This might sound like a gimmick, but it’s not. Cooking a whole chicken on a bottle filled with water helps keep the meat as moist and juicy as possible when heat is applied. Not to mention that some extra ingredients can actually help bring more flavor to the table. So how to make chicken on a bottle? It’s simpler than you might imagine!
I laughed in disbelief the first time I heard about this procedure on how to make chicken on a bottle. But then I decided to risk it and try it! And guess what? The chicken turned out great, juicy and delicious, and I and three other friends had an amazing “family” dinner together! Cause a lot of the times I feel that family is something you choose, and at that time, I had chosen a bunch of sweet nerds to be mine!
How to make chicken on a bottle in 11 steps
1. Gather your ingredients
You’ll need a whole chicken, of course! Then you’ll need the ingredients for a marinade, to give the chicken that extra oomph flavor during cooking. Add to that some veggies to cook alongside the chicken – why not make a whole meal out of it? I would go for a few potatoes, some carrots and maybe even a couple of red onions. You will also need a bottle and it’s safe to use a glass bottle that comes from soda or beer. Don’t forget the olive oil and some seasoning: salt and freshly ground pepper make all the difference. Keep some garlic cloves on hand, too, and some lemon wedges.
Tip: Check out these cooking chicken mistakes you might be making before you start on the bottle chicken.
2. Clean the chicken
Make sure the chicken is clean. You can remove the skin, but I would leave it on for the virtues of crispy, spicy, delicious (and not as unhealthy as previously thought) roasted chicken skin.
3. Marinate the chicken
Make your favorite chicken marinade, place it in a large bowl and put the chicken in it. Then rub the marinade all over the chicken, even inside, as much as you can reach. And don’t forget under the wings and under the skin if you’ve left it on. Let the chicken marinate overnight, if you have time, if not, on to the next step!
4. Prep the veggies
Peel and cut the veggies you will be roasting along with the chicken. Place them in the bottom of the pan you’ll be using.
5. Clean the bottle
Remove anything paper or sticky that might be on the bottle, like labels of any kind.
6. Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
7. Fill the bottle up
Put 1-2 garlic cloves in the bottle, a few lemon wedges, a few onion slices, and some lemon juice. Give it some salt, too. Then fill the bottle with hot water and place it in the middle of the oven pan.
8.Place the chicken
Put the chicken on the bottle with its legs down, among the vegetables in the pan.
9. Add some marinade
Mix some marinade leftover from the chicken with a tablespoon of olive oil and 2-3 cups of water and pour it over the tray with the chicken.
10. Put in oven
Put the oven pan in and cook to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C. Let it heat up for 30 minutes.
11. Cook at lower temp
Turn the temperature down to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked.
Looking for other chicken-related lessons? Here’s how to make chicken stock and how to make a schnitzel (a chicken one, of course).
