A Whole Roast Buttermilk Chicken

A fancy Sunday chicken dinner.

Not something that I typically do too much with, but since my father gave me a beautiful 8 lb chicken that he cared for and slaughtered himself, I can not resist.  He also shared some home-grown squash, onion and potatoes.  It’s really awesome knowing where your food comes from and how tenderly it was cared for during its span.

Since my chicken got to run around a bit, I figured a bit of a tenderizing marinade wouldn’t be the worst thing and I love the buttermilk marinade for producing tender, rich and juicy product.  I used a 2 gallon Ziploc bag to house 1 quart of buttermilk (I linked to powdered buttermilk if you can’t find liquid in your area) and 1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot (don’t worry, doesn’t come out hot, just tenderizes!).  So I stuck the chicken, buttermilk and hot sauce into the Ziploc and left it in the fridge for the past two days.  Easy peasy.

Then there’s my 8 lb chicken.  That’s a big chicken anymore, especially for something that was not bred with hormones and antibiotics (kindness and care make big roasters too)!  Most recipes show a 5-6 lb chicken and offer times based upon that, however, after some thorough research, I finally found a recipe that I can get on board with from a lady named Star Pooley.

The gist:  450 F for 10-15 minutes, then turn down to 350 F and roast 20 minutes per pound of meat until the internal temperature is around 160, remove from oven and let rest 10-15 minutes.  The internal temperature will continue to rise through the resting period and should peak out at 165 F, which is the agreed upon safe internal temperature.

Miss Star does also share some different ways to season the chicken, and the basics of chicken roasting, so if you are looking for a full lesson, she’s your lady.

As I neared oven time, I pulled the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and let it drain and transferred it to a lined roasting pan.  I then patted it dry and rubbed the skin with roasted garlic infused olive oil that I made a while back from Dad’s homegrown garlic.  I added salt and pepper.

So here’s my dinner:  Buttermilk Roast Chicken, Traditional Mashed Potatoes, and Roast Butternut Squash.

In the coming two weeks, headed up to Thanksgiving, each Saturday I will be looking toward shoring up my recipes and getting my menu together.  Hope to have you join me!