The Best Homemade Roasted Chicken
Roasting a whole chicken at home is not only delicious, it's easy and budget friendly
Ingredients
- 3½-4 pound Whole chicken
- 2 cups Buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
Instructions
- One day before you want to roast the chicken, remove the giblets and generously salt the chicken all over as well as inside. Let it sit for 30 minutes
- Stir the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt into the buttermilk until dissolved. Place the chicken in a gallon-sized zip top plastic bag and pour the buttermilk into the bag. Seal it, massage the buttermilk all around the chicken and place the bag on a plate or bowl and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
- The next day, pull the chicken from the fridge about an hour before you plan to cook it. Preheat the oven to 425℉ and set the rack to the center position.
- Remove the chicken from the plastic bag, discard the buttermilk and scrape off as much buttermilk as you can without being obsessive. Tie the legs together tightly with butcher twine. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or shallow roasting pan.
- Place the pan all the way to the back of the oven with the legs pointing toward the rear left corner and the breast pointing toward the center of the oven. Since the back of the oven tends to be the hottest spot it protects the breast from overcooking before the legs are done.
- After about 20 minutes the chicken will start to get brown, reduce the heat to 400℉. Continue roasting for about 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 thigh. A digital thermometer should read 175℉ (make sure the probe does not touch the bone).
- When the chicken is done, remove it to a platter and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
Substitutions:
If you don't have buttermilk you can substitute plain yogurt If you'd like any seasonings like an Italian seasoning, add that to the buttermilk in the beginning Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!