Buttermilk-Marinated and Herbed Roast Chicken

Buttermilk is amazing for fried chicken and makes it tender and juicy, and it's also awesome for roasted chicken. The meat is tender and juicy and the skin as this amazing tang. It's super simple. I used the recipe from The Times this week, but added the herbs because I had them. You're welcome to omit the herbs, or stuff the chicken with onion or lemon or some combo of aromatics. Yum! The buttermilk also gives the chicken a really rich, dark brown skin. You just need to start the night before. 

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 3-pound chicken

1 pint buttermilk

3 tablespoons kosher salt

handful sage and rosemary

Directions:

Using 1 tbsp of salt, salt the chicken all over and let it sit out for 30 minutes. 

Put it into a gallon-sized ziploc bag and pour in the buttermilk and the remaining two tbsp of salt. Swish it around really well to dissolve the salt and cover the chicken in the buttermilk. Marinate overnight in the fridge. 

Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425. Remove it from the bag and using your hands, scrape off the buttermilk. (There will still be some on there and that's totally fine.)

Stuff the herbs (or whatever aromatics you're using) into the cavity and then truss the legs with kitchen twine and put it in a cast iron skillet, breast side up.

Put the chicken in the oven and point the legs toward the back left corner. After 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 400 and roast another 10 minutes. Baste the chicken with it's tasty drippings, then move the chicken/skillet so the legs are facing the other corner and roast another 25 minutes. (If it's getting too brown, tent with foil.)

Remove it from the oven, checking to make sure it's done (using a thermometer or cutting the thigh and seeing if the juices run clear). Let it rest for 10 minutes, then carve. 

It's beautiful and delicious!

Pan sauce:

If you want to go one step further, you can make a pan sauce. Pour out most of the fat, bring the remaining tbsp or two to a bubble, scraping up brown bits, then add some white wine or leftover champagne and cook down into a sauce, scraping and stirring.