Chicken in a Bag

Chicken baked in the oven, wrapped in manila paper, stuffed with herbs and lemons. Lying on crisp, golden potatoes!
If you like chicken, this is a tasty version with a lot of flavour.
Try chicken in the oven in a slightly different way.
work: 00h:20' time: 02h:20' easy: 2/5
The manila paper is a cheap, brown or gray paper, usually cut to measure or in blocks of 50 sheets used for drawing.
The painters use it to sketch their inspirations with pencil and charcoal or ethereal watercolors and colored pencils or drawing delicate lines of Indian ink…
In old times, butchers and grocers used it to wrap morsels (= pickled foods with salt), salted cod, herring, sardines…
We use it to wrap packages tied tightly, with string and love, to send goodies and treats to our children who leaves far away studding…
Looks a like the recycled paper of the brown bags in grocery stores.
You'll find it at stationers, but if you don't, one or two clean bags from the greengrocer will do for the job.

Ingredients (6 portions)

  • 1 large chicken
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp hot paprika chili
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 4 little pieces rosemary
  • 1 tbsp mustard powder
  • 3-4 large potatoes
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 package manila paper or a couple greengrocer bags
  • 1 string
Wash the chicken, remove all unnecessary fat with a knife. Pat dry with paper towels.
Add salt and pepper inside. Cut the lemon in four pieces and fill the belly of the chicken. Add the rosemary.
Peel, wash, dry and cut the potatoes into slices 3-4 mm/ 7 to an inch.
Add salt, pepper, oregano and mustard powder. Shake well, for the condiments to go everywhere.
Sprinkle over the chicken well with salt and the two kinds of paprika. Spread the potatoes on the manila paper. Put the chicken on the potatoes.
Fold the paper as a package and tie with the string. Leave an open slit for the steam to escape. The food will get a red-colden color this way.
Place the chicken package in a shallow baking pan in the oven with the breast side up. Place the pan in the last rack and bake in the oven with resistance at 200°C/ 400°F/ Gas Mark 6, for 2 hours.
WARNING! do not turn on the grill.
After 2 hours remove from the oven, pull the string to open the package carefully, because the trapped vapors can burn us.
Still in the pan, unwrap the chicken, discard the paper and, if necessary return the chicken to the grill in the oven until browned!
Slice and serve, with potatoes.
It is tasty and spicy without being hot. Potatoes, are very crisp and tasty, having been soaked in the juices of the chicken.