Easy and Exotic Poached Chicken
Cool Technique for Hot Summer Nights
Poaching is great for hot summer nights when you can’t look at one more green salad or bowl of cereal but you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. How about cold poached chicken infused with aromatic herbs and wine? In fact, with a few simple tips, you can have moist, flavor-packed chicken for a couple of meals. Here's how.
What can be poached?
People generally think of eggs when they think of poaching. Almost anything can be cooked in this method. Fish, Chicken, Pears, even Pork or Beef.
Poaching is a gentle cooking technique which enables you to infuse food with seasoned liquid. The process results in flavorful product, tender and moist; ready for any number of recipes. It requires little, if any fat. Bonus: If you're poaching chicken, you end up with two final products: protein for meals (such as shredded chicken for salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, pot pies) and broth that can enrich future sauces or soups.
Poached Chicken Essentials:
- Clean, fresh chicken – breasts or whole chicken (bone in; skin on)
- Aromatic vegetables – carrots, fennel, onions, celery (with leaves), fresh gingerroot, garlic, lemon rind/slice
- Wine (broth, water or other liquids in combination, see below)
- Herbs – Thyme, bay leaf, rosemary, parsley (stems add lots of flavor), oregano
- Spices – peppercorns, allspice, bay leaf, chiles
- Proper sized pot with lid.
- Poaching liquid should remain at a bare simmer; never bring it up to a boil.
- Chicken should remain submerged in the poaching liquid. Parchment paper may be cut to size (trace, using lid as guide) and lay on top of chicken and vegetables. Alternately, a saucer or salad plate may work well and be more handy.
After the chicken is done (you should be able to tell based on the pressure, or you may use an instant read thermometer) let the chicken rest in the poaching liquid to cool down.
Food safety tip: Be mindful of the temperature and time if you’re in a warm kitchen, say above 90 degrees, the chicken must be chilled within an hour.
Reserve, strain the poaching liquid, discarding vegetables and herbs. Add the bones back to the liquid while you reduce it, further enriching it. Store your homemade sauce base for future use.
Once the chicken is cooled, you can easily discard skin and fat, and simply shred the meat with your fingers. This shredded chicken is perfect for adding to salads, wraps, sandwiches, quesadillas.
Additional herbs or flavoring agents can be used depending on the intended use. For example, think of adding a slice of ginger and some dry sherry if you’re using the chicken for a Chinese Cold Noodle or Chicken Salad recipe.
Other combinations:
- Add a fennel, lemon rind, rosemary and peppercorns for a Mediterranean recipe.
- Lime, lemongrass and chiles for a Thai-style Salad over shredded green papaya or cucumber.
- Lime, Oregano, chiles for a Mexican style salad.
Aromatics to flavor liquid: Vermouth (Vya, preferably); Wine, Dry Sherry, Scotch. The choice and amount will depend upon two things: whether you intend to reduce the poaching liquid for a stock or sauce base and the type of recipe(s) that awaits your perfectly moist, tender and flavorful poached chicken.
