Cooking with Kathy, sponsored by Skowhegan Savings, airs twice daily in WSKI-TV 17 at 7:07a.m. & 12:47p.m. When Kathy was visiting the Farmer’s Market in Farmington, she met Mitra Luick from New Sharon, Maine. Mitra raises amazingly tasty chickens, which she feeds with clabber (curdled milk) and whey from the family cow named Helen. These birds get the extra calcium from the clabbered cream and can support more weight. More flesh, more fat, more flavor. The clabber makes the chicken happy and delicious, and a happy bird means a tasty bird. You buy these chickens directly from Mitra, and pick them up at her farm. Her chickens are also air chilled, rather than plunged into an ice bath, which means no water to dilute the flesh. This results in incredibly crispy skin as it cooks.
Chicken Cooked Under a Brick
Makes 4 servings
1 free-range chicken
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 ½ tablespoons garlic
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
¼ cup vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Butterfly the chicken, removing the backbone and wingtips. Combine hot red pepper flakes, ginger, garlic, fennel seeds in a large bowl. Rub the chicken on both sides with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
Season the chicken generously with salt. Heat 4 frying pans over medium heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Cook the chickens, skin side up, flattened with a weight, until cooked halfway of the way through, about 20 minutes. Flip the chickens and cook until done, about another 20 minutes. The skin should be crispy and golden brown.
Alternately, preheat a grill to 325°F. Brush the chicken with a very light layer of vegetable oil. Cook the chickens, skin side up, flattened with a weight, until cooked halfway of the way through, about 20 minutes. Flip the chickens and cook until done, about another 20 minutes. The skin should be crispy and golden brown.
