Derick van Biljon’s Isolation Chicken Recipe

Food stylist, gourmand and chef, Derick van Biljon (Foodie South Africa - https://foodie-sa.co.za/) shares his Isolation Chicken recipe with us. He explains where this Chicken Recipe got its name.

Says Derick: “My Isolation Chicken (done in 60 seconds*) is a neat little cooking-hack recipe that is Fire and Forget, but unforgettable. Conceived during hard lockdown in 2020, the recipe is a tongue-in-cheek play on ‘Coronation’ or ‘Depression’ Chicken. Isolation Chicken is the ideal quick family braai meal, something to make in between load shedding slots or in the air fryer. It has only three ingredients, but hits like the roast chicken your Gran used to make. Delicious!”

“Often, necessity is the mother of all invention – this recipe is one of those that came to me in an hour of need – rummaging through a depleted end-of-the-month lockdown pantry to try and cook up a miracle. It’s dead easy and takes only 60 seconds* to prepare (baking time not included).

Prep time: 60 seconds*

Bake time: 65 min

Oven: 150°C and 190°C

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

18 Chicken pieces, washed

50ml Lemon Juice

2 Packets Chicken Noodle Soup (powder)

Method:

Defrost the chicken and allow to thaw to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 150°C.

Pierce the skin on each piece and in a mixing bowl add the lemon juice. Do not add any oil. Mix well so everything is covered.

Sieve the packet of chicken noodle soup over the drumsticks – to remove the noodles. Mix well, taking care to cover all the chicken pieces in soup powder.

At this point you can either allow the chicken to ‘marinade’ for a few hours (I do it overnight if I remember), or just wait for the oven to catch up.

Arrange the chicken on a baking rack and bake for 45 min on 150°C. Now crank the oven up to 190°C and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool down slightly (they will crisp up even more).

Serve with your choice of side, salad and mayo or hearty potato wedges with an opulent crème fraîche dipper sauce recipe on Derick’s Instagram Feed.

Enjoy.

Derick’s favourite Maxwell & Williams White Basics: