Poached Chicken Recipe

Poaching chicken once a week has been one of the best new things my husband and I have started doing. We poach about 2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts (frozen or refrigerated both work fine) all at once each weekend. Its a very simple recipe. While it takes a fair amount of time where we need to be at home, there’s not much time that actually requires our attention. And then we have moist, tender, delicious chicken to use in various recipes (like the pesto chicken pasta I shared last week) throughout the rest of the week already prepared! Its encouraged us to eat at home more (saving money) and to eat healthier.

Here’s the recipe we use:
slightly adapted from CRAFT
around 2 lbs. chicken breasts (refridgerated or frozen and thawed)
32 oz. chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper

Directions:
1. Trim chicken breasts as desired.
2. Place chicken breasts in a pot.
3. Add chicken broth and then add enough water to cover chicken breasts.
4. Add bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 40 minutes.
6. Turn off heat, and let chicken cool in liquid while covered (about 1 hour).
7. Once cool (or you get impatient), wrap individually in foil and store in fridge for up to 10 days.

I know some of these steps sound tedious (do I really need to use chicken broth? do I really need to let the chicken cool in the liquid before putting it away?), but trust me – they make a big difference in the chicken’s taste and moistness.

It would be super easy to make more or less depending on your family’s needs – just change the quantity of chicken and still use enough chicken broth/water mixture to cover the chicken in your pot.

I’m sharing this at some of these places.

Have you made poached chicken before using different seasonings? Do you have make-ahead ingredients that help you prepare meals more quickly? Please share!

<3,
Julia