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Poached Chicken

Poached Chicken

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During the past holiday, I stumbled upon a recipe on how to poach chicken.  I loved this idea as I could kill two birds with one stone.  I would have silky poultry to use throughout the week in different recipes and a head-start on a batch of chicken stock.  Now I poach chicken at least twice a month to use in other quick and easy recipes. 

Poaching a chicken is amazingly easy.  As well you can flavor the poaching water with whatever seasonings you want.  I normally use whatever leftover herbs that I have in the kitchen, along with a bay leaf, onion, garlic, celery, and carrots.  Once the water is at a rolling boil, I plunge the whole chicken into the pot, cover with a lid, turn off the heat and forget about it.  I told you it was super simple.  The meat comes out silky smooth, flavorful, and the broth is the beginning of a batch of stock.

After the chicken is poached, let it cool, and then remove all the meat from the carcass.  I separate white and dark meat, and use in different recipes, but feel free to toss all of the meat into the same bowl.  I return the chicken skin and bones to the pot of poaching broth and if I have time I make stock.

If I do not have the time, then I put the pot of broth back into the fridge until the next day.  The next day, I skim off the fatty layer and continue to make stock.

Last week I decided to poach a chicken and see what wonderful meals I could create throughout the week.  I started with a 5 1/2 pound free range chicken, and I used onions, celery, garlic, and bay leaves in my poaching broth.  The chicken was incredibly moist and flavorful, and the stock that was made after poaching was heavenly.

Throughout the week we enjoyed these amazing dishes.  All the recipes serve 4 people.  There was some chicken meat leftover, so I put it into the freezer for another time.  

Tips for a Silky Poached Chicken:

  • Use a whole chicken do not be tempted to cut up.
  • Bring to room temperature – at least 30 minutes before cooking.  If you do not bring to room temperature the water will instantly chill when adding a cold chicken and will not cook evenly, producing a tough bird. 
  • Do not be tempted to boil the chicken, you want to poach it.  Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, turn off the heat and let sit!  
  • Use the poaching liquid for soups and stews.  
Yield: 1 whole chicken

Poached Chicken

poached chicken

Super silkly as well as flavorful poached chicken recipe is the base to many recipes.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 5 1/2 lb chicken, left whole
  • 1/2 organic yellow onion, cut in half
  • 1 organic celery stock, cut in half
  • 1 organic carrot, scrubbed and cut in half (if you don't use organic, then peel)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Instructions

    Fill a stockpot full of water, add all of the seasonings. Bring to a rolling boil.

    Drop the chicken into the pot, and continue boiling for 30 minutes.

    Cover with a lid and turn off the heat.

    Let the chicken sit in the pot on the stovetop for 4 hours.

    Remove the chicken from the pot.  It will be cool enough to handle.  

    Pick all of the meat off of the carcass. Do not leave any meat on the bones.

    DO NOT toss out the broth, use it to make a stock, you can put it into the freezer for future use.

    Return the bones to the broth and make stock.

    Use the poached chicken in any recipe calling for shredded chicken.

    Store the meat in the fridge to use in a wealth of recipes during the week. Be sure to shred the meat into fine pieces.

Notes

Bring the chicken to room temperature - at least 30 minutes up to an hour.

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Recipe:  Poached Chicken

Ingredients:

1 5 1/2 lb chicken, left whole
1/2 organic yellow onion, cut in half
1 organic celery stock, cut in half
1 organic carrot, scrubbed and cut in half (if you don’t use organic, then peel)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

How To:

Fill a stockpot full of water, add all of the seasonings. Bring to a rolling boil.

Drop the chicken into the pot, and continue boiling for 30 minutes.

Cover with a lid and turn off the heat.

Let the chicken sit in the pot on the stovetop for 4 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot.  It will be cool enough to handle.  

Pick all of the meat off of the carcass. Do not leave any meat on the bones.

DO NOT toss out the broth, use it to make a stock, you can put it into the freezer for future use.

Return the bones to the broth and make stock.

Use the poached chicken in any recipe calling for shredded chicken.

Store the meat in the fridge to use in a wealth of recipes during the week. Be sure to shred the meat into fine pieces.

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Pat Machin

Sunday 3rd of June 2012

I'd completely forgotten that my mother used to do this. We only had chickens which had gone off the lay or were too old to be very productive and they were always lovely and tender.

I think I will get back to my basics next week! Thank you.

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