10 Reasons to Use Oven Bags to Cook Everything

I have been using cooking bags on just about everything for years. The first time I used one was to cook the most succulent, flavorful Thanksgiving turkey I had ever eaten. I was hooked instantly! If you haven't tried cooking bags you need to try them right away! Here are 10 compelling reasons why:

1. Taste

Cooking with an oven bag is one of the best ways to add flavor to foods. An oven bag seals in meat juices but it also seals in spices, and juices from vegetables. The meat becomes infused with the flavors you are trying to impart much more easily! Cooking in an oven bag concentrates flavors as well. You will find you use fewer ingredients to achieve a more flavorful result.

2. Time

Food always cooks faster in a cooking bag. While the results are not as dramatic, oven bags act on the same principle as a pressure cooker. Oven bags hold in the steam, juices, and heat to help cook foods faster. According to the Reynolds oven bag cooking chart a 24 lb unstuffed turkey will take between 3 ½ and 4 hours to roast to an internal temperature of 180 at an oven temperature of 325 in a cooking bag. Conversely, according to a traditional turkey roasting chart a 24 lb unstuffed turkey will take between 5 ½ and 6 hours to roast to an internal temperature of 180 at an oven temperature of 325 without a cooking bag. You can cut your roasting time almost in half by using a cooking bag!

3. Clean Up

Using an oven bag makes cleaning your roasting pan almost effortless. You can lift the entire bag directly out of the pan leaving no scorched fat juices or charred bits clinging to the side of the pan. In most cases a quick swish is soapy water will easily wash away the tiny bit of meat juice that may escape the bag after you open it.

4. Handling

When it is time to take your food out of the pan and transfer it to a serving platter you can transfer the entire meal easily by using the oven bag to lift it to the platter. Then just simply remove the meat and vegetables form the bag and arrange on your serving plate! If you are making gravy you can easily transfer your meat juice back to the stovetop to use in your gravy.

5. Gravy

Speaking of gravy, because using an oven bag leaves more juice in the pan you will have more to make richer, thicker gravy. The flavor will be more concentrated and between the meat, spice, and vegetable flavors you will make some of the most flavorful gravy you have ever made. Your gravy will be easier to make too. Just remove the oven bag from the roaster and cut a tiny piece off the corner of the oven bag to easily drain all the leftover juices into a large sauce pan to make your gray.

6. Oven Cleanup

Not only will your pan be easier to clean up but your oven will too. Keeping the juices sealed in a bag means no splashes, splatters, and grease to burn and crust on the bottom and sides of your oven. Cooking with oven bags means less build up which means you will be cleaning your oven much less frequently.

7. Versatile

Oven bags aren't just for roasting turkeys. I have used them to cook chicken, beef, turkey, ham, and pork as well. There are even special oven bags made for use in a crock pot. I don't know about you but I hate cleaning the baked on food off the edges of a crock pot! The crock pot version of an oven bag make clean up a breeze! Go to the Reynolds "Choose a bag" guide to pick the right size and type bag for what you are cooking. You will soon be using them for everything!

8. Inexpensive

When you compare the benefits of using oven bags the price is more than reasonable. A box of large oven bags averages around $2.95 for a 2 count box. That is a small price to pay for the time saved cleaning and cooking as well as the exceptionally superior tasting meal!

9. Extends the Life of Cookware

Cooking with oven bags means you won't be roughing up your cookware when you clean it. Fewer scratches, scrapes, and easier clean up extends the life of your cookware.

10. Easy to Use

Oven bags can be used in full sized regular or convection ovens. If you follow a few simple steps http://www.reynoldsovenbags.com/how-to-use.aspx Easy they are simple to use. They will save you time basting and tending which means more time to spend with your family and guests!

Resources:

For more information on choosing and using oven bags, as well as many tasty recipes to try, check out the Reynolds oven Bag Cooking School.