How to Poach Chicken

Prepare the following ingredients: chicken, onion, carrots, celery stalks, herbs, kosher salt, peppercorns, garlic, bay-leaf, potatoes or turnip (optional)

Rinse the chicken under running water and drain for 5 minutes.

You will need 1 onion, 2 carrots and 2-3 celery stalks, all chopped.

Transfer the chicken to a large pot along with the chopped vegetables.

Add 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, 2 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic, bay leaf and fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, tarragon or parsley as per your liking.

Add water to the pot till it covers the chicken.

Add a tablespoon of kosher salt and bring it to a boil. And then simmer with a tight fitting lid and cook for around 80 minutes.

You can choose to add potatoes or turnips in the pot after 60 minutes.

Turn off the flame, remove the chicken and cool on a roasting pan or large bowl for 20 minutes.

The broth is full of flavor and can be used in other recipes.

Once the chicken is cool, you can remove the meat and use it in various dishes like salads, enchiladas, pies and pastas. You can use a fork to remove the meat from trickier parts.

Prepare the following ingredients: chicken, lemon juice, salt, herbs, plastic wrap

For this method, you will require a good quality plastic wrap. You can buy one which can be used in a microwave since it will need to be placed in boiling water.

Remove the fat from the chicken, skip this step if you have lean chicken. And then cut the chicken lengthwise.

In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, salt and herbs well till salt dissolves.

Put the chicken pieces in the mixture and ensure that it coats the chicken pieces evenly. Rest the chicken in the mixture for several minutes.

Take a large pot and simmer 2 ½ quarts of water.

Cut a large sheet of plastic wrap – double the size of the chicken pieces, and place it on a table.

Remove the chicken from the mixture and place it in the middle of the plastic wrap. Roll the chicken in the plastic wrap, ensuring that you tightly wrap the plastic and compress it to remove air from the plastic.

Tie the ends of the plastic wrap in double knots and repeat the process with other chicken pieces.

Once the water in the pot has reached the high simmer point, turn off the heat.

Let the pot remain on the burner, and carefully drop the plastic wrapped chicken in the pot.

Cover the pot and let the chicken remain in the pot for 15 minutes for steeping. The time for steeping can be increased if you have used very large pieces of chicken, or chicken that was not completely defrosted.

Remove the chicken from the pot using a ladle or tongs.

Carefully snip the ends of the plastic and ensure that you are holding the chicken over a bowl to collect the juices from the plastic wrap.

You can use mitts to hold the plastic when removing the chicken.

Transfer the chicken on a plate and top with the juices to add extra flavor.