Poached Chicken (for chicken salad)
Poached Chicken (for chicken salad)
I plan on making chicken salad this week and don't like using store bought rotisserie chicken, so decided to poach chicken for it. Poaching gets a bad rap. It's often associated with being a "health food," a.k.a bland. While it is a healthy way to cook, it doesn't have to be bland. Poaching is a means of cooking a food (typically a protein) in a liquid. This is how I make chicken for chicken soup too. You want the liquid to be simmering, not rapidly boiling. Boiling will cause the food to be tough. Since water removes flavor, I've created a poaching liquid that will in part flavor while cooking. I bring the water to a boil with all of the seasonings and then reduce to a simmer before I put the protein in the bath. Here I'm poaching chicken for a chicken salad (I'm not eating just straight poached chicken), however you can poach shrimp, lobster (in a butter bath), salmon, or eggs (although for eggs I wouldn't add all of these seasonings, just a splash of vinegar to coagulate the eggs). I use whole peppercorns, whole coriander seeds, salt, a bay leaf, fresh dill and a halved orange. That's what makes this "just right."
Equipment
- 3 quart stock pot https://amzn.to/3FlFpAe **
- instant read thermometer https://amzn.to/3S1iSQY **
Ingredients
- 10 cups water
- 1 1/4 lbs organic chicken breasts
- 1 tbs whole peppercorns https://amzn.to/3M5b8JX **
- 1 tbs whole coriander seeds https://amzn.to/3M5FJH7 **
- 1 tbs kosher salt Diamond Crystal https://amzn.to/46xQlaa **
- 1 bay leaf https://amzn.to/3RZC0Pa **
- 1 orange or lemon halved
- small bunch of organic fresh dill
Instructions
- Fill the stock pot with water. Add the peppercorns, coriander seeds, dill, and bay leaf. Have the orange (or lemon) and squeeze the juice into the liquid and place the halves into the pot. Bring to a boil and add the salt. Note if you add salt before water boils it can scorch your pot.
- Once the mixture is rapidly boiling, reduce to a simmer. Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp of kosher salt. Place the chicken in the pot. Cook for 20 minutes, or until your thermometer reads 165℉.
- Remove the chicken from the liquid. Place on a cutting board and let it cool before slicing or shredding.
Notes
** Amazon Affiliate - I may receive compensation.Â
You Might Also Like
One Comment
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Chicken Salad - ZahavaLox
[…] < Poached Chicken (for chicken salad) […]