[Daamoot]

Hey,

We have become increasingly fond of cooking chicken breasts in a bag along with spices and some vegetables and I'm wondering if anyone knows of these and any other methods of cooking chicken so it holds its moisture well?  I guess the chicken is basically steamed in the bag and since nothing escapes, the chicken tends to be really juicy.  My first thought is trying a small pressure cooker but after finding out how quickly they cook your food I'm a little dubious to how the finsihed result will turn out.  If anyone can recommend or advise on them, the information would be really useful for me.

Reasons I'm asking is I'd rather not spend over a pound just for a bag and some spices and I'm confident to make up a blend of spices myself and tbh would rather not cook my food in plastic, whether it leaches bpa or not, I just don't like the idea of cooking in a petrochemical.

Thanks in advance of any help you can offer,
Damian

[mumofstig]

Look out for a tagine - just what you need, I think 
http://www.theherbandspicecupboard.co.uk/#/shop/4567940749/Terracotta-Tagine-28cm-4-Person-(Tajin)/3937687

[surbie100]

It's essentially cooking en papillote, which is normally with parchment paper - that is until whizzy marketing peeps got hold of the idea and realised what the profit margin could be.....

Lakeland do a roll of unbleached, compostable parchment paper which will do the job of your bags, 20m for £3.79.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/15964/Baking-Parchment-Roll

[Daamoot]

Awesome!  That was a super quick response and both suggestions are worth exploring.  I love the design of the tagine and the technology makes sense.  Will let you know how it goes, thank you.

[Debz]

You can also make your own foil envelope and keep the juices in that way.

[Herb]

Look out for a tagine - just what you need, I think 
http://www.theherbandspicecupboard.co.uk/#/shop/4567940749/Terracotta-Tagine-28cm-4-Person-(Tajin)/3937687

Having recently returning form a trip to Morrocco - I'd go with this option, we fetched one back in our luggage (cost about £2.50!).

[Daamoot]

Cool, thanks!  My gf has found one in lakeland which we can grab on our way past sometime.  Costs a bit more than £2.50 but cheaper than a trip to morrocco which we won't have planned for while.  Do you have any favourite recipes yet?  Wasn't really planning to cook morroccon but being open-minded I'm quite temtped to try some.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/7184/Traditional-Tagine

[Herb]

Sadly, we haven't used it yet!

Having said that. The chicken and lemon dishes are amazing. And lamb slowly cooked in them is mouthwatering.

[mumofstig]

I liked this Nigel Slater one (I didn't add the saffron though)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/moroccanstylechicken_92582

[arugula]

I'd second surbie's suggestion of parchment paper over tin foil. As I have tried both, I know that they definitely have a different effect on the resultant flavours. I saw a silicone tagine - which packs flatter for storage - somewhere recently too,  I think it was at Lakeland. 

I like this recipe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_and_lemon_tagine_75608

[compostqueen]

Foil works very well. I use it for fish as well as chicken 

[Annen]

I use roasting bags, both for roasts and steamed things.  They are plastic I know, but only about a £1 for about 6 or 8 bags.

[Daamoot]

The OH used our newly bought Tagine yesterday evening and it was really nice.  The chicken was a bit dryer than when cooked in a bag but I think with a few adjustments to time and oven temperature it could be improved.  Will have to try some other recipes as they all sound great and I'm pretty impressed with it so far.
Chicken, Brocolli, Aubergine and Onion in some oriental spices


Thanks for help everybody! 

[GrannieAnnie]

Looks tasty! 

[Mrs Bee]

My favourite tagine recipe is chicken with preserved lemons and olives.
3 tabs olive oil,
2 finely chopped onions
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 jointed chicken or equivalent of chicken pieces... I prefer chicken thighs
salt pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tabs chopped coriander
2 tabs chopped parsley
peel of one preserved lemon cut into strips
12-16 black  or green olive.
Saute onions, til soft add garlic saffron and ginger
Follow with chicken pieces, cooking until sealed add about 300 ml water and cook til tender.
Add remainig ingredients and simmer until the sauce in thick and rich. If there is lots of water remove the chicken, keep warm and simmer the sauce until it is reduced.

There is a blindingly good cook book called Arabesque by Claudia Roden, with the cuisine of Moroocco. Turkey and Lebanon. Fabulous recipes and they work.