The Simple Jacques Pépin-Approved Brine For Delicious Roast Chicken

Even the most basic, foolproof roast chicken recipe needs a brine. It adds flavor and ensures you get a tender final product. The typical process for brining involves placing the chicken in a solution of salt and water, but "Salt Fat Acid Heat" author Samin Nosrat uses a different method — and it works. Nosrat once used extra roast chicken she brined with her secret weapon for a friend who was hosting legendary French chef Jacques Pépin for a picnic. Later that night, Pépin texted her personally to say how delicious her meal was.

You may not be serving a celebrity chef, but you can get Nosrat's results at home by soaking your chicken in her signature ingredient: buttermilk. That's right. It's just a buttermilk brine like the commonly used to elevate their fried chicken.

Obviously, there's a major difference between water and buttermilk, the fermented leftover dairy product of butter churning. Buttermilk adds tanginess and tenderness to the brine. The lactic acid in buttermilk works as a tenderizer by breaking down collagen proteins that provide structure in the muscle tissue. That's why marinades need an acid like vinegar. Then, the sugar in buttermilk helps crisp and brown the chicken skin. But even with buttermilk, you still need the salt, which breaks down a different protein called myosin, which plays a role in muscle contraction. The salt helps the bird retain liquid via osmosis making for a juicier roast.

A buttermilk brine isn't particularly complicated — for the simplest version, all you need is a couple of cups of buttermilk and salt. The amount of buttermilk varies based on the size of your chicken, but you need a tablespoon of salt for every cup of buttermilk or 2 pounds of chicken. Make sure to fully cover the chicken in the buttermilk, and if you can, rotate it periodically so all sides of the chicken get a chance to soak it in. The exact timing for buttermilk brining depends on who you ask, but it should be anywhere from a few hours to a day — don't leave it for longer, as you can accidentally cure your chicken by over-brining.

If you, like most people, don't keep the tangy milk product on hand, no worries. You can make your own buttermilk at home using regular whole milk and an acid like vinegar.

Or maybe buttermilk deserves a full-time slot in your fridge. You can more or less soak any chicken in buttermilk for the same tender, juicy result. Sweet and savory buttermilk-brined chicken and waffles makes an excellent weekend breakfast. Samin Nosrat even uses it to brine holiday turkey. Or try it with fried pork chops or even tougher steak cuts. If you still don't think you can keep buttermilk around all the time, you can just keep powdered buttermilk around. If you can't find it at the grocery store, search Amazon for Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend, Anthony's Premium Buttermilk Powder, or Bob's Red Mill Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder.