Chicken Under a Cast Iron Pan

Because I didn't have a foil covered brick handy.  Cast iron skillet on the stove with a cast iron chicken fryer weighing down the chicken from the top.  The skin over the breast shrunk back a bit on this half during cooking.  No big deal.

For the bird the back bone got cut out with decent sizzors.  Then the keel bone, wish bone, ribs, and wing to the first joint were removed (nice little tutorial here).  What was left was easily sliced in two halves and seasoned liberaly with Berbere seasoning, salt,and pepper before being cooked in lard with a bit of butter, and unpeeled garlic clove, and some thyme.  Short of 10 min skin side down under weight on the stove, then flipped and cooked until done in a 450 oven.

Potatoes sarladaise style.  Peeled, sliced, and rinsed Russets.  They got dried and cooked in lard that came about halfway up the slices until crispy.  After cooking they were seasoned with salt and a mixture of chopped thyme and garlic (not too much, as evidenced by the no trace of seasoning in the pix).  Really nice side.

Sauce is veal stock reduced in the chicken cooking pan with some more salt and a pat of butter.  Nice little gravy for the potatoes.

Pretty enjoyable meal.  Simple, rustic, and all that.  Chix from Plum Creek.