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There are no frills whatsoever to this two-ingredient recipe. Poaching a whole chicken in boiling water is just about the simplest, purest way to cook a bird. An excellent technique to master.
serves/makes:
ready in:
1-2 hrs
4 reviews
2 comments
ingredients
9 quarts water
3 pounds whole chicken
directions
Fill a 12 quart kettle or Dutch oven 3/4ths full with water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Place the chicken in the boiling water. When the water stops boiling, carefully remove the chicken using wooden spoons (so as not to tear the skin) and set aside.
Cover the pot and let the water come back to a boil. Return the chicken to the pot. Turn off the heat but leave the pot on the burner. Cover the pot and let the chicken sit in the hot water for 1 hour.
Remove the chicken from the pot. When cool enough to handle, debone the chicken. Use the chicken meat in any recipe calling for cooked chicken.
The cooking water can be reduced and strained and used as a cooking liquid (such as for rice).
Recipe Source: Jeff Smith, "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines"
nutrition data
500 calories, 35 grams fat, 0 grams carbohydrates, 43 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in carbs.
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reviews & comments
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Doug REVIEW:
March 26, 2020Great cook and great recipe that I have used for 15 years after reading it in one of his cookbooks. You can add a few shices of ginger,couple scallion to water when poaching the bird and it will be delish.
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Guest Foodie REVIEW:
August 13, 2013I've used this method since the cookbook first came out with excellent results. The problem using it today is in finding a three pound chicken among the super-sized birds at the store.
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CastilloCorlett REVIEW:
July 15, 2012I have been using this recipe since 2005. I feel it is a great "basic" recipe everyone should be familiar with. Jeff Smith advises you to use a couple of wooden spoons to remove the chicken the first time. The reason for this is you don't want to tear the ski if you can help it. I have trouble doing that so I came up with a neat trick. I run a piece of cooking string (just pure white cotton twine) through the bird's cavity. When it comes time to take ths chicken out of the hot water the first time you just grab the string and lift.
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hiyakitty REVIEW:
June 3, 2011I miss jeff smith...i know he had some problems at the end of his life, but he really did know food. this is one of his best and most simple recipes (and one of my favorite cook books) whenever i describe it to anyone, they just can't believe how simple - and ultimately delicious - this recipe is. The reason why you do the double dunk, once and then again, is to sear the skin and to prevent that nasty scum from forming (if you have ever boiled chicken, you know what i am talking about). after you are done with the chicken, you can debone the whole thing and put the bones back in the water, and the skin, too, if you like, to be simmered for another couple of hours. it makes a wonderful base for any non-vegetarian broth that can be used right away or frozen for future use. try it!!!
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Guest Foodie December 15, 2010
No. The recipe and its method IS correct. The reason for boiling the water, adding the chicken, removing the chicken, and then reboiling the water before returning the chicken to the pot, is so that the skin is scalded. If you do not follow the procedure, as written, the chicken will be fatty and greasy, the skin limp and flaccid. The method is correctly relayed in this recipe.
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woody December 8, 2008
I think you got the recipe wrong as far as the method goes. You said to bring the water to a boil then add the chicken and bring to a boil then remove the chicken and bring to a boil again. If I am not mistaken, You need to bring the water to a boil, add the chicken and bring back up to a boil, then remove from heat (covered) and wait the hour or so.He says that this is the best chicken that He has ever had. I may be wrong on the procedure cuz I googled the recipe cuz I could not find the book that it was in. This cookbook was the first ever cookbook that I ever read from cover to cover. I then realized that if you cannot actually read the cookbook from cover to cover, it is not a cookbook worth owning.
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