I discovered the instructions for “No-Poach Poached Chicken” in the book Cooking in the Moment (which I’ll be reviewing and giving away on Friday!). I thought it was worth a try; no having to remember to put it in the crock pot in the morning!
The instructions were pretty basic. Wash a 3-4 pound bird, rub with salt, and place in a large pot. Add water to an inch over the top of the bird. Then add aromatics. Andrea Reusing gave a couple of different seasoning options; I decided on dried chilies, cumin seeds, and bay leaves. No amounts were given, so I dashed and sprinkled and called it good.
It then says to bring to a boil; let simmer 5 minutes; then remove from heat, cover tightly, and let sit for an hour. Unfortunately, I don’t think my pot lid fit very tight so instead of taking it completely off the heat I turned it to lo.
The Verdict: As you can probably tell from the pot, it wasn’t quite big enough. Good thing for meat thermometers – I checked after the hour and it wasn’t done. So I set it to simmer for another half hour so. Voila! Very tender, moist. I made a chicken salad with it. As it was getting quite late in the evening, I put the stock in the refrigerator. As per the instructions, I’ll boil it later along with the carcass to make the stock even more flavorful.
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Sorry love, but I tossed out the carcass after you went to bed. I did not know you wanted it.
that’s OK, there will be many more chickens in our future!
hmm, interesting.
I have a one or two organic 2 pound chickens in the freezer, I bet it would work well with one of those. It makes me nervous to just ‘leave’ it without any heat actually under it, but I wonder if it sort of works like a low tech pressure cooker?
It’s great for saving energy! I like that!
The idea is that the pot, when tightly covered, will retain the temp of the water so it’s more like a big thermos LOL. If you have a sort of an old rickety pot like mine, you’ll want to keep it on simmer or low just in case.
haha, thanks for the explanation! I think I might have the right pot with a tight cover. I don’t think my cast iron would be tight enough…oh wait, I remember seeing something on America’s Test Kitchen. They added a layer of aluminum foil over the pot then covered, to make a tight seal. hmm, that could work with any pot!
oooh great idea!
Yes, and that chicken is the best chicken I EVER ate! Called French Chicken in the Pot. There’s no water in it, though. Just chicken, a few veggies and a little olive oil. Very simple and very good!
Whoo hooo, just requested the Cooking in the Moment book at the library. I’m on the wait list! I love new cookbooks!
that’s a fascinating idea! soudns liek a gret way to save energy too 😉
That looks so easy! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ve done whole chickens in the slow-cooker before but they seem to come out too dry. I’ll have to try this!
I came over from TILT.