buttermilk roast chicken

This elegant recipe from Samin Nosrat&#39;s cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat, involves marinating a whole chicken in buttermilk and roasting it to perfection for a moist and juicy result.

Samin Nosrat's Buttermilk Chicken

(3 1/2 chicken

Salt

buttermilk

black pepper (optional)

Prep and season: A day before cooking your chicken, cut off the wing tip by using sharp scissors or a knife to cut through the first wing joint. Reserve for stock, if desired.Generously season the chicken with about 1 teaspoon Diamond-Crystal kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon  Morton Kosher Salt) and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Marinate the chicken: In a large measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons Diamond-Crystal Kosher Salt (or 1 tablespoon Morton Kosher Salt) with 2 cups buttermilk.Carefully place the chicken in a double-bagged gallon-size Ziploc bag, then pour in the buttermilk. Seal the bag as best you can, squeezing out any air. Rotate the chicken in the bag to ensure the buttermilk coats all crevices, then place the bag into a large bowl or a rimmed baking sheet into the fridge. Marinate for 12 - 24 hours before cooking.Note: If the chicken does not fit into the Ziploc bag, you can place it into a double-bagged plastic produce bag and seal it with some twine.

Prepare for baking: Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425℉/218℃. Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the fridge. Remove the chicken from the bag, and set it over the bowl (or baking sheet) to drip off any excess buttermilk. Use your hands to &quot;squeegee&quot; and remove as much buttermilk as possible.Transfer chicken to a large (10-inch+) cast-iron skillet breast-side up. Truss and tie the legs together with kitchen twine, and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking. If desired, grind some freshly ground black pepper over the top of the chicken.Note: For even crispier skin, use a paper towel to pat the skin dry.

Bake: Place the pan all the way in the back of the oven such that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing towards the center of the oven. Once the chicken begins to sizzle and brown, after about 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 400℉/204℃. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing towards the rear right corner, and continue baking until the chicken is fully browned and cooked through, about 30 more minutes. Note: When roasting a whole chicken, the breast tends to overcook before the legs finish cooking through. The back of the oven tends to be the hottest, so pointing the legs towards the hotter areas and keeping the breast in the center allows the chicken to cook through more evenly.

Rest: Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 10 - 15 minutes before carving into pieces. Serve warm with the pan juices, and enjoy.

Owner's Rating: This is my new go-to roast chicken recipe! I love how simple it is, and the technique of arranging the chicken legs towards the back of the oven with the breasts in the center is a game-changer for more even cooking. It's simple, yet so delicious!

🍗👏🏻 Brined in seasoned buttermilk before being baked with onions and garlic for the JUICIEST, most flavor chicken with crispy skin! Easy, very hands-off, and you&#39;ll have leftover chicken to enjoy for the week for sandwiches, salads, or to use in other recipes. The perfect family-dinner roast chicken recipe!

Buttermilk Whole Roasted Chicken

salt

rosemary

black pepper

garlic (finely minced)

chicken

water (if necessary)

onions onions

garlic

olive oil (divided)

black pepper (or to taste)

Brine: To a large bowl, add the buttermilk, kosher salt, dried rosemary, pepper, garlic, and stir to combine.

Gently submerge the chicken, breast-side down, in the brining liquid. If the chicken needs more coverage, add 1-2 cups water to the mix, gently swish it around to mix it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Alternatively, you could add the brining liquid to a very large zip top bag, at least 5 gallons in size, add the chicken, seal the bag, place it in a large bowl as insurance (just in case it springs a leak) and place that in the refrigerator.

Marinate/Brine: Allow the chicken to brine in the fridge for 8 to 24 hours. The sweet spot is 8 to 12 hours. Tip - Don&#39;t brine it for longer than 24 hours because the acid and the buttermilk will cause the protein in the chicken to soften, and it will turn out mushy; and less than 4 hours is not enough time for it to do much.

Remove &amp; Pat Dry: About 30 to 45 minutes before roasting, remove the chicken from the fridge because you do not want to bake with fridge-cold chicken. It will throw off the baking time and the overall cooking.Using paper towels, pat the surface of the chicken dry.

Preheat: Preheat your oven to 400°F, place a rack in the middle of the oven, and eyeball things to make sure that your chicken will be able to enter the oven and clear the top. Lower the height of the oven rack if you need to do so.Tip - If your chicken is larger than 5 pounds, I recommend roasting at 350F rather than 400F because otherwise the exterior could become overly browned before the interior cooks through.

Roasting: To the pan, add the quartered onions, halved garlic bulb, drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and toss to coat evenly.

Place the chicken on top of the onions with the breast side up, place the other halved garlic bulb in the cavity of the chicken, evenly sprinkle the top of the chicken with 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt.Tuck the wings (wingtips) under the chicken, and if you have kitchen twine or kitchen string, tie the legs together; and if you don&#39;t, they can flop.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and evenly drizzle or brush with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.

Return the chicken to the oven and continue to roast for 30 to 45 minutes or until a digital thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the breast reads 160 to 165°F; and in the thigh it reads at least 175°F. Do not guess, use a thermometer! Tenting Tip (important) - If at any time during the roasting process, the chicken skin is looking overly dark or brown, tent it by draping a sheet of foil over the chicken to protect it from direct oven heat. Variations in buttermilk, the chicken itself and its size, oven variances and heat output, etc. will impact the browning and baking time. If you need to tent after the first 30 minutes because it&#39;s already looking quite golden browned, go for it.

Resting: It&#39;s mandatory to rest the chicken outside of the oven (you can keep it in the pan) for 15-20 minutes so that the natural juices redistribute. It&#39;s also important because the internal temperature will continue to rise out of the oven and the breast meat needs to come up to 165°F if you pulled it out a bit early.

Optional, Gravy: While the chicken is resting, you can optionally make gravy using the pan juices. Halve the amounts of drippings, broth, and seasonings in this 15-Minute Homemade Gravy recipe.

Slicing and Serving: Slice the chicken and serve it with the roasted onions and your choice of mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, green beans, roasted broccoli, a house salad or your favorite side.

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Buttermilk Whole Roasted Chicken

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