Combine ‘Nduja, the Spreadable Spicy Salami-Type Sausage, with Butter and You’ve Got the Perfect Seasoning for a Roast Chicken.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I make a roasted chicken frequently. It will forever be one of my favorite meals. The ease, along with the end result puts it at the top of my list for a perfect meal. This time around I was inspired by a recipe in Ixta Belfrage’s Mezcla cookbook .* She uses a little ‘nduja ,* amongst other ingredients, in a recipe for chicken thighs and pineapple.
I happened to have a humongous chicken – 6.5 pounds, but the recipe will work perfectly fine with any sized chicken. For a smaller chicken, I normally roast it for about 45 minutes at 425°, but seeing as this one was so large, I knew it would burn by the time it was done, so I reduced the heat after 20 minutes and let it cook until an instant read thermometer registered 165° when stuck into the thickest part of the thigh. As you can see in the photo, it didn’t burn at all.
If you’ve never eaten ‘nduja, let me explain. It is a soft spreadable spicy pork sausage that originated in the Calabria region of Italy. I love this stuff and have been happy in the past when I’ve simply combined it with butter. It’s so full of flavor I don’t think it needs anything else added to it. I rubbed it under the skin and over the top of my buttermilk brined chicken right before I put it in the oven. Knowing I was going to want to use the drippings for a sauce, I had reduced the amount of salt in the buttermilk brine.
After the chicken came out of the oven, and while it was resting, I broiled a tray of fresh thick pineapple slices onto which I had spread the remaining ‘nduja butter. As soon as it came out from under the broiler I squeezed the juice from half a lime over the top.
After skimming most of the grease from the drippings of the chicken, I heated them up, added the juice from the remaining lime half and poured in a tablespoon of heavy cream.
The chicken was so juicy and full flavored, only a small spoonful of the sauce was needed for each serving. And that pineapple? Sensational. All that porky flavor from the ‘nduja was a perfect complement to the both the sweet pineapple and the chicken. So little effort for such a great meal.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that, at no additional cost to you, may pay me a small commission and help support the costs of this website. Read full privacy policy here.
Roast Chicken and Pineapple with 'Nduja Butter
4-6
servingsNduja and butter mixed together make the best seasoning for a roast chicken. Spread some on fresh pineapple slices and put them under the broiler at the last minute for a luscious accompaniment.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
6.5 pound chicken
3 cups buttermilk
3 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 ounces 'nduja ,* room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, room temperature
1 lime
1 fresh pineapple, sliced into 3/4 inch thick rings
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Directions
- Soak the chicken overnight in the buttermilk and sea salt. Stir together the 'nduja and butter. Preheat the oven to 425° with a rack in the center.
- Drain the buttermilk off the chicken and pat it dry. Spread 2 tablespoons of the 'nduja butter underneath the skin on the breast of the chicken. Tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine. Rub 2 more tablespoons of the 'nduja butter all over the outside of the chicken. Place the chicken in a wide skillet or brasier and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° and continue cooking until an instant read thermometer reads 165° when placed in the thickest part of the thigh. This took about an additional 60-70 minutes for my large chicken. Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- In the meantime, place the pineapple slices on a sheet pan and spread the remaining 'nduja butter on top of them. Put them under the broiler with a rack 6 inches from the coils and broil until they’re beginning to brown. This will only take 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the heat of your broiler. Keep them in longer if they haven’t bubbled and browned in that amount of time. Remove from the oven and squeeze the juice of half a lime over the tops.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and spoon off most of the grease from the pan. Heat the drippings while whisking. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lime into the drippings and taste for seasoning. Pour the drippings into a small bowl and drizzle 1 tablespoon of heavy cream into the sauce. Serve with the chicken and pineapple slices. Enjoy!
2 Responses
I will definitely have to do a search for Nduja! We do have quite a large Italian community, with specialty grocery stores, so hopefully I can find it! It looks fabulous, Renee!
Thank you, Enid. I hope you can get your hands on some because it’s really quite wonderful. Please get back to me and let me know how you like it.😊