This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
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?".
555 K 4.2/5 (129 reviews)
5 hours 15 min.
Easy
9.40 €
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
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.
How much will it cost?
- For 1 poultry : 8.60 €
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
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,...
47 K 30 min.
Chicken Brussels pie
This is a novel twist on the well known cottage or shepherd's pie idea (minced meat topped with mashed potato). Why not try this "Brussels" pie with a mixture of mashed potato and Brussels sprouts on top of chopped chicken?
57 K5 1 hour 25 min.
Gratin of chicken with rice and sautéed mushrooms
This is a very simple gratin, mainly using leftovers (chicken and rice), ideal for a Sunday night supper.
62 K3.8 55 min.
Avocado, artichoke and chicken salad
This fairly simple recipe combines slices of avocado, spring onions, diced chicken and artichoke hearts in a good vinaigrette dressing.
53 K 25 min.
Gratin-style spinach and chicken omelette
A simple omelette treated more like a gratin: the omelette forms the bottom layer in the dish, topped with chicken and spinach in a cream sauce and browned in the oven.
51 K 45 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Herbs of your choice
Like these other recipes: Breton Sandwich, Creamy cauliflower and avocado salad, Fish in a salt crust, Crunchy salad, Pea risotto "Mantecare", ... See them all 60
Whole bird (chicken, duck etc.)
Like these other recipes: Hay-baked poultry, ... See them all 1
Salt
Like these other recipes: Oven omelette, How to cook red meat properly, Spinach fritters, Creamy spinach à la Lombarde, Polenta à la Comtoise, ... See them all 674
Pepper
Like these other recipes: Parcels of fish fillet in spinach, Auvergne gratin, Spaghetti with mushrooms, Crème de foie gras, Chicken fillets with cancoillotte sauce, ... See them all 647
Other recipes you may also like
Exotic fruit tart
An exotic fruit tart (bananas, kiwi and pineapple), with crisp pastry and almond cream which are cooked beforehand. It's a rather simple recipe, but the final result will impress your guests. May 27th 2020336 K5 2 hours 25 min.
Fillings for macaroons
The macaroons recipe shows how to make these small cakes, and gives the example of a raspberry filling. Here are several other possibilities: Apricot macaroons, Chocolate macaroons, Mint macaroons, Blackcurrant macaroons. May 30th 2020312 K 24.3 2 hours 1 min.
Macarons (the original French macaroons)
This recipe really is "of the moment": the success of these small, highly-coloured cakes, in an infinite variety of flavours, is impressive. It's a recipe which needs some care, in order to produce a result worthy of a professional pastrychef. No problem, I will guide you through the recipe, particularly the tricky parts. This variety of flavours means that I test many alternatives, so don't be surprised if in the pictures the colour of the macarons changes, I used the best photograph available... October 3rd 20191.61 M 714.6 2 hours 40 min.
Herb olive oil
This flavoured olive oil, easy to prepare, goes very well with Mediterranean cuisine: pizzas, pastas, pan bagnat, etc... February 21th 2011325 K3.8 25 min.
Almond cream
Light and delicious, it is used in a lot of desserts like tarts, cakes and pies (epiphany galette). August 31th 2025487 K 25 20 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-11-30)
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.