Trader Joe's Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken

A real dinner can be made in a reasonable amount of time. A roast is something that is easy to make but a lot of us might not even attempt it if we feel we don't have the time (or are super hungry). Well, if you can find about 30 minutes (give or take) then you can have this Trader Joe's Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken on the table.

The taste

Is there anything more comforting than a roast chicken? Well, I know in my household the best chicken is probably the rotisserie chicken I just brought home from Costco. Not only is that chicken cheap, its so very good.

The next best chicken is the one that you make yourself that probably costs about twice as much as that Costco chicken (if not more).

And of course one day I noticed Trader Joe's Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken and picked it up. It had directions for grilling and baking, but no air fryer directions (don't worry, I've got you covered).

I enjoy Trader Joe's Spatcocked Chicken. They've sold a variety of flavors over the years including coffee rubbed and bbq, but the one that is available year-round is the lemon rosemary spatchcocked chicken.

The premise is basically the same, there is no spine to this bird. And this is half of a spatchcocked bird.

Trader Joe's Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken not only has buttermilk but also vinegar and rosemary. Both flavors were present and seemed to have penetrated pretty deep into the meat.

Now, this is both good and bad. If you are no fan of rosemary then be sure to skip this product. The vinegar also has the potential to be off-putting as well because depending on how you season your bird will likely decide how much you like this.

But out of the air fryer, the skin was nice and crisp (see my directions below on that), and the meat was so very tender and well flavored.

So as long as you pick a seasoning that would lend itself well to rosemary and the tanginess of vinegar you should find this is a pretty good value. Even a basic salt and pepper mix would go well here.

Air fryer directions

Yes, I opted to make this half-bird in the air fryer.

First, take a paper towel and dry the outside of the chicken. Preheat the air fryer to 350F. Next, season as you normally would. Once your air fryer is preheated, spray the basket with cooking spray to make sure nothing sticks. Next, cook it for 10 minutes skin side up. Flip the chicken around and cook for another 10 minutes. Then return the chicken skin side up for 10 more minutes. Check the temperature with a thermometer at the thickest part of the meat. You are looking for an internal temperature of 165F. If it isn't 165F, allow it more time to cook. Remove once it reaches that temperature. Allow the chicken to rest on a plate or cutting board for at least 5 minutes before cutting or serving.

Overall

I really enjoyed the ease of making this chicken. Much like Trader Joe's Spatchcock Chicken it really does reduce the overall cooking time which is a good thing now that warmer weather is upon us. And for $4.99 per pound, this isn't a bad deal.

Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's Buttermilk Brined Half Chicken again.

Did you try it?  Let me know what you think in the comments section!