It really does make cooking evenly sooooo much easier.

I did! I’ve seasoned it fairly well, so I can just make a pan sauce or wipe it out with some paper towels and it’s good to go. The cast iron seems to do well with the heat distribution and it comes out perfect every time.

I don’t use a specific recipe, but I will absolutely sign off on anything from Alton Brown 🙂

The chicken I used was free range from my local butcher, so it was a bit smaller than the ones you might see in the supermarket and took a little less time to cook than they would have. Below is how I normally cook it, and it works with or without veggies underneath (I sometimes do carrots, potatoes, parsnips, etc around the bird that soak up the juices and chicken flavors, but I didn’t do that this time):

• Preheat the oven to 425
• Using kitchen shears, snip along the spine on both sides and pull it out along with any small bones that may be protruding, as well as the wishbone.
• Place the bird breast side down and snip with the shears or use a knife to cut the white cartilage at the top of the rib cage and then flip the bird over and press down to flatten the bird out a bit (you should hear a crack and then it should spread out slightly and lay flat).
• Loosen the skin at the top of the breast and the thighs and add a pat of butter between the skin and meat in all four areas (2 breasts & 2 thighs).
• Season however you choose, but season it well on both sides with salt, pepper, spice rubs, etc. I used this Skordo garlic and shallot blend that I found on a trip up to Maine a few months ago and it was delightful
• Put the bird in your skillet (cast iron works great, but stainless steel or carbon steel would be fine too) along with any extras you choose (like potatoes) and put into the center of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes.
• I take it out when the breast meat measures about 155F, then let it rest until it comes up to about 165F (10 minutes or so should do) and baste it with the butter and juices that have collected in the skillet as it rests
• Divvy it up as needed for dinner, save it for lunches or shred it and use it in other dishes like quesadillas or a pasta if you don’t have to share!

Hope you can get some time to play around with it and figure out what works best for you😁