Five hours poultry
Perhaps simplest recipe on this site, but what a result! The idea is to cook the bird, without fat, at low temperature, covered, and for a long time. In this way, the poultry cooks so as to be almost like a "confit": soft and very tasty. The effect is more spectacular with duck because it is a rather firm meat, tough even, but with this method it can be cut with a fork like a confit.
This recipe is applicable to big poultry too, it's also a response to questions like "How to cook a turkey?" or "how to cook a capon?".
This recipe is applicable to big poultry too, it's also a response to questions like "How to cook a turkey?" or "how to cook a capon?".
554 K 4.2/5 (129 reviews)
5 hours 15 min.
Easy
1 poultry
6 IngredientsLast modified on: January 27th 2012
For 1 poultry, you will need:
- 1
1 whole bird (chicken, duck etc.) - 2
1 bunch herbs of your choice - 3
1 bouquet garni (optional) - 4
2 cloves garlic (optional) - 5
salt - 6
pepper - Total weight: 1,810 grams
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 5 hours
All in all: 5 hours 15 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 1 min.
This works with all kinds of poultry: chicken of course, but also duck, guinea fowl, turkey, etc.
Salt and pepper the outside...
Salt and pepper the outside...
Stage 2
... and inside of the bird.
Stage 3 - 1 min.
Tie herbs firmly in a small bunch, or use a bouquet garni and put inside the bird with 2 cloves garlic.
Stage 4 - 1 min.
You can also put in half an onion or a whole shallot.
Stage 5 - 4 min.
Put bird in a cooking bag then in a dish, or cover dish with oven plastic film (see this page for more informations on papers and bags).
Stage 6 - 3 hours
Put in the oven at 150°C ou 302°F and forget about it for 3 hours.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
After 3 hours, remove the lid, or remove from the cooking bag, arrange vegetables around the bird, and baste with its juices.
For the last 2 hours, leave uncovered, and baste with juices every 15 minutes (or thereabouts).
For the last 2 hours, leave uncovered, and baste with juices every 15 minutes (or thereabouts).
Stage 8 - 2 hours
After the five hours, you can cut it up (but is it the right word when you do that with a fork?) and serve.
Tip: during the last 15 minutes it's a good idea to turn the oven up to 220°C or 428°F to really heat the meat, otherwise it gets cold very quickly at your guests' table. Do remember to heat the plates as well.
Tip: during the last 15 minutes it's a good idea to turn the oven up to 220°C or 428°F to really heat the meat, otherwise it gets cold very quickly at your guests' table. Do remember to heat the plates as well.
Stage 9
Note: This works too with roasting meats. For a joint of pork, for example, surround the meat with some sage leaves, which go very well with pork or white meats.
Remarks
This recipe is warmly dedicated to Frances Maguire, from Dublin, who kindly taught me everything about cooking in a bag.
How can such a low cooking temperature produce such soft meat? To understand that you need some molecular gastronomy. Please note that you can apply this slow cooking to many other foods.
If you have a really big bird, like a capon or turkey, you can easily go beyond 6 hours.
Vegetables cooked long and slow in the poultry juices, become deliciously moist and flavoursome ...
If your bird is so big that you have left-overs, you can make an "Express Parmentier" with it by covering a layer of meat with mashed potato and grated cheese (10 minutes under the grill), and it's very good!
How can such a low cooking temperature produce such soft meat? To understand that you need some molecular gastronomy. Please note that you can apply this slow cooking to many other foods.
If you have a really big bird, like a capon or turkey, you can easily go beyond 6 hours.
Vegetables cooked long and slow in the poultry juices, become deliciously moist and flavoursome ...
If your bird is so big that you have left-overs, you can make an "Express Parmentier" with it by covering a layer of meat with mashed potato and grated cheese (10 minutes under the grill), and it's very good!
Source: Home made, after an exciting lecture by Hervé THIS.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 380 RDI=150 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 130 RDI=20 % | 2,680 RDI=130 % | 11,220 RDI: 130 % |
| Per 100 g | 20 RDI=8 % | 0 | 6 RDI=1 % | 150 RDI=7 % | 620 RDI: 7 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 poultry : £7.55
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 17
Rice and peas
This is a very simple recipe that can made almost entirely with leftovers: chicken, rice and peas.
143 K4.2 30 min.
Hot sesame-cream chicken tartines
Slices of lightly toasted bread topped with sesame and tarragon cream, morsels of chicken and a little grated cheese. Just popped in the oven for a few minutes to brown. [Translator's note: in French, a tartine is simply a slice of bread spread with something (butter, jam...) or an open sandwich,...
46 K 30 min.
Surprise bread
This recipe is for a large surprise bread so you can make six layers (48 small sandwiches if you divide each layer in 8), with three different flavours: smoked salmon/lime, smoked ham/butter, mayonnaise/chicken.
718 K 84.5 6 hours 25 min.
Crispy rolls with chicken and leek
Finely sliced leeks are cooked with a shallot, to which is added leftover chicken with a little cream and parmesan. This mixture is rolled up in filo pastry, and cooked in the oven.
246 K5 50 min.
Valay salad
This salad combines ratte potatoes, lettuce, radishes and chicken with a herb dressing.
106 K3.9 1 hour 3 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Whole bird (chicken, duck etc.)
Like these other recipes: Hay-baked poultry, ... See them all 1
Herbs of your choice
Like these other recipes: Mixed tomato salad, Loin of pork with herbs and julienne vegetables , Bruschetta, Crispy smoked salmon and herb rolls, Tabbouleh, ... See them all 58
Salt
Like these other recipes: Mushrooms à la grecque, Cantucci di Prato, Leek and Jerusalem artichoke soup, Mushroom buckwheat pancakes, Chicken nems, ... See them all 664
Pepper
Like these other recipes: Filet mignon with asparagus, Larded pork tenderloin, Terrine of foie gras, Beetroot and fried chicken salad, Comtoise tart for Seàn, ... See them all 638
Other recipes you may also like
Checkerboard biscuits
These biscuits are half and half chocolate and almond in a checkerboard pattern, both in colour and flavour. March 8th 2012151 K5 4 hours 25 min.
Pistachio cake
Here's a loaf-style cake made with a classic batter, flavoured with pistachio (of course), and with a crunchy "macaronade" topping. March 3rd 202148 K 1 hour 55 min.
Fresh fruit in sabayon
Fresh grapefruit and / or pears, covered with a sabayon and a pinch of citrus crunch. February 21th 2011300 K4.7 55 min.
Passion fruit jellies
Usually to make fruit jellies or (fruit "paste"), it's like jam but you need to cook fruit pulp and sugar much longer. Unfortunately, this long cooking is bad for both vitamins and flavour. In this recipe we use a special jam gelling agent, to reduce cooking time as much as possible . July 4th 2018346 K4 2 hours 30 min.
Soft fruits in sabayon
This recipe is made by briefly cooking an assortment of soft fruits (raspberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, currants...) with a little sugar to glaze them. They are served in a small dish, covered with a delicious sabayon which can be lightly "burned" on surface. February 21th 2011277 K3.9 50 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-10-12)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 41 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.