Roast Chicken in a Bag

 

I wanted to make myself a roast chicken the other day.  I wanted a chicken dinner to enjoy on the day and then some leftovers to play with on another day.  I had some oven bags in the cupboard that my son had brought over for Thanksgiving a few years back and thought I would use one of those.  

I had never roasted a chicken in a roasting bag before, although I had done turkeys in them. The end result is always a delicious, moist and tender bird.  

Plus, you have all of the juices from the bird, handy and ready to use in the bottom of the bag. It is very easy to pour them out of the bag (carefully, as they are hot) into a measuring cup.  It is also very easy to scoop any fat off then and use the juices to make a delicious gravy.

 

Worst case scenario is if the bag fills up with too much in the way of juice and the opening is sitting outside of the roasting tin. You end up with juices bubbling out all over the oven. This has happened to me in the past and so now I leave the open part on top, not to the side.  Problem solved.   

I roasted a medium sized chicken in it and it was done in a little bit more than an hour. The meat was tender and juicy the skin brown (not crisp).  You can crisp it up by taking it out of the bag and popping it under the broiler for a few minutes. Not too long as you don't want the chicken to dry out.

I always stick some lemon inside my chicken which helps to flavor the chicken from the inside out. I have been doing this for years. It also helps to make some tasty juices for the gravy.

In any case I was really pleased with how this chicken came out. It was tender and juicy, loaded with flavor and was very easy to do.  Cleanup was minimal as well.  I hope you will give it a go!

NOTE: Do use a bag that is food quality and dedicated to oven roasting, NOT an ordinary plastic bag. I shouldn't have to say this, but you never know. It is aways best to spell things out.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ROAST CHICKEN IN A BAG

Aside from a roasting bag and a chicken, some very simple ingredients. There is nothing complicated here.

• 1 3-lb. (1.4 kg) oven-ready chicken
• 3 ounces (75g) butter, divided
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 TBS freshly chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp freshly chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• finely grated lemon zest to taste
• 1 lemon cut in half
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 oven roasting bag

 

I used a free range, organic chicken, PC Free From, that I had bought at the store for 50% off. I usually buy my chickens like that. These free from chickens taste a lot better than the regular ones, but are twice the cost.  Waiting for them to hit their sell by date means I can get them cheaper. They are fine. I just throw them right in the freezer and then thaw and cook whenever.

You can use dried herbs rather than fresh. Just reduce the quantity by half.

I use salted butter.  It's the only kind I keep in the house. At this stage in life, I can't afford to be picky about salted or unsalted.  I do miss Danish butter.  It was lovely.

Scrub your lemon really well before zesting.  This helps get rid of any nasties.  I wish we could get unwaxed lemons here, but alas, we cannot.

Why flour in the bag?  This helps to protect the bag from bursting during cooking.  I used a Look brand oven bag. You can get them on Amazon or at the grocery store.

 

HOW TO MAKE ROAST CHICKEN IN A BAG

It really could not be easier. I highly recommend!  No fuss. No muss. No basting. Roast chicken perfection.

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a roasting tin large enough to hold the chicken in the bag.

Take your roasting bag. Open it up and add the flour. Give it a good shake and then place it into the roasting tin.

Pat your chicken dry with some paper towels. This will help the butter adhere better.

Prepare all of the herbs and garlic, and place into a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Zest your lemon and then cut in half. (reserve the zest for now) Dip the cut sides of the lemon into the herbs and place the cut lemon halves into the chicken.

Add the lemon zest and paprika to the herbs. Drop in the butter. Cream everything together well and then rub this mixture all over the chicken skin to coat. Place the chicken into the bag, breast side up. Close the bag according to the manufacturer's instructions.

 

Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for about one hour and 15 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear, and the skin is golden brown. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165*F/74*C.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the bag for 15 minutes. At the end of that time carefully remove the chicken and carve to serve.

The bag juices make a delicious gravy.

 

This was a really simple and delicious way to cook a chicken. The roasting bag kept all of the juices in the bag and ensured that the chicken did not dry out. It was juicy and loaded with tons of flavor.

I enjoyed with some fluffy mashed potatoes, swede, roasted Jerusalem artichokes and carrots, and peas. There were also plenty of juices to make a delicious and flavor-filled gravy!  If you have never roasted a chicken in a bag before, you might want to try it!

Got leftovers?  Here are a few delicious ways to use them up!

CHICKEN & MUSHROOM POT PIE - A delicious pot pie with a filling loaded with tender pieces of chicken and meaty mushrooms in a delicious gravy. Topped with a buttery flaky golden brown short crust pastry topping. This is simple to make and oh so tasty!

TERIYAKI CHICKEN & RICE CASSEROLE -Deliciously simple using a fabulous homemade teriyaki sauce, leftover cooked chicken, precooked rice and frozen stir fry vegetables. A store cupboard favourite!  

CHICKEN AND STARS SOUP - This is a very simple and easy soup to make.  I often use the carcass from a roast chicken to make this, saving some chicken from the roast to use as well.   As I always cut up chickens myself to use in other recipes, I usually always have bags of chicken backs and necks in the freezer as well, which are very good when used in this soup!   Its amazing what you can do with a few bones and some vegetables!

Yield: 4 servings with leftovers

Author: Marie Rayner

Roast Chicken in a Bag

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 15 MInactive time: 15 MinTotal time: 1 H & 45 M

Tender and moist roast chicken, always. An oven-ready roasting bag makes it easy. Flavor filled with plenty of herbs, garlic and lemon.

Ingredients

• 1 3-lb. (1.4 kg) oven-ready chicken
• 3 ounces (75g) butter, divided
• 1 TBS finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 TBS freshly chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp freshly chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• finely grated lemon zest to taste
• 1 lemon cut in half
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS flour
• 1 oven roasting bag

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready a roasting tin large enough to hold the chicken in the bag.
2. Take your roasting bag. Open it up and add the flour. Give it a good shake and then place it into the roasting tin.
3. Pat your chicken dry with some paper towels. This will help the butter adhere better.
4. Prepare all of the herbs and garlic, and place into a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Zest your lemon and then cut in half. (reserve the zest for now) Dip the cut sides of the lemon into the herbs and place the cut lemon halves into the chicken.
6. Add the lemon zest and paprika to the herbs. Drop in the butter. Cream everything together well and then rub this mixture all over the chicken skin to coat. Place the chicken into the bag, breast side up. Close the bag according to the manufacturers instructions.
7. Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for about one hour and 15 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear, and the skin is golden brown. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 165*F/74*C.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the bag for 15 minutes. At the end of that time carefully remove the chicken and carve to serve.
9. The bag juices make a delicious gravy.

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