From Jacques Pepin's web site

Basically it is a whole chicken that cook really fast. The mustard crust is amazing. Using a whole flattened chicken is really a good idea because then the mustard crust has more surface area to adhere to.

I had to cut off the legs and wings to get the bird to fit into my pan. He recommends leaving them on, but cutting through the thick part so the meat will cook faster.

I didn't have Herbs de Provance but I used some other herb mix instead.

I've done flattened chicken before which really does help the cooking time. But I will have to try this recipe since it sounds very tasty!

It is very tasty. I couldn't concentrate on my tasks last night because the smell coming form my oven was intoxicating!

I've never split a chicken before; I wonder if the butcher at the supermarket can do it? I'll ask next time I'm there. Otherwise i'll get some kitchen shears. This looks wonderful.

McCormick makes an Italian blend spice grinder that's really good; doesn't have lavender like Herbes de Provence, but a little kick of red pepper.

I posted links with instructions in this other thread: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=386544

It really isn't difficult and goes pretty quickly once you've done it once or twice.

Yum. It's a combination of two things that I do. I often put a coating of Dijon mustard, olive oil, and chopped shallots and garlic onto chicken before roasting it. It seems to seal in the juices, and the flavour is great, especially if you can get ranged chicken (that's what they call it around here, probably because losses from cold and predators make the "free" part impracticable). The other thing I do is barbecue split chicken under foil-wrapped bricks. I rub it with crushed garlic, crushed chillies, oregano, and olive oil (putting some of the mixture under the skin of the breast and thighs) and let it stand. The heat from the bricks (and the flattening) mean that a whole chicken cooks in under an hour, and it tastes wonderful.

Thanks for posting this; I'll definitely give it a try.

Susan

Its in the oven now. Smells awesome. Its always good to find new ways to fancy up boring old chicken.

I made it again last night, left on the legs and wings this time. Photographic evidence here:


Isn't it lovely brown?

I think adding the white wine to your normal mustard mixture might be a change you'll really like.

I'm going to buy some more whole chickens and see if I can't find more ways to season them, but cook them like this. The method is really tasty!

My friend did a crust similar to that for a pork loin roast on the weekend - it was some yummy! So this crust works for pork as well as chicken and the loin is long rather than deep so it cooks quickly.

This looks awesome! Can't wait to try it!

I'll definitely try that (probably with dry vermouth, though, because we rarely drink white wine). Do try rubbing the marinade under the breast skin and letting it sit a few hours--it's amazing.

In return here's a link to a Fine Cooking article and recipe on cooking chicken under a brick on the stove top. I've only done it on the barbecue, and I use oregano not rosemary, but this version looks promising.

oooh, that does look good!

By the way, I use a Lodge cast iron skillet for this. Cost me all of about $16.

Amazon link to one

I think I found mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond. But I think even a store with a large camping selection would have them.

Mama Lu, I followed the instructions in the link you provided at got some a chicken ready to cook under a brick. I'm going to freeze it for now.

It wasn't too bad to do, especially for a first-timer. I always have problems getting the keel bone out and it took me awhile to figure out the best way to remove the rib bones. Basically I found starting with the flat bones on the inside, that have a thin membrane covering them, and working to the outside (near where you cut out the backbone) is best.

I also had trouble cutting off the knucklebone on the legs. Next time I think I'll just do what Jacques Pepin does, just loosen the meat from the bone. It'll sort of shrink up and leave a lot of bone sticking out. It looks like of cool.

All in all, it didn't take me but maybe 10 minutes to do. And I save the bones and innards for making stock later on.