Chicken Parcels

Chicken Parcels are quick and easy to assemble - chicken legs, lemon and herbs baked in foil parcels. Great for children learning to cook. Eat hot or cold.

Chicken Parcels are easy to make and are ideal for assembling the night before and putting in the oven in the morning on the timer, or putting in the oven when you get home.

You can eat the Chicken Parcels hot or cold. Leave them wrapped in foil and refrigerated until needed. They travel well as picnic food and can be made the day before.

You could put extra vegetables in the parcels, such as mushrooms or peppers. It's an easy recipe for children to get involved with, just two points to mention:

1. You need to wash your hands every time you touch the chicken and wipe down any surfaces that might have raw chicken on them
2. You must be very careful when you unwrap the parcels as the steam that comes out can burn. Either use oven gloves or tongs, or handle gingerly.

HELPFUL TOOLS

• Digital Meat Thermometer – These days I use my digital thermometer to cook all poultry. It tells me when the internal temperature is reached and having the screen outside the oven makes it easy to read. Chicken is cooked when the temperature is at least 75°C, although I prefer to leave it to 80-85°C

If you like this...

...Why don't you try:

Ginger Lime Chicken

Ginger Lime Chicken takes 10 minutes to prepare the night before - and cooks in half an hour.

Gyros Chicken

Gyros Chicken is a quick, spicy (but not hot) grilled chicken dinner. Just add salad, potatoes, and mayonnaise for a healthy, tasty, midweek meal.

Giant Sausage Roll

 Serve Giant Sausage Roll straight from the oven for a tasty supper or lunch, or eat it cold.

Recipe

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Chicken Parcels

Chicken legs with lemon and herbs, baked in foil parcels.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: British

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Susie@Everyday Cooks

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, or 2 shallots
• 1 lemon
• 4 chicken legs
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh herbs e.g. rosemary, parsley

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

4 pieces of cooking foil approx 30x45cm/12"x18"

Meat thermometer

Instructions

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C fan/ gas mark 7/ 425°F
• Peel and slice the onions or shallots
• Cut 4 slices off the lemon (about half the lemon) and juice the rest
• Cut the foil to 30 x 45cm/12"x18"

For the Chicken Parcels:

• Lay out the pieces of foil and divide the onions between them, placing the onions in the centre
• Pat the chicken with paper towel to dry it. Put a chicken leg on top of the onions
• Spray or drizzle the oil onto the chicken and rub in gently with your fingers. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken
• Drip the lemon juice over the chicken (about 1-1 ½ teaspoon per joint). Arrange the herbs and lemon slice on top of the chicken
• Pull the longest sides of foil over the chicken and make a double fold.

  Make a double fold in each side of the foil so that you have a neat parcel
• Arrange the four parcels on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes
• Carefully unwrap the foil VERY CAREFULLY starting at a side, so that the chicken is mostly uncovered

  BEWARE! Very hot steam will come out of the parcel so keep your fingers away from the opening
• Return the tray to the oven and cook uncovered for a further 15-20 minutes

  If you have a meat thermometer, use it to check when the chicken is done

  The internal temperature is at least 75°C (although I prefer to leave mine to 85°C)
• If you are serving cold, e.g. for a picnic, drain some of the juice away and re-wrap the chicken. Once it has cooled, refrigerate until needed.