First Non-Pizza Use

[Sjadad]

My Primavera 70 was delivered three weeks ago. I patiently cured it with successively hotter fires for the first week. My first two real uses were pizza (La Vera Pizza Napoletana). I was hooked. Tonight I roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic, and I roasted two chickens under bricks. I am loving this WFO!

[Les]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

I roasted two chickens under bricks.

I'm having a hard time visualizing this. These ovens are great!

[Sjadad]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

Les - I butterflied and halved two chickens. I rubbed salt and minced herbs (rosemary, parsley, sage, lemon zest) under the skin and rubbed olive oil over the skins. After prehaeating an empty sheet pan in the WFO, I put all four halves skin side down on the sheet pan and placed an aluminum foil-wrapped brick on each half. The coals were banked on the left side of the oven, leaving plenty of room on the right side for the sheet pan. The floor was around 650 degrees when I started.

[deejayoh]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

Les - Chicken under a brick is a fairly common technique. I've been served it, but haven't tried making it on my own. Sounds like a good WFO recipe!

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.c...-a-brick/?_r=0

[Les]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

Thanks deejay,

I see what they are doing but don't understand what it adds. I thought it was cooking from top and bottom but they say to flip the meat so that theory is shot down. Maybe the Italian chickens are hard to kill and they are trying to keep them from flying away The recipe sounds good, may give it a try without the weight

[boerwarrior]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

LOL - I have heard of Pheasant under Glass but never Chicken under Brick!

[Sjadad]

Re: First Non-Pizza Use

Les - the brick does a couple of things. First, it flattens the chicken to a uniform thickness so it all cooks at the same rate so you avoid overcooking the breast while you wait for the legs and thighs to be done. Second, it provides maximum surface contact resulting in wonderfully crisp and brown skin.