How to poach a chicken breast
July 9, 2007 | Tags: - - -

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Poached chicken is one of the most versatile things you can have sitting around in the fridge. Mix with a sauce and toss it in a sandwich. Add some dressing and place it on a salad. Throw it with some pasta and your done!

Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken quesadillas, Vietnamese chicken salad… Done, Done and Done!

I love making a large batch of poached chicken in the beginning of the week. It gives me tons of dinner and lunch options through out the week. The basic recipe for poaching chicken is below, but you can easily spice it up. Add rosemary, a bay leaf and oregano for Mediterranean chicken. Add some Chile powder and Tabasco for some spicy fun. Kick up the flavor by cooking the breast in chicken broth instead of water. You get the idea. Just remember to always add salt to the water. Also, instead of boneless chicken breast you can also use split, bone-in, skin on breasts… or if you are feeling bold, chicken thighs. The bone-in cuts might need an extra 5 minutes of simmering.

Poached chicken

Ingredients:

  • Chicken (Boneless chicken breast, split chicken breast or chicken thighs)
  • Salt
  • Liquid (Water, broth, and/or wine)
  • Flavorings (rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, lemon zest, ginger, garlic, celery, onions, carrots… etc)

Direction:

  1. Place chicken in pan.
  2. Add enough of the liquid to cover the chicken.
  3. Add salt and flavorings.
  4. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
  5. Simmer for two minutes, longer for bone-in pieces (~5 additional minutes)
  6. Remove pan from heat and cover.
  7. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  8. Place chicken in container, cover with liquid and refrigerate.
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6 Responses to “How to poach a chicken breast”

  1. Recipe: BBQ Chicken Sandwich Says:
    July 9th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

    [...] is one of the many dishes I made from a big batch of poached chicken I cooked up earlier in the week. It is an original creation that I sort of threw together, and it [...]

  2. BBQ Chicken Sandwich Says:
    December 16th, 2007 at 11:08 pm

    [...] is one of the many dishes I made from a big batch of poached chicken I cooked up earlier in the week. It is an original creation that I sort of threw together, and it [...]

  3. yoohoo Says:
    July 20th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    Thanks for this clearcut, simple recipe! I’m doing 3 breasts now thanks to you!

  4. happymm Says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 7:34 pm

    i followed the directions to a t - fearing that the breasts would be overcooked, i stopped letting sit after 20 minutes instead of 30 but they were still a bit dry. I would experiment until you get it right. maybe let it sit for 10, 15 minutes, check to see if it’s done…instead of letting sit for the full 30 minutes. everything else was great, thanks

  5. Luke Says:
    September 11th, 2008 at 10:14 pm

    Yea, I may have been playing it way to safe letting it sit for 30 minutes. I would definitely check way before then. Thanks for the advice!

  6. Katya Says:
    September 17th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    That’s so funny. I was just browsing around to make sure I was poaching my chicken right, and you were the second google link that came up. Hi Luke.

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