This recipe was given to my mother by Mimi, who also gave it to me. For his birthday, my papa always chooses this dessert. This cheesecake is special because of the sour cream garnish. If you like, add almonds as a garnish.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Additional Time: | 6 hrs |
| Total Time: | 7 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 1 whole chicken |
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 (3 pound) whole chicken
Instructions
- Whisk buttermilk, brown sugar, cider vinegar, garlic, thyme, pepper, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and salt together in a bowl.
- Trim wing flats from the chicken. Cut along both sides of the backbone from the tail to the neck; remove backbone. Make a 1/4-inch-deep cut through the piece of cartilage in the center. Open up both sides to reveal breastbone; lift out. Cut chicken in half through the center line.
- Place both halves in a resealable zip-top bag and pour in the buttermilk marinade. Place the bag in a bowl to catch any leaks. Press air out and seal. Marinate in the fridge for 6 to 18 hours.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate. Remove chicken from marinade and transfer onto a paper towel-lined plate. Blot off excess marinade.
- Place chicken on the grill cut-side down, skin-side up; cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Flip chicken over and continue grilling for 7 to 10 minutes. Flip once more and grill until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
- If you can’t find buttermilk, just used some thinned-out yogurt.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of marinade ingredients. The actual amount of marinade consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 323 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 117 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 40 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 2120 mg |
| Sugars | 13 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Chef John has done it again! I’ve made his 2-ingredient mushroom and chicken breast/thighs in my trusty cast iron pan 5-6 times. That being said, this recipe has such a unique, delicious flavor I’ve created an account to thank him: THANK YOU Chef John. I used 1/2 head of garlic but kept ingredients and their ratios the same as CJ has impressed before. However instead of splitting and bbq’g the chicken (we had a first-ever tornado yesterday so I stayed inside) I kept it whole and rotisseried it on my George Foreman. CJ is SO right about the buttermilk. Appreciated the addition of apple cider vinegar as well as I know it makes the chicken more moist. Wonderful result. I will be making this a lot.
Easy and delicious. All 3 of my sons said it was a make again. I made the marinade as directed, no changes. I added it to chicken thighs to marinade over night and then barbecued them.
We made this exactly as written. It was the best chicken we’ve ever had. I can’t wait to have company and make this for them so they think I’m a master chef!!!
I made this two weekends in a row, it’s very good. The only thing I changed was I added barbecue mesquite seasoning and five spice powder and cooked it over coals with mesquite wood. But he’s correct, if you have the salt, sugar and the vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar), then you can add any seasonings that you want.