We are absorbed in reading a cookery book given as a Christmas gift.
” Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” by Samin Nosrat.
She contemplates how important it is to really season meats and to do it well before cooking, even as much as two days before, for larger joints and turkeys.
We have tried her chicken marinated in salted buttermilk overnight then roasted.
It is delicious, with a really crispy skin, which Sheila ate, the first time in years.
Well worth it, and it might even change your cooking habits….it as ours.
Ingredients
1kg chicken
Salt
475 ml buttermilk
Method
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.
Add 4 teaspoons fine sea salt into the buttermilk to dissolve. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk.
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 at least an hour before you plan to cook it.
Pre heat the oven to 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 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 200C 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.
We served it with a warm roasted veg salad (cauliflower, romesca, brussel sprouts, carrots) with a vinegarette of red wine vinegar, red onion, olive oil & chilli. Its also good next day in a sandwich. Soft moist and full of flavour.
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