Poaching Chicken
As promised (and requested), here's my method for poaching chicken breast:
4-6 chicken breasts (bone-in or boneless... I suggest skinless if you're watching fat)
2t olive oil
1/2c water (or stock)
Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick pan on med-high heat.
Brown chicken breasts on both sides in oil.
Add water & allow to come to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and cover loosely while simmering.
Cook until chicken is nearly done, adding water little at a time if necessary. (Pierce thickest part of meat, juices will run clear when meat is done.)
The goal is to have the water boil off completely just as the meat is done!
When the water boils off it leaves a thick, golden-brown residue... which is delicious! Turn the breasts and move them across the pan to pick up the extra flavour!*
Allow to cool.
If using bone-in chicken, remove meat from bones (it should come off of the bones easily).
Store in sealed containers in the fridge.
Cut into cubes or slices to top a green salad, make a sandwich, make chicken salad, or add to hot dishes a minute or two before serving (just long enough for the chicken to heat up, but not cook any further).
*The residue is a sort of chicken-flavoured toffee, created from caramelizing natural sugars from the chicken with the olive oil plus fat from the chicken. The sugar and fat came mostly from the chicken breast anyways, which are pretty lean to start with - so this is still a healthier way to cook chicken than most, because the deliciousness is simply concentrated out of the chicken, rather than added with additional fats and other ingredients!
If you want to be more serious about losing weight, you might remove the chicken before the water fully boils off, and discard the residue... but to me, the extra few calories are worth it for the greatly improved taste. More traditional poaching would have you simply cook the chicken in water and then remove when done - but you lose a lot of flavour and nutrition in the poaching liquid - the reason I boil all the water off is to preserve all of that good stuff!
B.
4-6 chicken breasts (bone-in or boneless... I suggest skinless if you're watching fat)
2t olive oil
1/2c water (or stock)
Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick pan on med-high heat.
Brown chicken breasts on both sides in oil.
Add water & allow to come to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and cover loosely while simmering.
Cook until chicken is nearly done, adding water little at a time if necessary. (Pierce thickest part of meat, juices will run clear when meat is done.)
The goal is to have the water boil off completely just as the meat is done!
When the water boils off it leaves a thick, golden-brown residue... which is delicious! Turn the breasts and move them across the pan to pick up the extra flavour!*
Allow to cool.
If using bone-in chicken, remove meat from bones (it should come off of the bones easily).
Store in sealed containers in the fridge.
Cut into cubes or slices to top a green salad, make a sandwich, make chicken salad, or add to hot dishes a minute or two before serving (just long enough for the chicken to heat up, but not cook any further).
*The residue is a sort of chicken-flavoured toffee, created from caramelizing natural sugars from the chicken with the olive oil plus fat from the chicken. The sugar and fat came mostly from the chicken breast anyways, which are pretty lean to start with - so this is still a healthier way to cook chicken than most, because the deliciousness is simply concentrated out of the chicken, rather than added with additional fats and other ingredients!
If you want to be more serious about losing weight, you might remove the chicken before the water fully boils off, and discard the residue... but to me, the extra few calories are worth it for the greatly improved taste. More traditional poaching would have you simply cook the chicken in water and then remove when done - but you lose a lot of flavour and nutrition in the poaching liquid - the reason I boil all the water off is to preserve all of that good stuff!
B.