Perfect Poached Chicken

King Henry IV of France famously stated, ‘I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he cannot have a chicken in his pot every Sunday’. Okay, that may be somewhat paraphrased, but you see where he's going.

For a lot of people, roast chicken is their ultimate Sunday dinner.  Personally, I’ve never been partial to roast chicken.  Sure, I often roast chicken legs or thighs, and they turn out wonderfully, but when it comes to a whole bird though, there’s something about roasting that disagrees with me.  It always seems too rich and greasy, no matter how it’s cooked or by whom.  

Taking King Henry up on his thought of chicken in a pot, I began experimenting with poaching chicken a while back; it’s now my favourite way of dealing with a whole bird.  This method produces chicken which is unbelievably moist and flavourful.  I can honestly say I’ve never had such delicious chicken; I think the quick cooling method is the secret.

We eat this year-round, but it's particularly nice in the heat of the summer.

1 3 lb / 1.5 kg (+/-) chicken

2 bay leaves

1 small onion, peeled and cut in half

1 stalk celery

1 carrot, peeled and cut in chunks

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Remove string from chicken, if tied.  Place chicken in Dutch oven, followed by remaining ingredients.  Add enough water to cover (or as much as will fit comfortably).

Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to simmer and cook for forty minutes.  Remove from heat and set timer for two hours. 

At the end of the two hours, place the covered pot in a sink.  Add a tray of ice cubes to the sink, and fill up the sink with cold water until it’s roughly the same level as the liquid in the pot.  Allow to sit for at least half an hour, or until liquid surrounding chicken is cooled to roughly body temperature.

Take the chicken out of the liquid, and remove the meat from it's bones (I just use my hands). Eat as is, use in recipes calling for cooked chicken, or make the best chicken sandwiches ever.

The quintessential summer food.