Baked Buttermilk Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lb chicken, cut into parts excluding the back (use that for soup stock later)
• 2 Cups Buttermilk
• 1 Onion rough chopped
• 6 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup milk for the gravy (optional)
• 2 tablespoons flour for the gravy (optional)

Instructions

• Soak cut up chicken in buttermilk that is layered with rough chopped onion and springs of rosemary for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. The longer the better on this!
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Drain chicken in colander
• Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil.
• Add chicken to pan.
• Season both sides of the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Arrange the pieces skin-side up in the pan so that the largest pieces are in the center
• Using last sprig of Rosemary, chop finely and sprinkle on top of chicken.
• Bake for 30 minutes at 400°F. Then lower the heat to 350°F and bake for another 20 minutes more or until juices run clear when poked with a sharp knife.
• Remove pan from oven, set aside chicken and if using drippings for gravy, pour drippings into a small saucepan using a metal spatula to scrape the drippings stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan. Place stove on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons flour, letting the flour cook for a minute or two before whisking in 1 cup milk to the pan. Cook until desired thickness of gravy is reached, then slather on mashed potatoes!