Buttermilk Roast Chicken

Are the holidays over yet?  I feel like I'm going to ring in the new year with a few extra pounds from all the food consumption over the last couple of weeks.  It all started with the turkey, ham, stuffing, pumpkin pie...and I realize I've been eating nonstop since.  Oh man, do I dare make a new year's resolution to start hitting the gym?  Maybe not.  I'll just start taking the stairs at work instead of the elevators to make myself feel better.

I made these buttermilk drumsticks for a Christmas potluck and everyone liked it.  The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson on the Food Network.  If you ever have leftover buttermilk in the fridge and want to whip up something delicious for dinner, try this recipe.  The chicken came out very tasty and juicy.  I read some of the reviews to go heavier on the spices because they were bland so I did.  I didn't have maple syrup so I substituted with pancake syrup and maple extract.  I don't think the syrup made any difference.  Next time, I'll try using brown sugar.  I also added paprika and extra garlic and marinated the chicken overnight.  Right before roasting, I sprayed the top of the chicken with PAM and broiled it at the end to brown.

Buttermilk Roast Chicken (6 servings)

Ingredients
12 chicken drumsticks (appx. 3 lbs.)
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 2 T vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed
1 T crushed peppercorn
1 T sea salt or 1 1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 T maple syrup

Directions
Place the chicken drumsticks in a large freezer bag, and add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of oil.

Add the bruised garlic cloves to the bag with the crushed peppercorns and salt.

Sprinkle in the ground cumin and add the maple syrup, and then squish everything in the freezer bag around to mix the marinade to coat the chicken.

Leave the buttermilk marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Take the chicken pieces out of the bag shaking off the excess marinade, and then arrange them in a roasting pan lined with foil.

Drizzle over the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil, and then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.