Before roasting, the chicken is tenderized and poached in flavorful buttermilk. While the meat is in the oven, use the leftover poaching liquid to make a delicious garlic and buttermilk cream sauce.
By Taylor McBride
While winter is definitely my favorite, I do always love those first few brisk days in March when you can drive with the windows down during the day, yet the temperature drops enough during the evenings so you can still enjoy those warm and cozy meals. These roasted chicken thighs are absolutely perfect for that kind of weather. It’s similar to my recipe for Crispy Chicken Thighs with Caramelized Shallots (click here for the recipe), but because of the lemon juice, buttermilk, and lots of garlic, they have two completely different flavor profiles – you won’t be able to get enough of this buttermilk cream sauce, trust me. 
Buttermilk Poached and Roasted Chicken with Garlic Cream Sauce
Description
Before roasting, the chicken is tenderized in flavorful buttermilk. Use the leftover poaching liquid to make a delicious garlic and buttermilk cream sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1–2 sprigs of thyme, plus more for garnish
- Garlic cloves from 1 head of garlic, peeled
- 3 Tbsp parmigiano-reggiano
- 4 chicken thighs, bone-in
- Salt and pepper
- Juice from half a lemon
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the buttermilk, heavy cream, butter, thyme, garlic cloves, and parmigiano-reggiano and stir to combine. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Bring the mixture up to a simmer. Cover with a lid, leaving it open just a small crack. Cook over low heat for an hour and a half, stirring the mixture every once in awhile (stir around the chicken). Remove the chicken and place on a baking sheet, skin side up. Remove all but 2-3 cloves of the garlic and discard along with the stem of the thyme.
- Boil the poaching liquid over medium high heat, whisking occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. It will look like the sauce will never thicken – but after about 15 minutes, the sauce will begin to get thick. If you want, you can strain the sauce (I did not). Transfer the sauce into a bowl and whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper, keep warm until ready to serve.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken thighs in the oven skin side up and roast for about 20-25 minutes, or until the skin is brown and crispy. Serve immediately with a little of the sauce on top of the chicken thighs or on the side. Garnish with chopped thyme.
- Category: Main
Sounds great! The only thing to me that sounds off is making a sauce that had raw chicken sitting in it simmering on low heat. I’m gonna make a separate ‘Alfredo’ sauce just to be on the safe side. :)