From Heather Burger
I recently watched Samin Nosrat's Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. It's a delight. A welcome departure from the now ubiquitous "cooking" shows challenging chefs to prepare a dish in 10 minutes combining ingredients like jellied eel, brie, pickled okra, and caramel corn.
Nosrat's series is a primer in how by mastering four elements anyone can prepare delicious meals at home. Her recipe for buttermilk-brined roast chicken has three ingredients transformed by salt, fat, acid, and heat into a masterpiece easy enough for a weeknight dinner or a picnic lunch, but impressive enough for guests.
Get a local chicken from the Hey Day Farm Store or Bay Hay & Feed. Use Grace Harbor buttermilk, which is full-fat and cream top, from a Pacific Northwest creamery. Available at Town & Country.
Heather Burger, Executive Director
Friends of the Farms
Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken
by Samin Nosrat
3½- to 4-pound chicken (about 1.5 kilograms)
Salt
2 cups buttermilk (475 ml)
The day before you want to cook the chicken, remove the wingtips by cutting through the first wing joint with poultry shears or a sharp knife. Reserve for stock. Season the chicken generously with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Stir 2 tablespoons of kosher salt or 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. If the chicken won’t fit in a gallon-size bag, double up two plastic produce bags to prevent leakage and tie the bag with a piece of twine.
Seal it, squish the buttermilk all around the chicken, place on a rimmed plate, and refrigerate. If you’re so inclined, over the next 24 hours you can turn the bag so every part of the chicken gets marinated, but that’s not essential.
Pull the chicken from the fridge an hour before you plan to cook it. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C), with a rack set in the center position.
Remove the chicken from the plastic bag and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tightly tie together the legs of the chicken with a piece of butcher’s twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or shallow roasting pan.
Slide the pan all the way to the back of the oven on the center rack. Rotate the pan so that the legs are pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast is pointing toward the center of the oven (the back corners tend to be the hottest spots in the oven, so this orientation protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done). Pretty soon you should hear the chicken sizzling.
After about 20 minutes, when the chicken starts to brown, reduce the heat to 400°F and continue roasting for 10 minutes and then move the pan so the legs are facing the back right corner of the oven.
Continue cooking for another 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is brown all over and the juices run clear when you insert a knife down to the bone between the leg and the thigh.
When the chicken’s done, remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Link to recipe: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/buttermilkmarinated-roast-chicken
Link to video on preparation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-pq7MA2ko4
