This chicken is incredibly crispy and intensely flavorful, making it an exciting alternative to milder roast chicken recipes. Weighting the chicken ensures that each piece is of the same thickness, so they cook quickly and evenly. The weight also causes the fat under the skin to render, melting out and leaving the skin deliciously crisp.
When you buy the chicken for this recipe, ask your butcher to remove the back and breast bones and halve the bird so that there is a drumstick and wing on each side.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl, mix together the cumin, salt, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, and turmeric. Pat the mixture onto the chicken and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12 hours.
Step 2
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking. Place a 14-inch skillet or heavy-duty roasting or baking pan in the oven, along with 2 foil-wrapped bricks, and preheat the oven to 500°F for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Rub the chicken with the olive oil and press it flat. Wearing oven mitts, remove the pan from the oven and press the chicken, skin side down, on the pan. Place a brick on top of each chicken half. (Instead of the foil-wrapped bricks, you can preheat another baking sheet and/or a heavy heatproof object such as a thick cast-iron skillet to use as a weight. Place the baking sheet on top of the chicken and weigh it down with the weight.) Roast for 30 minutes. Garnish the chicken with cilantro and serve with lemon wedges.
