A roasting trick for weeknight chicken yields juicy meat and golden, crispy skin.
Recipe information
Yield
2 servings
Ingredients
2
2
1
1
1
1
2
Preparation
Step 1
Place a 10" cast-iron skillet in oven; preheat oven to 475°. Lay your hands on another heavy skillet or saucepan the same diameter or smaller and tear off an 8" piece of foil; set aside near stove.
Step 2
Mix cumin, turmeric, paprika, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Brace yourself: This next step requires some light butchery, but it’s easy. Place chicken skin side down on a cutting board and find the short row of small rib bones near the outer edge of the breast. Grip them with your fingers and pull them off (or use a paring knife or shears). Next: along the center line where the breast was cut in half, there’s a dark, vaguely rectangular bone—it almost looks like an anvil. Sometimes it’s in one piece, or both sides will have a half of it. It doesn’t matter: Grip the bone with your fingers and pull it out, then tease out the strip of flexible cartilage just below it. All done! Now the chicken will lay flat in the pan, which is why it cooks so quickly.
Step 3
Season both sides of chicken with salt, then with all of the spice rub. Remove hot skillet from oven and set over medium-high heat. Add oil, then lay chicken into pan, skin side down. Use a spatula to firmly press chicken against surface, then add 1 lime to pan, placing sides down. Cook until skin is starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven, lay reserved foil over chicken, then weight with second pan. Cook 10 minutes.
Step 4
Remove pan from oven and turn chicken over; cook second side in residual heat 1 minute. Squeeze juice from cooked limes into pan; transfer chicken and pan juices to a plate and serve with remaining lime halves.
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Reviews (27)
Back to TopBased on reviews, I cut the seasoning in half. I didn't debone my chicken because I was only using one breast so it laid flat fine, but it did take longer to cook than noted here.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
1/9/2021
Delicious. I didnt find the seasoning overwhelming at all, I think some people are afraid of flavour. People expecting the entire proccess to be under 12 minutes? People are wild - of course preparation also takes time. Its a simple and refreshing dish.
Anonymous
canada
1/17/2020
Adam was right. Something I never thought I'd say. Also, gurl that rub is nasty. Is this some new cooking fad to make everything taste dusty and foreign? Tumeric AND Cumin? Bleh. And I'm GREEK.
Anonymous
Philly
1/17/2020
Amazing flavor and did a little spin on the recipe. We added chunks of onion, garlic and a jalapeño to the pan. Removing the chicken and deglazing the pan, we turned the remainder into an amazing sauce. The rub plus the pan sauce was packed with flavor. Definitely making this again.
OakAsFan78
Sonoma
9/16/2018
really good! i don't think the rub was overpowering, but i like a lot of flavor. i did change the cooking method. i don't have a cast iron and i don't like having to debone a chicken. so i got skin on boneless chicken breast, seasoned it, seared in a stainless steel pan in olive oil then wrapped in parchment paper and baked for 25 min. i put it over mashed potatoes bc dat sauce.
Anonymous
3/2/2018
This has become part of the rotation at our house. The "butchery" is no problem, and I use all the spice called for. But my skin isn't getting crispy, although I feel like I am following the instructions exactly! What am I doing wrong?
jrmurra
Way way upstate NY
2/26/2018
I agree to cut the seasoning in half. I didn't know if I was supposed to completely debone the chicken breast. I really liked this dish. I served it with roasted fennel and radishes. I also added 1/2 Tbsp of butter to the sauce after taking the chicken out of the skillet. I thought the recipe was very quick and easy; I will definitely make this again for a quick weeknight meal. Carla, I would love a video of how to debone the chicken breast!
Chattanooga, TN
1/11/2018