Question: What is the best part of Buttermilk Chicken?
The tender, juicy, and delicious chicken.
The bones you can use for making fresh stock.
The extra chicken for soup.
How simple it is to prepare.
Answer: All of the above!
I think we have all experienced the disappointment of biting into a piece of chicken only to discover it is dry and tough. What a bummer! Roasting a whole chicken with the skin on locks in the juices so the meat stays tender.
The first step is to clean the “guts” out of the inside cavity. Pull out the gizzard and anything else that may be stashed inside your chicken. Run your fingers along the inside cavity and then run cold water through in both directions. We also cut off the wingtips at the first joint so they wouldn’t stick out of the pan, but that isn’t necessary. You can save the gizzard and wingtips for stock.
Patrick likes to tie the chicken in a way that plumps up the breast. That also isn’t necessary, or you can just tie the legs.
Lay the chicken on a cutting board and place a long piece of kitchen twine under the neck. Bring the twine up on both sides, pull the legs close to the breast and cross the twine over the legs. Then run the twine along the sides of the breast to plump it up, and tie the twine underneath. We like the look of a proud and plump chicken.
Dissolve kosher salt into buttermilk. Place the whole chicken into a zip-lock bag and pour the buttermilk into the bag covering the chicken. Seal the bag and allow the chicken to marinate overnight. Don’t forget to clean and sanitize your sink and cutting board!
When you are ready to roast your chicken preheat the oven to 425°. Place the chicken into a cast iron skillet or roasting pan. If you haven’t cut the wingtips you can tuck them under the bottom.
Place the pan in the back half of the oven on the center rack. After the chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 400°. Rotate the pan after another 20 minutes.
Cook the chicken until the juices run clear and internal temperature registers 165°. Check the temperature in the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh. Total cook time is about 60 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest 10 minutes before serving.
Slice the chicken down the middle cavity from front to back. Pull the legs and thighs away from the breast and place on a serving plate. Snap the breastbone and pull it away from the meat leaving the breast intact. Slice the breasts and place them on your serving plate.
At this point you can strain the pan juices to make chicken gravy. We chose to save the juices for stock. Chill the strained pan juice and the chicken bones to make fresh stock.
In the photo you can see the juices on the plate! We served our chicken with wild rice so we would have the makings for classic Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup.
The following day make fresh chicken stock with carrot, onion, celery, chicken bones and pan juices. With many of the ingredients ready to go your wild rice soup will come together in a cinch for a cold Minnesota night.
The recipe below makes 1 1/2 - 2 gallons of soup and freezes well. When making cream soup stick with whole milk and heavy cream. Using half and half, or milk with less butterfat, may cause your soup to curdle. Not to mention, it tastes really good during a Minnesota winter!
Buttermilk Chicken
4 lb Whole chicken
3 cups Buttermilk
2 T Kosher salt
Day before:
Clean and prepare chicken for roasting.
Stir salt into buttermilk.
Place chicken into gallon size zip-lock bag and pour buttermilk over chicken.
Seal bag and place in shallow dish.
Refrigerate the chicken and allow it to marinate overnight, about 24 hours.
Clean and sanitize sink and cutting board.
Day of:
Preheat oven to 425°.
Remove chicken from bag and allow to drain for a few minutes.
Place chicken in a cast iron skillet or shallow roasting pan.
Place pan in the back half of the oven on the center rack.
After the chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 400°. Rotate the pan after another 20 minutes.
Cook the chicken until the juices run clear and internal temperature registers 165°.
Total cook time is about 60 minutes.
Allow the chicken to rest 10 minutes before serving.
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
4 oz Butter
4 cups Onion, diced
4 cups Carrots, diced
3 cups Celery, diced
1 1/2 T Garlic, minced dried
1 T Seasoning blend, no salt
1 tsp Thyme leaves, dried
3 cups Cooked chicken, diced
3/4 cup Sherry
6 cups Chicken stock, fresh or no salt
5 cups Whole milk
2 cups Heavy cream
3 cups Wild rice, cooked
1 T Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Roux:
6 oz Butter
6 oz Flour
Sauté onion, carrot, and celery in oil until onions are translucent and tender.
Add seasoning and cook for five minutes.
Stir in chicken and cook for ten minutes.
Deglaze the pan with sherry.
Add stock and bring to boil.
Reduce to a simmer and slowly stir in whole milk and heavy cream.
Bring back to low boil.
Stir in roux to desired thickness.
Stir in wild rice, salt, and pepper.
Continue to simmer on low and allow flavors to blend.
Hold soup at 140°.
Makes about 1 1/2 gallons.