Buffalo Chicken with Ranchy Salad

And what it's like to raise 900 chickens

If you told me five years ago I would leave my beloved Los Angeles and return to my childhood home in the Catskills I wouldn’t have believed you. If you would have mentioned that I’d also have started a regenerative farm with my husband Ryan, I would have thought you’d completely lost your mind. “We should raise pastured poultry! It’ll be fun!” he said.

Our first batch of chicks this year arrived March 31st and three days later a storm with gale force winds hit, knocking out our power. Normally that wouldn’t be a huge deal, except that chicks are incredibly cold sensitive and need to live under heat lamps for their first few weeks. We were playing pickleball when Ryan had the sense that we should go home to check on them, where we discovered they had been without heat for 45 minutes. The temperature outside was 34 degrees. Chaos ensued.

The next three hours were spent in the dark barn, babysitting a generator that barely powered all of our brooder heat lamps while the storm raged on outside. Miraculously, all the chicks were completely fine. For our second batch of chicken, we calculated that it rained every day for two thirds of their life. While they have shelter, this meant many days were spent trying to navigate the new springs that kept popping up on our hillside with every storm and providing hay or straw as a bedding to keep the birds off the wet ground and dry. One day Ryan came inside completely drenched after doing the afternoon chores and said he had spent a solid five minutes screaming into the sky, “STOP RAINING!” Chickens and humans don’t love cold rain.

Like any new business, we’ve experienced multiple setbacks, from design and branding delays, to figuring out packaging, to learning how to effectively communicate with the processor (that one is still a work in progress). We’re learning what cuts people want more of—chicken thighs, breasts, and sausage are top contenders—and what’s a little harder sell—chicken livers and wings. Any pâté lovers out there?

Through it all we’ve begun to hit our stride. Moved on fresh pasture daily, given organic feed, void of hormones or antibiotics, and air-chilled, these chickens get to live the best life possible with a flavor to match. Raising chicken this way isn’t the easiest, but the results speak for themselves. Week after week our customers keep coming back to tell us this is the best chicken they’ve ever had. We happen to agree.

If you live on the east coast, we’ve just begun offering shipping so you gan get Uplands chicken delivered to your door. We’re also at the Delhi, NY Farmers’ Market every Wednesday between 10-2pm. If you’re local, you can also pick up directly on the farm.

To get updates from the farm, you can sign up for our mailing list here. We send emails out about once a month—often with a recipe for chicken—and promise to never overwhelm your inbox.

Speaking of, I’m sharing my recipe for Buffalo Chicken with Ranchy Salad below. A few months ago I got an assignment from The Kitchn to develop a recipe for grilled Buffalo chicken thighs. They were so good that I’ve been making them on repeat all summer and thought they deserved to have a whole meal centered around them. The chicken thighs offer tanginess and char that you’d usually find in Buffalo wings; the romaine offers some crunch; and the ranch dressing cools it all down. Cheese is optional, but encouraged.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Buffalo Chicken

• ½ cup Frank’s Original RedHot Sauce

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or boneless, skin-on thighs, patted dry

Ranch Dressing

• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

• ¼ cup heavy cream or whole milk

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to serve

• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

• ½ cup dill, finely chopped, plus more to serve

Salad

• 2 romaine hearts, leaves seperated

• 1 head treviso, leaves separated (or use all romaine)

• 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

• ½ cup celery leaves, optional

• 1 cup crumbled feta or thinly sliced blue cheese

Directions

1. Make the Buffalo Chicken: Add the hot sauce, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Add the chicken to the sauce and toss to combine. Let marinate while prepping the rest of the meal.

3. Make the ranch dressing: Add the mayonnaise, heavy cream, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and dill, to a small bowl and whisk to combine.

4. Heat an outdoor grill to direct, medium-high heat (450°F to 500°F).

5. Remove the chicken from the marinade and let any excess drip off; discard any excess marinade. Place the chicken on the grill smooth-side (or skin-side) down in a single layer. Cover and cook until dark grill marks appear on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.

6. Flip the chicken over and continue cooking, covering the grill. Grill until the thickest part of the chicken registers at least 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 4 to 5 minutes more.

7. Transfer the chicken thighs to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice with a knife.

8. Assemble the romaine and treviso on a platter. Drizzle with the ranch dressing and sprinkle with sliced chicken, celery, and celery leaves. Top with feta or blue cheese and serve immediately.

Buffalo Chicken With Ranchy Salad

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