 tablespoon finely shredded orange and/or lemon peel

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Remove the neck and giblets from chicken. Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Use kitchen shears to make a lengthwise down one side of the backbone, starting from the neck end. Repeat the lengthwise cut on the opposite side of the backbone. Remove and discard the backbone. Turn chicken cut side down. Flatten the chicken as much as possible with your hands. Use kitchen shears to remove the wing tips.

  2. For marinade, in a bowl combine orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, snipped parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and salt.

  3. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag set in a large shallow dish. Pour the marinade over chicken. Seal bag; turn to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain chicken, discarding marinade. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

  4. Starting at the neck on one side of the breast, slip your fingers between skin and meat, loosening skin as you work downward. Free the skin around the thigh. Repeat on the other side. Spread Citrus Rub all over and under the skin of the chicken with fingers.

  5. For a charcoal grill, arrange medium-hot coals around a drip pan. Test for medium heat above pan. Place chicken, breast side down, on grill rack over drip pan. Weight with two foil-wrapped bricks or a large cast-iron skillet. Grill chicken for 30 minutes.

  6. Turn chicken bone side down on rack, weighting again with bricks or skillet. Continue to cook, covered, about 20 minutes more or until chicken is no longer pink (180°F in thigh muscle). Add orange wedges to grill the last 10 minutes of grilling time. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place chicken on grill rack over heat. Cover; grill as above.)

  7. Squeeze orange wedges over chicken. If desired, garnish with parsley sprigs.

Citrus Rub

  1. In a small bowl combine olive oil, finely shredded orange and/or lemon peel, parsley, honey, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

649 Calories
46g Fat
15g Carbs
44g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Calories 649
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 46g 59%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Cholesterol 173mg 58%
Sodium 1097mg 48%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 44g
Vitamin C 49.6mg 248%
Calcium 60.6mg 5%
Iron 2.5mg 14%
Potassium 533mg 11%
Folate, total 32.3mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.5mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.7mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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