Chicken with braised celery & cider

Chicken with braised celery & cider

The perfect dish for warming those chilly nights around the dining table.

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 40 mins

Method

  1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Heat the butter in a large casserole dish and brown the chicken slowly on all sides; this should take a good 10-15 mins. (Be patient, it will pay off later.) Take the chicken out of the dish, throw in the bacon and cook for 3-4 mins until starting to crisp, then add the onion, carrots and thyme and continue to cook for 4-5 mins until the vegetables soften. Stir the celery into the dish, then nestle the chicken amongst the veg, breast side down. Pour over the cider and stock, bring to a simmer, then roast the chicken uncovered for 1 hr.
  2. Turn the chicken the right way up and give it 30 mins more, by which point the legs should be coming away. Carefully lift the chicken from the dish. Check the seasoning of the vegetables and serve with the chicken.
Try

Cook the chicken upside down

Cooking the chicken upside down first keeps the breast succulent.

Per serving

679 kcalories, protein 62g, carbohydrate 7g, fat 44 g, saturated fat 14g, fibre 2g, sugar 6g, salt 1.37 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, November 2006.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

  • 02 November 2007

    patsydog rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Such an easy recipe, but with excellent results. Have made this several times now and keep going back to it. Lovely flavours!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 02 November 2007

    Jane Lewis commented on this recipe

    I made this the other day and didn't think that you could improve on a roast chicken. This recipe proved me wrong. So simple, and the chicken was meltingly tender. I didn't put in very much celery (as I didn't have much!) and it was still delicious.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 02 November 2007

    Jane Lewis rated this recipe

    5 stars

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 05 November 2007

    Victoria rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I would increase the liquids to make more gravy, it's a really easy and tasty dinner.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Nat

    17 November 2007

    Nat rated this recipe

    5 stars

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 03 December 2007

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really tasty. Could use more veg. Def needs more carrots. I added fennel but that didn't seem to add anything - I think 2 onions are needed instead.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 12 January 2008

    abie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    very easy but with outstanding results!!!!!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 13 February 2008

    Laine commented on this recipe

    Very easy recipe, but as I didn't have a whole chicken, I used thighs instead & reduced the cooking time.We all loved it, will be making this again!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 17 February 2008

    Louise rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I make this regularly but always double the amount of veg and increase the amount of liquid by atleast half as i agree that the recipe doesn't provide enough veg and gravy.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 18 February 2008

    SarahD rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Love this recipe and have made it often. It is really delicious with pear cider and then I enjoy drinking the left over more too!! We are not keen on celery so i just put in whatever. This really does make the chicken the tastiest ever.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 02 March 2009

    Michelle rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I was very disappointed with this recipe. I followed it to the letter using a good chicken. Once I had taken the chicken out at the end of total cooking time, I found the veg to be swimming in chicken fat, so had to strain the veg out in order to serve. The dinner was going cold as I then attempted to strain off fat from remaining juice to find some gravy beneath. Gave up and decided it to be a whole load of effort for not much result. Would cook the veg and chicken seperately personally.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 28 April 2009

    Mookie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Perfect one-pot meal the whole family can enjoy. Even my 20 month old loved this recipe! I have made this several times; I usually add more vegetables to make this dish go even further.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 28 June 2009

    kelly commented on this recipe

    do u use a casserole dish for the roasting?

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 01 August 2009

    Carol rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have used this recipe for dinner parties and family meals and everyone loves it. It is so easy to cook and the chicken is very moist, although I do use white wine sometimes if we don't have any cider in the house!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 02 August 2009

    JULIA rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Cooking it for lunch again today! Absolutely family favourite and so easy! I can also throw in any veg that needs using up - leeks, mushrooms, sweet potatoes etc. I leave it all to cook slowly and it's ready with no fuss! Serve with crusty bread to mop up th juices!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 07 November 2010

    Lorraine commented on this recipe

    I have cooked this dish time and time again, it is so quick and easy to put together. The chicken keeps very moist - I often use this as a base for making chicken pie. A family favourite.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 23 January 2011

    Jane rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Read reviews before I cooked this recipe. Added extra veg. Used an organic chicken from the farmers market. Although the chicken was very moist I found the taste of the butter and chicken fat too much, the vegetables and gravy tasted too fatty and greasy, will not be making this again.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • Binder photo Sue

    25 June 2011

    Sue rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Hubby has cooked this loads of times now and every time it's delicious. Adding a leek adds a new dimension, also lovely but each time you end up with a lovely moist chicken. Excellent recipe!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 02 August 2011

    Traveller commented on this recipe

    I have not tried this recipe but I imagine that the vegetables would be very greasy as stated above. I would prefer to cook the chicken on its own and serve with braised vegetables on the side. Like the idea of braised celery, its one of the vegetables that I dislike raw but love cooked.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 06 November 2012

    Lorraine rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Such an succulent receipe. Delicious sauce, great one pot meal which I quite often turn into a chiken pie!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 1 hr 40 mins

Hearty one-pot

Ingredients

  • small knob of butter
  • 1 chicken , weighing about 2kg/4lb 8oz
  • 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon , chopped
  • 1 onion , finely chopped
  • 2 carrots , diced
  • sprig thyme
  • 2 celery hearts, quartered
  • 150ml dry cider (we used Merrydown)
  • 300ml chicken stock
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

Per serving

679 kcalories, protein 62g, carbohydrate 7g, fat 44 g, saturated fat 14g, fibre 2g, sugar 6g, salt 1.37 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close