Sunday 30 December 2012

Poached chicken

I'm not sure why poaching isn't more popular. I have only ever poached eggs and even that I haven't done for a while, but it's a fantastic, fuss-free way of cooking a chicken, and ensures even the breast meat remains moist. It is a bit of a lengthy process, but as long as your careful to get the temperature right in the beginning, you can sit back and allow it to do its own thang. If you don't have Clementine any other citrus fruit would be fine.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
2 onions, peeled & quartered
4 whole cloves of garlic, squashed
1 Glass of white wine
2 bay leaves
1 tsp of whole peppercorns
2 Clementine, halved & squished
2 sprigs of rosemary
Water

Method
Place everything in a large pot and cover with water.
Place over a medium high heat & bring to a very gentle simmer. No boiling or the chicken will be tough. Cook for 45 minutes (my chicken was small, so increase the cooking time for bigger birds - 1 hour will be plenty for a medium chicken).
Remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave for another hour. This will allow the chuck to continue cooking very gently. Then remove the chicken from the cooking liquor and allow to cool.
The broth should be strained, the veg discarded, and used for stock.


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