Samin's Buttermilk Marinated Roast Chicken – The Beader Chef (2024)

I know, it’s been a minute (more like a year) since I’ve posted on The Beader Chef. So let me fill you in since the last time I wrote and why I chose this recipe to post as my comeback to blogging.

Years ago I remember reading a recipe for Engagement Chicken in Glamour Magazine that sounded delicious but more importantly (I was 10 or 11 at the time) had an interesting story: as people at the magazine cooked it for their partners, more and more of them got engaged!

While I’m sure Engagement Chicken is delicious, Ina Garden and Martha Stewart both have recipes, I believe a new recipe has entered the playing field: Samin Nosrat’s buttermilk marinated roast chicken. The proof? About a month after making it I too got engaged!

Other than that, I have been busy with work, my fiancé and I have attended five beautiful weddings, we’ve gone on vacation to Cairo, Egypt (where he proposed!) and travelled around Italy visiting Rome, the Amalfi coast, Tuscany and Venice, and we are planning our wedding!

Exciting times are ahead of us, and even thought at times it feels like there is a lot on our plate, I want to get back to blogging! So here it goes!

Beyond the fact that this roast chicken recipe may have landed me a proposal, I love this recipe because it presents beautifully and is great for entertaining. Your guests will be wowed by the colorful crispy brown skin, amazed how both the white and dark meat are so juicy and will be wondering how you did it.

Personally, I think this show stopper of a main dish is the epitome of an unfussy dinner party when served with simple sides likeroasted potatoes with a salad or yummy rapini.

Don’t use a buttermilk substitute. The real magic of this recipe comes from the use of buttermilk as its slight acidity helps tenderize the meat. However, if you’re really stuck you can use plain yogurt or milk with a little vinegar or lemon juice (but I’ve never tried these).

Yes, use salt liberally. As you read the recipe below you may think to yourself oh boy that is a lot of salt. In this recipe salt has two roles: it seasons the chicken and it also helps the chicken retain it’s moisture due the buttermilk marinade becoming a sort of brine with its addition. Salt is the reason why this roast chicken recipe succeeds in having both juicy dark meat but also super succulent white meat.

Strategically place the chicken in your oven as it cooks. Weird note I know, but placing the legs at an angle towards the back corners of your oven ensures that the dark meat gets cooked enough while the breast meat doesn’t get over cooked.

Hope you enjoy!’