Habitat has relaunched its cult Chicken Brick from the 1960s - I cooked with it to see if it's as good as its retro reputation

In celebration of its 60th anniversary, Habitat has launched a cookware collection inspired by the past, present, and future of the brand. The 60 Years of Design collection includes the relaunch of the chicken brick. The original version from the 60s was made from terracotta, but it’s been re-imagined in sleek black glazed stoneware.

Now, depending on your age, you may be wondering what a chicken brick is. They’re not as common in households as they once were in the 1970s. But the traditional chicken bricks were lidded terracotta pots vaguely shaped to house a whole chicken. They’re for cooking the chicken in your oven and are said to lock in all the moisture and flavour, and be as effective as cooking with the best cast iron dish.

This upgraded Habitat chicken brick is glazed and made of stoneware, so it neither needs to be soaked before use, nor put into a cold oven like the old-school terracotta versions. I’ve never used a chicken brick and to be honest, these days I’m more used to speed-cooking roast chicken in one of the best air fryers, so I’m intrigued to give this a go.

Habitat Chicken Brick product specs

• Materials: Glazed stoneware
• Capacity: 3.2 litre
• Dishwasher safe? yes
• Dimensions: 33.5 x 24 x 18cm

First impressions

When I got it out of the box it was a bit chunkier than I had imagined. I love the matte black glaze though, it’s much more at home in modern kitchens than the original terracotta versions.

The lid sits relatively securely on top, but it’s not exactly a snug fit. There are slight gaps along the sides which make me wonder if too much steam will escape, or maybe this is part of the design.

You don’t get a recipe leaflet or instructions in the box, but I did notice a recipe for a Middle Eastern inspired chicken on the Habitat website. And I’d also been made aware that celebrity chef Andi Oliver had partnered with Habitat to create some bespoke recipes for the chicken brick relaunch.

What is it like to use?

A quick bit of googling led me to Andi Oliver’s recipe for whole roast jalapeno lemon chicken. And since the recipe was created for this chicken brick, I decided it was the ideal one to try.

After mixing up all the herbs and preparing the chicken as per the recipe, I popped it into the chicken brick and placed it in a preheated oven at 120C. The recipe calls for the chicken to be cooked at this temperature for 2-2 ½ hours and then at further 20 minutes at 180C with the lid off.

In the end, I cooked mine for 2 ½ hours and then 30 minutes with the lid off. It’s a much lower and slower way of roasting a chicken which actually felt quite relaxing on a restful Sunday in September.

When I finally removed the chicken from the oven it was nicely cooked through and there was a delicious broth in the base of the brick. The skin didn’t crisp up like it would in an air fryer, but then again, I didn’t expect it to so I was fine with that.

It’s worth noting that the curvy shape of the chicken brick means it’s not the easiest to remove from the oven when it’s hot and heavy. You’ll need a decent pair of oven gloves that allow you a good firm grip.

On the whole I was happy with the result. Would I use it every time I want to roast a chicken? No. But it offers an alternative way of cooking chicken that means you can add lots of flavour and leave the chicken cooking for longer without the worry that it’ll dry out.

Cleaning

Since it’s glazed stoneware and can go in the dishwasher, I’d hazard a guess that it’s easier to keep clean than the original chicken brick. I didn’t have loads of space in my dishwasher, so I popped the base in there and washed the top part by hand. Both cleaned up well and looked as good as new.

Should you buy the Habitat 60 Poulet Stoneware Chicken Brick?

If you want to roast a chicken in the shortest possible time and enjoy super crisp skin, then I still think you can’t beat doing it in one of the best air fryers.

Cooking a chicken in the chicken brick takes much longer. However, sometimes it’s nice to slow life down. Not only did the longer cook time suit the leisurely pace of my Sunday, but it also allowed more time for the flavours to infuse and create a tasty broth that could be drizzled over the chicken when served.

It’s an inexpensive piece of cookware that gives you a different way of cooking not only whole chicken, but other meats too. Plus in her collaboration with Habitat, Andi Oliver even makes a Vegan recipe in the brick, so it’s far more versatile than its name suggests.

About this review, and the reviewer

After completing a Home Economics degree, Helen went on to work for the Good Housekeeping Institute and has been reviewing home appliances ever since. She lives in a small village in Buckinghamshire in the UK, where she reviews all sorts of home and garden appliances using her wealth of experience.

Helen tried the chicken brick using one of the bespoke recipes created by Andi Oliver in her collaboration with Habitat. She’s now waiting to see if this retro piece of cookware is going to enjoy a second wave of popularity.