Whole Poached Chicken
We used to think of poached chicken as something fancy ladies ate for lunch when they were “reducing”. It seemed like a bland, not-preferable alternative to a delicious roasted or fried chicken. The few times we’d had poached chicken, it was tough and tasteless.
Now that we have the farm, however, we find ourselves poaching our chickens (and roosters) all the time. Mostly out of necessity, because by the time our chickens are ready to be eaten they are too old and tough to be roasted. Plus, because they are naturally active, they are leaner and more muscly than most store-purchased poultry. But when we slow-poach our birds they are as tender as any roasted restaurant chicken. And much more flavorful, given their varied diet. Plus, poaching a whole chicken also results in a beautiful chicken broth which can be frozen for use in other recipes.
There is a trick to poaching a whole bird, we’ve found. It must be done very slowly. Most of the tough poached chicken you’ve tried is really just boiled. But if you take the time to bring the bird to a boil very slowly, then immediately cooled to a low, barely detectable simmer, the result will be fork tender meat and a crystal clear broth.
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There is a lot less white meat on Beekman 1802 chickens…which we prefer. The dark meat has more flavor, and when cooked correctly, better texture.
Beekman 1802 Whole Poached Chicken
1 whole chicken (If store purchased, remove any bags of giblets.)
1 Tablespoon salt
3 sprigs of thyme (or chervil)
1 onion, peeled and quartered
Place all ingredients in a large soup or stock pot. Fill with water until chicken is completely covered. Cover with lid, and bring to a boil over medium heat, slowly. Keep watching. As soon as water is at medium boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cool until barely simmering. Just a few bubbles coming to the top. Keep covered. If a foam rises to the surface, remove with wooden spoon. Continue at very low simmer until total cooking time is approx 2 hours.
The key here is to slowly heat the meat, and keep it at very low temperature to cook. It should be more like giving the chicken a warm bath than a boil.
Once chicken is poached, remove chicken from broth with tongs and use fork to shred meat from bones. The resulting meat can be used in any recipe that calls for cooked chicken meat. Like our Gooseberry Chicken Pasta Salad.
Reserve the remaining liquid. Because there is a very generous amount of broth, it tends to be weaker in flavor. We prefer to keep the strained liquid on the heat at a medium simmer until reduced by half for a more concentrated broth. (This could take an hour or more.) Once reduced, place in refrigerator overnight. Any fat will congeal on surface. Remove fat before use or freezing.
Note: Some people like to create a more complex broth, or stock, while poaching the chicken. Since we’re never sure what we will use the broth for, we try not to over-flavor it. Plus, whatever is added to the poaching liquid will lightly flavor the chicken meat, which is not always preferable. (ie: garlic in the stock may make the meat too pungent for a light chicken salad.) But if you do know what you’ll be using the stock for in the future, any flavorings can be added to the poaching liquid, including the traditional celery, carrot, pepper, garlic, or herbs.
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We usually poach three chickens at once. Because our chickens are much leaner, they take up a lot less room in the pot. The meat from one supermarket chicken probably equals three Beekman 1802 Farm chickens, for the sake of most recipes.
