Poached Whole Chicken Recipes

USING THE WHOLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Poached Chicken
• The first thing to do is to get yourself a good quality, higher-welfare chicken and put it in a large pot. Cover it with water and add any veg you have handy. I like to add some chopped up carrots, a few sticks of celery, and an onion. Then I throw in some herbs; perhaps a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf. Add a few peppercorns, a teaspoon of sea salt and a couple of crushed bulbs of garlic and you're off. Bring it all to the boil and then simmer for about an hour and twenty minutes. Trust me when I say you are going to get beautifully soft and silky cooked chicken, plus a lovely broth.
• The reason I love this poached chicken is that you can make it into a hearty meal all year round by using whatever seasonal veg is available. For example, after the chicken has been poaching for about an hour, you could add some quartered fennel. This will cook with the chicken for the last 20 minutes. Things like beans and peas should go in five minutes before the chicken is ready to come out as they cook quickly.
• Basically, as long as you know how long your vegetables take to cook, the choices are endless. Below is a list of veg and their timings to get you started. Keep in mind that if it's summer time the seasonal veg will cook really quickly and be light and delicious.
• • Chopped swedes and turnips - 30 mins • Cabbage - 20 mins • Chopped potatoes/ new potatoes - 20 mins • Quartered fennel - 20 minutes • Frozen or fresh broad beans & peas - 5 minutes • Chopped asparagus - 5 minutes • Spinach - 30 seconds
• When your chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot, and use a fork to shred as much meat off the bones as possible. Have a little taste to make sure it's seasoned enough for your liking. Take that torn up beautiful white and dark chicken meat and divide it among some bowls. To finish off, ladle some of the tasty poached broth and veg over it to make a lovely meal of steaming potatoes, greens and peas. This is a great dinner, especially served with a nice dollop of horseradish sauce or mustard.
• The Italians do multiple versions of this dish using shins of beef, shoulders of pork and even poached duck (which is delicious). If you try these, don't forget that different meats take different times to cook. For duck, pork and shins of beef we're talking about 3 hours of poaching, or until the meat is falling off the bone.
• Chicken Salads
• You can also use the shredded meat from your poached chicken to make a really hearty salad. In the summer, toss it in with some cooked new potatoes, mixed salad leaves and herbs. Dress at the last minute with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar then serve it up on a big platter. Delicious!
• Tasty broth
• When you make poached chicken you are going to be left with quite a lot of broth. Don't throw this away! There's something really nice about having simple, clean, therapeutic chicken broth. So put it through a sieve, bag it up and freeze it to use later. It will be fantastic as a stock for making risottos, gravy or soups. For an Asian twist, you could add noodles and veg such as sweetcorn, baby corn, pak choi, chilli or sugar snap peas to the broth.
• After a roast chicken
• Because I love roast chicken, and eat it on a regular basis, I am now in a routine where, before doing the washing up, I throw the carcass and any tasty scraps and scrapings from the roasting and carving tray into a pot.
• I cover the chicken with water, add some herbs and bring it all to the boil. This also makes a lovely cloudy broth that you can leave to simmer for an hour or so while you watch a bit of telly in the evening. This broth can be used in the same way as above.
• I hope these ideas are helpful. They are certainly tasty. So give them a try and use up all of that chicken!

POACHED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Peel and halve the onions, then chop the leeks, celery and carrots into large chunks. Halve the garlic bulb around the equator.
• Put all the ingredients in a large pan with a pinch of sea salt, then cover with cold water.
• Place on the hob over a medium heat and bring just to the boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer, skimming off any scum that rises to the top.
• Simmer gently for about 1 hour, or until the juices run clear when you pierce the meat.
• Remove the bird from the pan and bubble the poaching liquid for 40 minutes, or until reduced by about one-third (to add more flavour, you could strip the meat from the chicken and return the bones to the stock, too).
• Sieve the stock, then store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

ONE-POT POACHED SPRING CHICKEN

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a small pan, discard the milky liquid, then pour the golden fat into a bowl and set aside - this is clarified butter. Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Sit the chicken in a large flameproof casserole dish, breast-side up, and arrange the potatoes and bacon around it. Pour over 1 litre of water. Add the thyme, pepper and bay, drizzle over the clarified butter and season everything with sea salt. Transfer the dish to the hob and heat until the liquid is starting to simmer. Cover the dish, cook in the oven for 1 hr 15 mins, then add the carrots and turnips. Pop the lid back on and put it back in the oven for another 35 mins.
• Scatter the peas, broad beans, onions and asparagus around the chicken, submerging them in the liquid, then cover and return to the oven for a further 10-15 mins or until the vegetables are just cooked.
• Remove from the oven, leave to stand for 5 mins, then carefully lift the chicken from the broth onto a board. If you want to crisp up the skin, blast it with a blowtorch. Stir the parsley and tarragon through the broth. Serve in the middle of the table with the vegetables and broth, and offer lemon wedges for squeezing over.

POACHED CHICKENS

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a very large stockpot or divide by poaching the chickens in 2 pots. Add the peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onions, lemon slices and herb bundle tied with string. Sprinkle with salt. Cover the chickens with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, a rolling simmer. Simmer 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, then cool the chickens in their stock. Strain the stock. Remove the skin and bones from the chickens and pull the meat into bite-size pieces.

CHINESE POACHED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Fill a 12 quart kettle or Dutch oven 3/4ths full with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Place the chicken in the boiling water. When the water stops boiling, carefully remove the chicken using wooden spoons (so as not to tear the skin) and set aside. Cover the pot and let the water come back to a boil. Return the chicken to the pot. Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the burner. Cover the pot and let the chicken sit in the hot water for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the pot. When cool enough to handle, debone the chicken. Use the chicken meat in any recipe calling for cooked chicken. The cooking water can be reduced and strained and used as a cooking liquid (such as for rice). Recipe Source: Jeff Smith, "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines"

BASIC POACHED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large, straight-sided skillet or pot, combine all ingredients except chicken; cover with water by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil over high. Add chicken and return to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, then cover skillet and remove from heat. Let stand until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove chicken from poaching liquid immediately.

CANTONESE POACHED CHICKEN (BAI QIE JI)

Steps:

• Make sure your chicken is at room temperature (trying to poach a cold chicken right out of the refrigerator will result in uneven cooking or undercooking). Clean the chicken by rinsing it under cold water, paying special attention to the cavity. Any giblets should already be removed but there may still be organs on the inside that should be removed or sometimes stray feathers that need to be plucked. Experts recommend that it's not necessary to wash your chicken before cutting and cooking but in this case for a whole chicken (especially if you get it from a live poultry place or even from Asian markets), it's a step that shouldn't be skipped, in my opinion. When washing and prepping the whole chicken, be very careful about splashing water and contaminating surfaces with unwanted bacteria. Be careful not to break or trim away any of the skin on the chicken, as you don't want the meat exposed to the boiling water as it cooks. This will ensure a moist, silky texture in the final product.
• Fill a large stock pot with water, just enough to submerge the chicken completely. You can determine this by putting the entire chicken in the pot, filling it with water until the chicken is submerged, and then removing the chicken. Do not turn on the heat while the chicken is still in the pot! This method of ensuring you have just enough water to submerge the chicken (and avoiding any extra) will ensure you have a more flavorful stock to save at the end. We used about 18 cups of water to submerge a 4 pound chicken in a deep stock pot.
• Once you have your water properly measured into the pot, add 2 scallions and 5 slices of ginger, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, slowly lower the chicken into the pot, legs down and head up. It's ok if the breast is peeking out of the water a bit. The water will cool down and stop boiling when you add the chicken, so bring it up to a boil once again, and do not walk away from the pot.
• Once the water boils again, IMMEDIATELY lift the chicken out of the water very carefully. You can carefully hook two wooden spoons under the wings to lift the chicken up. The goal is to empty any colder water that may be trapped inside the cavity. Once you've released that water, lower the chicken back into the pot, and bring to a boil again.
• When the water is JUST starting to boil, turn the heat down. Keep it at barely a simmer. There should be very little movement in the water, but it also shouldn't be still. Cover the pot, and keep the heat around the lowest setting so the liquid continues to simmer slowly. Cook for about 35-40 minutes, roughly 10-11 minutes per pound. Depending on the size of your chicken, it may take more or less time to cook it through. You can check to make sure the water is bubbling slowly/gently and not boiling too vigorously, but try to avoid uncovering the pot while it's cooking.
• Poke a chopstick or skewer into the thigh to check for doneness. If the juices run clear, it's done. Carefully lift the chicken out of the pot and transfer it to a large bowl of ice water. Cool completely.
• While the chicken is cooling, make the sauce. You have the option to make two versions-one with just scallions, ginger, oil and salt, and one with soy sauce. The plain version is more traditional, as it really lets the flavors of chicken, ginger, and scallion shine through. Judy loves to add soy sauce, and it's also a tasty option! Start with the plain version, and then scoop some of it out into another bowl and add soy sauce. Try both and see which your loved ones like best!
• When the chicken is out of the ice water, you can brush it lightly with oil or some of the fat floating atop the poaching liquid to give it that enticing, shiny look!
• To serve, carve your chicken into pieces that you can easily grab with chopsticks. Serve with your sauce(s) and some steamed rice.

POACHED WHOLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken and stock in a medium saucepot, and cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.
• Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate; set aside until cool enough to handle. Pull the meat from the bones in large pieces, discarding skin and bones. Reduce liquid to 2 cups for Chicken Potpie.

POACHED WHOLE CHICKEN (CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Rub herbs and salt into cavity of chicken.
• Put vegetables in slow cooker.
• Truss chicken compactly and place in slow cooker. Add wine.
• Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
• Serve hot with noodles or chill and slice.