How to Boil Chicken for a Week’s Meals

Shame on the programmers if you ask your favorite AI informant “how to boil a chicken” and wind up with overcooked chicken pecks. Should — but they are not entirely to blame. The better question is: How should I do it? the victim Chicken poaching refers to something that is slow-cooked in a simmering liquid. Boiling, on the other hand, is rough and messy, with large bubbles rising to the surface quickly, knocking things around as they explode. For such delicate meats and even cooking, the gentle method is far more foolproof.

Although you can poach any part of the chicken, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are one of the more popular cuts for this preparation. The chicken breast is moist, tender and easily seasoned with spices and herbs. Concealment on hand becomes smaller. Saturday night The prep time allows you to add satisfying protein to otherwise no-cook meals.

Plus, they’re endlessly versatile: feed your growing baby bite-sized pieces of chicken, slice them thinly and toss with greens. Buttermilk vinaigrette For dinner on the fly, shred and stir them into your favorite. Boil the sauce Mix with pasta or pile on a bun with your favorites. Store-bought BBQ sauce. In fact, poached chicken breasts are a blank cooking canvas—you just need to know how to broil them—sorry, poach them the right way. This step-by-step guide delivers flavorful, juicy chicken every time.

1. Start with cold water.

Never submerge chicken directly in boiling water, as this will cause the chicken to dry out in the middle. Instead, fill a large pot with 1½” of cold water. Choose a pot that fits the amount of chicken you want to cook in one layer. Refrigerate overnight before cooking, if your If you have less time, you can freeze the chicken breast, but it won’t cook as evenly.) If you’re cooking the chicken on the bone, you may need more water—unless Liquid to about ½” above the surface of the meat Do not reach.

2. Season generously

Next, season the cooking liquid liberally with salt and other aromatics. Crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, fresh ginger slices, black pepper, dried chilies, half a lemon, hearty fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary etc. Alternatively, you can marinate the meat in chicken stock or another flavored liquid—think fresh apple, white wine, or water. Shaoxing cooking wine (especially flavored, savory wine made from rice) and soy sauce, e.g In this guide From Epi contributor Grace Young—for deep flavors.

3. Do not boil; to boil

Place your chicken in an even layer in the bottom of the pot. Place the pot over medium heat and watch until the liquid just starts to boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breasts registers an internal temperature of 150° to 155°, about 15 minutes after the water boils, depending on the thickness of the breasts. The total cooking time for bone-in chicken is 20 to 25 minutes.