Buttermilk-Brined Roast Chicken Recipe (2024)

Look, I have never written about a recommendation before, but I would be unfair if I didn't tell anyone reading this that this really is the best roast chicken recipe I've made. And I make roast chicken a lot as we believe a good roast chicken is the perfect food. For years, we've said, "Is it better than Marcella's?" The answer's always no. Until tonight. Don't do any of the ya-di-dahs recommended--make it as is--and love every bite.

Hey y'all, I think the objective here was to get your impression of this recipe not for you to talk about your own creations. Just saying....

I think the idea was for people to react in any way they wanted. Commenting on the recipe or suggesting other related ideas are equally valuable in my opinion.

You can freeze your leftover buttermilk in 1-cup portions or any convenient size. It keeps very well and defrosts quickly.

OMG. I've been roasting chickens for 40 years and I've done them all: Child, Hazan, with rosemary and without, stuffed with lemon or empty, basted or brined, and the Zuni Cafe version that set off the smoke detectors not only in my apartment but also in my neighbors' above and below. But this version is in its own class as the best of them all. It also helped me appreciate Nosrat's lessons about salt. She is a genius.Best of all? It just tastes like chicken. Juicy and delicious chicken

This is the best roasted chicken I've ever made. Moist and tender. Beautiful color. And that's with cheating on the marinating time. I didn't realize it should be done overnight. I'm 70. Been cooking for 60 years. That's a lot of roasted chicken. So glad to find this recipe.

Before trying this, compare with the other NY Times version, where the roaster is butterflied and then marinated in buttermilk, garlic, peppercorns, salt, rosemary and honey. Calls only half the salt, so go figure (or taste!). https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/7264-buttermilk-roast-chicken.

This was quite delicious! I used store-bought buttermilk and marinated the chicken for about 20 hrs. There was no sign of mushiness from the marinade, and the chicken was extremely tasty and juicy. I roasted it on a rack set over a roasting pan in which I put some cut-up potatoes and carrots and a handful of whole, peeled shallots. The chicken juices and the residual buttermilk gave the veggies a nice flavor as well. I'll definitely make this again!

Best roast chicken I’ve ever made/had/seen!! Prepared this according to Samin a few times now and I’ve learned 2 days marinating is better than 1. And if you like a very crispy chicken, I’ve refrained from turning the temp down until it had ~10 min of cooking time left.

Easy enough and yielded a really moist chicken. I don't know if it's significantly better than my go-to Zuni Cafe roast chicken recipe which uses a dry brine, but was interesting to try. Do yourself a favor and line your pan with foil or make sure you've really scraped off most of the buttermilk. What puddled in the pan beneath the chicken really burned and glued itself to the roasting pan. Dish guy/husband was not thrilled.

I've roasted many chickens but this is the best! I stuffed the cavity with a small Meyer lemon. While the chicken rested after roasting, poured the pan juices into a fat separator then added chicken broth. Meanwhile deglazed the iron skillet with dry vermouth. Then added defatted juices and simmered until rich in color. Delicious.

Works well with chicken thighs.Can substitute yogurt.Can add harissa or other herbs.Can reduce any smoke issues by heating a cast iron skillet at 350 for 30 mins, then add chicken and continue at that heat.

After reading the reviews I decided to go with heating the cast iron skillet in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins then putting the chicken and continued at that temperature. Worked great with no mess or smoke detector issues. Chicken was fabulous.

Can someone tell me how (or if) cooking time should be adjusted if I’m using bone-in, skin-on thighs?

Suggest marinating in a glass bowl to avoid single-use plastic bag. Better yet if the bowl has its own lid! Also I suppose if using cut up parts, the pan rotating will be unnecessary?

Six stars. Perfect chicken. I don’t have a rack so I roughly chopped some Yukon gold potatoes and yellow onions, seasoned w salt and pepper, and put the chicken directly on them. I’ve made it 3 times in 4 weeks. The carcass cooks up into a nice stock too.

Preheat the cast-iron skillet. Might want to flip the bird over at the end to crisp the bottom.

I thought it was good but not great. I usually dry brine my chicken with salt, then before baking make a compound butter with lemon zest, chopped herbs, butter, and pepper that goes under and over the skin. This recipe was easier than my usual but with inferior results.

I did 4 game hens according to this brining recipe, 2 each in big ziplock bags.I was surprised how tasty and juicy it turned out, and my kids loved it too. I do think I will do it again.I skipped the twine and oven choreography described, just slam it in there at 450 and forget about it.Is there anything I can do with the buttermilk/salt/poultry effluvia? Seems a shame to rinse it down the sink.

The buttermilk from the brining had a subtle gamy flavor that haunts me to this day. Savory eggnog comes to mind. Great holiday treat for those in-laws who are slow to warmup to the idea of you cooking for the holidays.

I made this once in the oven exactly as directed and it was perfect. Then I got adventurous and followed directions through the marinade, but spatchco*cked and grilled instead of roasting the chicken whole. Still perfect! The buttermilk brine can do no wrong.

This is just amazing! Best roast chicken ever! Made it almost exactly as written (only exception was that I spatchco*cked it) for this Sunday’s dinner, Monday was chicken sandwiches on sourdough with cranberry orange relish, tonight was the carcass turned into killer chicken noodle soup. I will make this again and again. Brilliant, Samin Nosrat!

We enjoyed the simplicity of this recipe almost as much as the juiciness of the chicken. I was skeptical of the cast iron skillet, but it was an inspired choice. I cooked the chicken 15 minutes longer than the recipe suggested as it was still pink near the bone and the juices hadn't yet run clear at the recommended cook time. Next time I make this I'm going to try placing the chicken in the center of my oven, and leaving it in one place.

This is now the only way I will make a roast chicken...stellar recipe and technique.

I love this recipe. I put the chicken in the buttermilk the night before, and realized the next morning I had forgotten the salt! I added it to the bag, squished it around, and let it marinate for about seven hours. It still turned out great! I also tucked butter and rosemary under the skin and put half a lemon in the cavity, and the drippings made delicious gravy. This is a keeper.

Re failure to brown: Try using the Convection setting. If you do, Use 400 degrees, not 425 degrees, and check temps sooner in case you have to shorten cooking time, often an issue when using Convection setting. Good Luck!

Best roasted chicken I’ve ever had!!!

Like some others, I have cooked many chickens over the years following instructions from numerous chefs and cookbook authors. This recipe is my favorite. I followed it to the letter except I was only able to find low fat buttermilk

Added powdered garlic, onion, smoked paprika & whole peppercorns to marinade, roasted it on top of thinly sliced potatoes, shallots, leeks, garlic & herbs tossed with tiny bit of melted butter. SO GOOD! Going to try turmeric in marinade next time. Inadvertently sat in marinade for 48 hours due “life happens” and it was not an issue. Chicken obsessed hubby loved it.

I’ve tried this recipe exactly as written twice. My chicken skin isn’t browning evenly. In Step 6, when the oven is on 425, she says “Pretty soon you should hear chicken sizzling.” Mine isn’t. It just sits there bald, white, and silent. Any ideas?