A Roast Chicken for Spring

buttermilk-brined, spring herb butter, and a good even roast

photo by Line Thit Klein

A good roast chicken wins me over every single time and this one is no exception. I’m battling through a springtime head cold as I write this, and figured I might as well post up the recipe that was the precursor to the multiple cups of chicken broth I’ve been drowning myself in (make the most of those leftover chicken backs and carcasses). This recipe appeared this weekend in the monthly column I write for one of Copenhagen’s news outlets, Politiken. After testing this chicken in her own kitchen, my editor added the tagline (directly translated from Danish) “this recipe beats everything” to the food section’s homepage. A high compliment I will gladly accept and one that hopefully encourages you to go buy a whole chicken, a quart/liter of buttermilk, some herbs and get to butterflying and brining. The butterflying (removing the backbone) provides for even cooking and a nice crispy crisp skin as the chicken lies flat on the roasting pan broadening the surface area exposed to direct heat. Brining the chicken overnight in buttermilk (a good tenderizer) and soft herbs (like dill, tarragon and chives) means super juicy meat, ultra-flavor and a scream of springtime. As a general rule for brining chicken in a liquid, I’ve found the ratio of roughly 7% salt to the quantity of liquid is ideal to create good moisture, flavor and all-around satisfaction—note that the type of salt you use (kosher or sea salt) may impact that ratio just slightly, as I find sea salt tends to be a teeny, tiny bit saltier. If there was one thing I would love it import to Denmark, it would be Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt…ok, maybe Diamond Crystal and Advil. Sea salt works equally as well, but there’s just something about the way kosher salt feels in your fingers (US restaurant people back me up).

And with that, I’ll keep this entry brief, both for the sake of my sinuses and so you can get yourself into the kitchen with a chicken to butterfly.

I mean, how gorgeous is the color of that brine?!

Buttermilk Roast Chicken with Herb Butter

Serves 4

1 1.5-2kg (3-4lb) whole chicken (ideally free-range/from a nice farm/your local greenmarket)

250g buttermilk

2 scallion, finely minced

1 tablespoon each dill, tarragon and chives, finely minced (or mix any combination of fresh herbs, but this trio is really lovely for springtime)

20g (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) sea salt / kosher salt

Pinch of black pepper

Compound Butter

100g butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon each dill, tarragon and chives, finely minced

Flaky sea salt for garnish

To butterfly the chicken, remove the backbone / spine using kitchen scissors. Lay the chicken flat on a cutting board, and gently press the breast down to flatten the chicken as best as possible.  Place the chicken flat in a storage container or baking dish. Butterflying allows for more even cooking and crisping of the chicken’s skin.

To brine the chicken, blend buttermilk, scallion, herbs salt and pepper using an immersion hand-blender or a whisk and pour over chicken. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 210C / 410F.   Remove chicken from the buttermilk brine and wipe off excess buttermilk. Place the chicken in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet and allow to temper 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the compound butter mixing butter and herbs.  Rub about half of the butter thoroughly all over the skin of the chicken, save any leftovers for another use or melt some to drizzle over chicken right out of the oven. 

Roast the chicken for 35-45 minutes until the skin is golden brown and juices run clear, rotating the pan halfway for even cooking and browning of the skin. If the wing tips start to burn, carefully cover them with small pieces of parchment or aluminum foil.

To serve, pour any pan juices over top the chicken and spring with flaky sea salt. This chicken would be even more fantastic if you tucked day-old chunks of bread underneath the chicken while it's roasting to soak up all the juices. Or roasted potatoes, roasted spring veg or the seared white asparagus in the following post would be delicious as well. :)

*Note: Adjust this recipe to any season by swapping spring herbs for summer, autumn or more wintry herbs to your liking.

Thanks for reading, enjoy!

x, M