Roast chicken on the BBQ.

Outdoor cooking is one of life’s great joys. Spring is just around the corner and as the weather heats up, I thought that it would be appropriate to highlight the humble roast chicken ‘outdoors’ style.

This saucy bird is a buttemilk-marinated roast chicken. The recipe is from Samin Noarat’s book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat but instead of the cooking in the oven as the recipe recommends, my clever hubby decided to drag out the old Weber kettle bbq. The beauty of this recipe is that the buttermilk acts like a brine, so while the chicken is marinating overnight it is also tenderising. The sugar content of the buttermilk also enhances this chook by caramelising under heat and producing the lovely brown skin. The result is a tender, juicy roast chicken (with no oven dishes!).

Chicken is a high-quality protein that contains all 9 essential amino acids, which are the proteins that cannot be made by the body and must be consumed via foods. Chicken is also rich in B group vitamins, zinc and iron. The iron from animal products is more readily absorbed than iron from plant sources and chicken also contains a clever peptide called MFP factor which helps you absorb iron from plant sources as well. A mixed meal of chicken and vegetables can really boost your iron intake for the day.

There are a good mix of mono and polyunsaturated fats contained in a chicken but it is worth noting that 30% of the fat is the saturated variety. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that saturated fat consumption is limited to 10% of your daily energy consumption. Moderate consumption of meat as part of a mixed meal with vegetables, legumes and grains is the healthy choice.