Cast Iron Skillets make the best roast chicken

Lately, I have been obsessed with cast iron cooking...I've never actually made anything apart from cornbread and steak in a cast iron skillet but Michael Symon (Iron chef/Lolita executive chef) convinced me that my kitchen was incomplete without one. Tonight I made roast chicken in our 11" cast iron skillet, it was pretty darn good, but still a far second from my grandpa's crispy and moist cornish hens.

A little funny aside, I initially wanted to butterfly the chicken and remove the backbone, but that went terribly south (especially since my strongest kitchen sheers snapped after the first attempted snip). I hoped and prayed it would still cook evenly... thankfully it did!

Symon said the secret to crispy skin and moist meat is consistent basting...and so every 20 minutes or so I opened that scorching, hot, 425 degree oven to baste away. His advice was completely inspired.

And yes, I scooped the fat that dripped from the chicken and cooked the potatoes in it. Sinfully savory and luscious. 

If I were in New York I would get my roast chicken fix at Pio Pio. Have you been? If not, repent and amend. You MUST taste their chicken. It comes with this green sauce that is fantastic. Probably in my top three places to eat in the world. My family would buy two whole roast chickens when it was Pio Pio night. One for my mom and dad to share, and another for my brother and I to share. I think I may have gotten the best deal because my brother hardly eats enough food to pass as enough for the recommended portion size....so I usually got most of the chicken. It was perfect. Add some fried plantains on the side and it was heaven. 

The next cast iron kitchen item I need is a stove stop griddle.... and an iron press weight for the day I can finally butterfly a chicken and make it like Booby Flay does in his Bold America Cookbook...which, if you haven't scanned or read, you should. It is life changing. 

Bon Appétit