Restaurant-Style Poached Chicken Recipe

As fond as one may be of bacon and butter, sometimes the body just wants something light. What do you make when you want a light meal? I’ve taken to poaching chicken, using a pretty cool method taught to me by Hank Shaw.

The method reminds me of sous vide, but you don’t need any fancy equipment, just plastic wrap and a big pot of hot water. You take a strip of boneless, skinless chicken breast, season it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then drop it in hot water.

That’s it. So easy. The result is tender, moist, perfectly cooked chicken, with no added fat.

How To Poach Chicken

The key to the success of this technique is to never put the rolled-up chicken into boiling water; boiling water is too hot and will overcook the meat. Instead, bring the water to a simmer and then turn off the heat.

Once the water stops bubbling, you can add the meat. As the water temperature slowly drops, the chicken is gently cooked all the way through. Small chicken breasts will be perfectly cooked in 15 minutes, but you can leave them in the water for 30 minutes with no loss of flavor or texture.

Make sure that your slices of chicken or other meat are not more than 3 inches in diameter. If they are wider, you can still use this method, but you might need to turn the burner on “low” to keep the temperature from falling below 140°F.

Lori Rice