Recipe: Chicken Under a Brick

Chicken Under a Brick
Makes 4 servings
From ``Italian Grilling,'' by Jean Galton (Broadway, $18). This method of pressing the meat while cooking yields very moist chicken and crispy skin. Although the original recipe calls for halving a whole chicken, we found it worked well with bone-in chicken breasts as well.

1 (3-pound) chicken

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 lemons, washed and sliced

6 large cloves garlic, smashed

Nonstick cooking spray

1 teaspoon salt

2 bricks, wrapped in aluminum foil

Place chicken breast side down on cutting board. Split along 1 side of backbone. Place chicken skin side up and press down with your hand to flatten. (Or just use 4 bone-in chicken breasts, pressing with your hand to flatten.)

Place chicken in nonmetal bowl or resealable plastic bag. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper flakes, half the lemon slices and the garlic cloves. Place in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Prepare grill for medium-low fire. Spray grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before placing over fire. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding lemon and garlic, and sprinkle with salt. Place chicken flat on grill, skin side down, and place bricks on top. Cover and grill 15 minutes. Turn chicken over, replacing bricks, and grill 15 minutes longer, or until juices run clear.

Remove chicken from grill and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Place remaining slices of lemon on grill for 2 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Garnish chicken with lemon slices before serving.