Buttermilk Marinated Roast Chicken
For Father’s Day we went to Sam’s parents’ house, and I made buttermilk roasted chicken from Salt Fat Acid Heat (recipe linked here). We were taking on the responsibility of making a nice Father’s Day meal for everyone, so you could say I was a little nervous.
I made sure to marinate the chicken the night before, so it was sitting in the salt + buttermilk for almost 24 hours before it was time to cook. Also, I made sure to follow the instructions extremely carefully, and changing the positioning of the bird in the oven was crucial in getting that perfectly browned outside. To my extreme relief, the chicken was absolutely fabulous. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.
For the brussels sprouts:
-I cut them in half, tossed them in avocado oil, and put them in a HOT cast iron on the grill
-After they started getting a little softer, I covered them in salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red chili powder
-I just let them sit and sit and sit on the grill (stirring occasionally) for about 40 minutes
-Once they were golden brown and a little blackened, I took them off of the grill and covered them in a little fresh lemon juice and freshly grated parmesan cheese
Let me tell you…they were SO GOOD.
For the potatoes:
-I chopped them up, covered them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary
-I put it all in an oven-safe baking dish to cook in the oven with the chicken (about 40 minutes)
These potatoes were a great, simple staple to add to the meal, and the rosemary made the kitchen smell so good!
We paired the meal with a 2017 River Road Chardonnay, and it was a great choice! Chardonnay is a great choice with a lighter meat like chicken or fish. This particular Chardonnay was very light and buttery which went great with the light and savory chicken. Side note: brussels sprouts don’t pair great with wine, so I would save your sips of wine for tasting with the chicken. This wine was also super tasty to just sip on the patio, so it definitely didn’t need to be paired with food. The best part? It was only $17! We will definitely be buying it again!
Now, I can’t talk about roasting a chicken and skip over making homemade chicken stock out of the leftovers. I have always just thrown away the leftover chicken bones/scraps and not even thought about making something out of it. Well, no more! Chicken stock is so easy to make, and it is a huge help in cleaning out your fridge. When explaining how to make chicken stock to me, my brother described it as being, “very forgiving,” meaning you don’t have to have all the right things to put into it. Basically, you want to soak chicken scraps and leftover herbs and veggies for a long time to get all of the nice flavor out of those leftover foods. Like I said, there is no right or wrong answer for what you put into it, but here is what I used:
-Chicken scraps
-Carrots
-Yellow onion
-Parsley
-Rosemary
Put your chicken scraps, herbs, and veggies in a large pot and cover it all with water. Then, put a lid on the pot and set your stove on the lowest setting. After that, let it cook for about 8 hours. You don’t have to do anything during that time except just let it sit and cook. After your timer goes off, strain the broth into a large bowl and discard the scraps. That’s it! So easy, and now you have homemade chicken stock to cook with in the future!
