Poached chicken is something you will often find in our refrigerator, especially when we're busy. It doesn't take long to poach a whole bird, chicken parts on the bone, or boneless chicken. You can poach it in water and aromatic vegetables. But for the bonus of a super rich chicken stock, start with a low-sodium chicken broth.
Here are a link for learning how to poach a chicken. I use the Chinese White Chicken method.
Once cooked, you can turn the chicken and broth into chicken soup. Here's how we deal with that option. Variations on a Soup theme
Of course, you or your household guests could turn sliced chicken into a wonderful array of chicken sandwiches. We recommend you grab a loaf of When Pigs Fly Bakery's "Savory Cranberry" bread, or as we call it, "Stuffing Bread." It tastes just like a favorite holiday bread stuffing and makes a great sandwich with some swiss cheese, chicken, and a dab of spicy cranberry chutney.
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Then, there are salads. We're not mayo fans, so we turn our poached chicken into a Curried Chicken Salad with an oil and vinegar dressing. But, traditional chicken salad may be exactly what your family will welcome.
And, from there, you can let your imagination fly. Stir fry some veggies and toss in the chicken to warm it. Heat up some pasta sauce and make a quick chicken sauce.
We even make poached chicken for our favorite pup when she's not feeling peckish and we need to tempt her with something special. She loves it.
A heavy pot like a Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron French Oven
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2011 Penny Cherubino
