My version of Ireland’s favourite take-away, this Irish Spice Bag is a wonderful concoction of crispy fries, with spicy fried chicken bits and some fried onions and peppers thrown in. All tossed in a spicy, salty mixture.
About the Irish Spice Bag
St. Patrick’s Day is the day we all get to be Irish for a day! And if we were Irish for a day, in Ireland, chances are very good that we might pick up a spice bag on the way home after a pint or two at the pub. Yes, the Irish Spice Bag is a recent phenomenon, but well on it’s way to become iconic Irish fare.
From what I’ve gleaned, the Irish Spice Bag had it’s roots in Chinese restaurants, who mixed chicken balls, with vegetables and threw it all together with fries and served it as take-away in brown paper bags. Different restaurants offered different versions, but the basics of spicy fries in a bag were always the same. Yes, it’s Ireland’s answer for when only fried food, salt and spice will do :)
Cook’s Notes
Now obviously, I’m Canadian, not Irish, so I’m not going to pretend I know how close my version is to the “real thing”, but I did do my research and made every effort to try and re-create it as best I could from the descriptions available. I seek forgiveness from the Irish if I’ve really messed it up. Feel free to set me straight :)
You can make your fries any way you like – fry, bake or air fry, as I did (my favourite fry preparation tool!).
If you don’t have or want to use buttermilk, you can substitute regular milk in the marinade. Maybe throw a 1/2 tsp of white vinegar in with it.
I used Frank’s™ brand hot sauce for my spice bag.
In my research, I have seen “skinny” versions, that skip the breading of the chicken and use oven-baked fries. That’s always an option, but speaking for myself, I’d really miss the crispy, spicy breading in this one, so I’d recommend going all in.
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Get the Recipe: Irish Spice Bag
Ingredients
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Buttermilk Marinade:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp hot sauce
Spice Mix
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- Freshly ground pepper
Flour dip:
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Spice Mix
To prepare:
- Cooking oil for cooking chicken
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- Warm, crispy french fries, cooked any way you like
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs in to small pieces, discarding any fatty bits. In a medium bowl, stir together the buttermilk and hot sauce. Add chicken to marinade and let stand at least 20 minutes, or cover and refrigerate to marinate longer.
- While chicken is marinating, make spice mix by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to combine well. Set aside.
- Start your fries cooking.
- In a large, flat dish, prepare the flour dip by combining the ingredients and stirring well to combine. Take a few pieces of the chicken from the marinade and toss in the flour dip. Return to the buttermilk marinade briefly and dip in the flour dip again. Place on a metal cooling rack, while you proceed to bread all the chicken pieces. When all the chicken has been breaded, heat a 1/2-inch or so of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry the chicken, until golden on the underside, then flip over and fry on the other side. Cook until golden and cooked through. Remove all chicken to a plate.
- Discard most of the oil from the skillet, leaving just a tiny bit. Return the skillet to the stove-top over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onion and saute quickly until lightly browned and softened. Add sauteed vegetables to a large bowl. Add the warm chicken and cooked fries. Sprinkle with a generous amount of Spice Mix, to taste and toss well to coat.
- Spoon in to paper bags to serve :)
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Good recipe!! It’s missing sugar tho. All traditional spicebags have sugar on them. I’ve lived in the North and in Dublin and it’s one thing the North can’t get right lol they always forget the sugar
Good to know, Maggie :) I always love that sweet and salty combo!
Turned out just how I imagined, try adding a little five spice and curry powder for a more authentic taste
Thanks Kevin :)
Love it, moved to Germany from Ireland recently and I actually missed spice bags more than anything (aside from friends) – I knew Chinese food wasn’t authentic Chinese food back home, but thought it would be the same on mainland Europe. It was strange cooking something that I’ve only exclusively had from take-aways (usually hungover) but this recipe was amazing and a nice reminder of home :+)
So glad to hear, Loam :) Thanks so much!
Love it, moved to Germany from Ireland recently and I actually missed spice bags more than anything (aside from friends) – I knew Chinese food wasn’t authentic Chinese food back home, but thought it would be the same on mainland Europe. It was strange cooking something that I’ve only exclusively had from take-aways (usually hungover) but this recipe was amazing and was a nice reminder of home :+)
This was a great starting point for a spice bag! I’m Irish and have lived in Toronto for 2 years and often crave what I call “an Irish Chinese” take away! This spice bag recipe is great but I also changed a few things.
I tried this recipe exactly as written the first time and it came close but I tweaked it as per the below and now I think it’s perfect. I more or less tripled the mix to have some spare and adjusted a few more things – here’s what I think tastes most authentic:
6tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp paprika
3 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp caster sugar (superfine)
3/4 tsp five spice
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 more edits, that make the difference:
1) I didn’t use a marinade and I used rice flour rather than all-purpose flour. I cut the chicken into strips then dipped them in flour, then into egg mixture (2 whole eggs whisked), then into the flour and spice mix combo.
2) I added fresh chopped red chillies to the chips (fries) and chicken mix and then fried some chillies with the onion and peppers.
3) Finally, a small thing, but I cut the peppers and onions into ‘squares’, rather than strips because that’s how it’s done back home.
Those tweaks got us exactly what we wanted. Hope that helps!
Awesome Daniel! I’m happy to share your edits :) Thanks.
I cooked this recipe with these adjustments, and it’s so so good <3 !! Thanks Jennifer and Daniel!!
So glad to hear! Thanks :)
Irish resident here – Daniel nailed it! We might make this our Saturday night TV-watching regular indulgence đź‘Ť
As well as the five spice an essential ingredient in the Irish Spice Bag is sugar. Yes, sugar. Plain old granulated sugar. Must be used sparingly (ratio about 1:8 or 1:10 of other seasonings) but it’s not a proper spice bag without it.
Good to know! I can see that. The sweet/salty combination is always a winner :) Thanks!
Just tried out this recipe and the spice blend is great! Personally, just to mimic the spice bags I’ve grown to love (I’m Irish!), I’d advise to cut out the chilli powder, so just use the cayenne and paprika, up the garlic LC and to add brown sugar, about a teaspoon. Again, that’s just to mimic what I’m used to but this recipe is the best starting point I’ve found yet!
Awesome tips, Niamh! (super curious how you pronounce your name, btw :) This was maybe the first time I developed a recipe that I’d never actually tried in real life before. Grateful for the tips from someone who knows their spice bags. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,can’t wait to try this recipe…I possibly be the only person living in Ireland to not have tried a spice bag!!
You’re recipe looks the job though…agree with Niamh,about the Chinese 5 spice. And sugar..I’ll let ya know how I get on….
Enjoy!
You forgot Chinese 5 spice in the spice mix that’s what makes it authentic. I haven’t tried your recipe yet but I am making spice bags tonight and I will finish off my spice mix and then try yours. I do know my spice mix tastes exactly like the takeaways here but with mine I know what goes into it. I want to try some of your other recipes the pumpkin bread/cake looks nice. New follower.
Interesting! I didn’t see that when I was researching it. Will try that :) Thanks!
ahh so excited to try this minus the chicken… looks delicious! xx I’m Irish so i’m verrrryy familiar with spice bags but because I’m a vegetarian and I have food allergies, I’ve never been able to try one. Heres hoping it goes right ..so I can finally understand the hype XD
Do enjoy, Rebecca!
Oh man, this looks like a flavor bomb. It has everything I like in it: fries, chicken, and peppers! Delicious :D
Thanks so much, Giselle :)
Wow Jennifer! I had no idea what this was when I first saw it but now that I am clued in, I can easily see this becoming a huge hit in the states. I mean. . .french fries. . .fried chicken. . .spiciness. . .it’s everything Americans love in splurge food. I myself did not grow up on fried food so I find that I am clueless when it comes this cooking technique. . .but I am very intrigued by air frying. I feel like it just might be the type of frying I could possibly handle.
Thanks Lynn :) And yes, I love my air fryer. As I mentioned, I pretty much use it only for fries, but I suspect you could air fry the chicken, too (must try that!)
I had no idea what an Irish Spice Bag was, thank you for introducing me! It looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much, Tessa :)
I’ve never heard of an Irish Spice Bag, but after seeing your beautiful version I’m sold!
Thanks so much, Rachelle :)
This looks far superior to any spicey bags I munched on in Dublin! I just want to dive through my computer screen!
Thanks so much :)
In my opinion, every pub should give these out on St . Patricks Day! Fried food take-away bags are a must after a day of libation!
Thanks Jenny and wouldn’t that be great?! :)
What an addictive snack! I love that spice mix :)
Thanks so much, Laura!