This chicken is really quite easy and makes dinner prep a snap. All you do is marinate the chicken pieces over night, then pop them in the oven the next day when you need to cook them, and while they are roasting away you can toss a salad, slice up some crusty bread, or put on a pot of potatoes. When I made this meal I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly dinner came together! I reduced the amount of salt in the brine drastically since my family is very salt concious, but you can adjust it to your liking
Ingredients:
2 cups of buttermilk
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt (originally was 1 tbsp)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp of paprika
fresh cracked pepper
olive oil
2-3 lbs of chicken pieces (I used bone in, skin on chicken breast halves and cut them in half so they would cook a little faster)
In a large measuring cup or bowl, stir together the buttermilk, garlic cloves, salt, sugar, paprika, and pepper. Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag, add your chicken, and move it around until everything is well coated. Alternatively, you can place your chicken pieces in a glass baking dish and pour the mixture over top, moving the pieces around so everything is coated in buttermilk and top the dish with some plastic wrap. Allow the chicken to marinate for 24 hours.
When it's time to cook, pre-heat the oven to 425 F. Line your baking dish with foil. You don't really have to do this, I suppose, but it makes for really easy clean up and I was quite happy that I did. Lay the chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer, and drizzle them with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with some more paprika and freshly ground pepper.
Roast the chicken pieces for about 35-40 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the meat is poked w/ a fork. I use a meat thermometer and cook chicken breasts to about 165 F. (see this link for information about meat thermometers, what types to buy, how to use them, etc.)
Serves 6
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
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