Buttermilk Chicken

I heard about this chicken on a morning radio show on CBC during delivering the g'kids to school on Tuesday morning.  Seeing as how I had a chicken in the freezer and half a container of buttermilk in the fridge ...why not?

So I googled the recipe and read a couple blogs that endorsed the method and the original posting of Jamie Oliver.

http://www.thekitchn.com/jamie-oliver-chicken-in-milk-best-chicken-recipe-all-time-80388
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/chicken-in-milk
http://localkitchenblog.com/2011/02/03/jamie-olivers-chicken-in-buttermilk/

I was torn - add potatoes to the bottom of the chicken or not?

Eventually I loaded them on the bottom and after browning the chicken, placed it on top.  First I stuffed the cavity with half a lemon, couple garlic cloves in skins some sage leaves, and of coarse some salt and pepper first.

I had 3/4 cup of buttermilk and added another 3/4 cup milk, nuked it before pouring over the chicken.  Then sprinkled the lemon zest and lemon juice over the chicken and the sage.

After looking at the bulge that prevented the lid from going on I decided to fish out the potatoe halves ( alittle difficult since everything was hot and ready to get in the oven) and the garlic floating around under the chicken and instead crammed them betweeen the chicken and the sides of the pot.  Put the lid on and threw it in the oven at 3:30.

The house did smell good, and around 4:20 I opened the oven, removed the lid and poked the potatoes.  Off loaded them into a casserole of their own because they were about to be overdone and I couldn't get at the liquid to baste.

I basted a few times after that and also removed the lid at this time also.

Prepped some Ceasar Salad

At five I garlic buttered up baquette slices and sliced up some carrots.  The carrots went on the stove with some butter and spices and the chicken came out of the oven, replaced with the bread on a sheet pan (butter side down)

While the carrots and bread were getting their treatment, I took the chicken apart and fished out the garlic. The pot was put on a slow boil to reduce the liquid.  The chicken was plattered and the liquid juices were poured over the platter and covered with a tent of foil.

Table was set and everyone was hungary

AFter all the hoopla...."its the best chicken I've ever tasted"  from the blogs that I read I was expecting a wonder.  I have made some very good roasted chicken in the magic pot.  I mean how many different ways are there to make a chicken that are no brainers.  I mean a chicken, some garlic, a lemon or two, and spice mixtures galore to sprinkle under the skin and into the cavity.  Then throw it in the oven to roast.  How difficult is that.  It's vertually impossible to screw this up if one has a cast iron ceramic pot.  Even if you don't have a magic pot.  It might not be as succulent in a regular pot, but still ....a no brainer.

After I threw the thing in the oven I poured myself a drink

I know..I know - how pathetic.
There was vodka in the freezer, but no clamato juice in the fridge or pantry.  What to do....what to do...
The only potential mix was this raspberry lemonade thing.  So I threw caution to the wind and poured it into the g'kids micky mouse glass.  It was not bad...in a pinch.  Too bad I didn't have any white choc liquour to add.  But this was not bad

Since giving up the grape I allow myself  "one" cocktail when I think about it.  And yesterday I decided to read some comments on the afor mentioned blogs about this chicken wonder dish. So it was cocktail time.

I should have read some of the comments before committing to make the thing.  If I would have read them before hand I would have just made it the standard way.

I was "GOBSMACKED:"  yes jamie oliver....i said GOBSMACKED...(lets face it there just isn't a satisfactory word to replace it with)  at how dryyyyy the thing was.
How could this be?  It sat in liquid for an hour and a half....in my magic pot of heavens sake.  That pot doesn't even need any liquid added to make a superior chicken.

The other dinner patrons sitting at the table did go on and on about the chicken.  But I suspect that they were just complimenting me cause in a couple weeks I'm outa here and they will miss my cooking.  So they are getting in as much complimenting as humanly possible with the time they have left.  And they did divy up the leftovers in their respective containers for lunch tomorrow.  I suggested they pour all the leftover liquid over the leftovers to ensure a moister chicken.  And I did eat a couple pieces that they didn't manage to cram into the containers with my toast this morning.  And it was moist and tasty.  But IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THIS WAY LAST NIGHT.  It's pretty hard to not have good day old leftover chicken.

lets face it, I can't really say "after all that work"  because let's be real here.  It wasn't a whole heck of a lot of work...realllllllly

It was just the antisipation for a "heavenly chicken"  that fell flat.  I have to wonder - Are there a whole lot of incompetent cooks out there that haven't actually tasted a really really good home made chicken?  Or what could possibly classify this thing as "god's gift to chicken"

And Jamie Oliver----I'm disappointed in you.

I have come to the conclusion  -  as someone posting a negative comment on one of the many blogs that I read pertaining to this post I just can't remember which one....That it's true what she says.  That celebrity chef's recipes SHOULD be treated with great suspect. Because they are generally always overblown by their own publicity machine.  They either don't work, the timing is off, something is missing from the ingreadient list, the calorie and nutricion tables have to be ignored, or they just are so simple that why would anyone actually post a recipe for it, or it just sucks.

WEll this recipe must be one of those that got the publicity treatment.

I made it once.

I doubt I will make it again....unless maybe...if I should have some chicken legs and thighs that I want to do something with.  But I would be hard pressed into substituting this recipe for Barefoot Contessa's Indonesian chicken.  Which is what I usually do with legs and thighs, Why would I waste my time with this one if I know Barefoot Contessa's will be heaven.  And I have only held it overnight in the fridge once, because it really doesn't need to be marinated overnight.  I have done it last minute ALL THE TIME.  I just am not that organized to actually do anything a day ahead.  That would be an amazing thing, to be that organized.

Barefoot Contessa - well we all know her recipes ALWAYS work out better than expected.  Where is she these days anyway?  No new book to flog lately or is she hanging out in France?

The only other celebrity..ish chef that is trustworthy is Laura Calder...ribs have never been the same in this house since reading her method.  And she has never written a recipe that was mehhhh.

Jamie Oliver though....is right up there with Rachel Ray.   Over publicized and over done....and over

So moral of this post/story???

Make this if you have some buttermilk sitting around that will spoil and you have already made pancakes for dinner the night before.  But otherwise......

It was mehhhhh.


Dinner tonight?

Lots of leftover potatoes, some ham, some chicken, lots of different kinds of cheese, left over roasted carrots, a little half bunch of broccoli, couple mushrooms,  too many eggs...prob either quiche and/or omelet (for the gluten free adult). Time to clean out the fridge.  Make some room for market day.