Unlike some of my teammates here at Epi, I don't love skinless, boneless chicken breasts. I'm more of a skin-on, bone-in chicken thigh kind of girl, most the time. But there's no denying that prepping a few tender poached chicken breasts is perhaps the most pleasurable way to get satisfying protein into otherwise no-cook weeknight meals. It's infinitely versatile, and it's one of my favorite tricks for making my meals easier and healthier.
Boiled chicken breast might bring back memories of rubbery, bland, over-cooked disappointments. But it can be so much more than that: it can be moist, tender, and subtly infused with the flavors of spices and herbs. It can be a simple snack to feed in bite-size pieces to your growing hungry toddler, or a blank canvas to toss with greens and a creamy herby dressing, which I make often for dinner on the fly. You just need to know the best way to make it. Here's how to boil chicken breasts that you'll actually love eating:
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
Bay leaves, chiles, garlic, and peppercorns flavor the poaching water. |||
1. Start in Cold Water
Submerging cold chicken directly into boiling water will make for an unevenly cooked piece of poultry. Instead, fill a pot with 1½ inches of cold water to start. Choose a pot that is big enough that it will fit all your chicken breasts in an even layer.
2. Season the Water Generously
Then season that water generously with salt and any other flavors that would go well with chicken: garlic, bay, fresh ginger, peppercorns, dried chiles, lemon, etc.
3. Add the chicken, and bring it to a simmer
Place your chicken breast or breasts in an even layer on the bottom of the pot and heat over medium until the water just barely begins to simmer, then turn it down to low.
4. Cook on Low for 15 Minutes
The best way how to boil chicken breasts is actually not to boil them at all. You want to cook your chicken breasts on low until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165°F, about 15 minutes more. Once the chicken reaches the right temperature, immediately remove the chicken from the water. If you're going to save it for the week, let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating in an airtight container. If not, serve it right away.
5. Turn That Chicken Into a Week's Worth of Meals
Once you have a stash of tender poached chicken breast in your fridge, here's how to turn it into dinner:
Embrace the clean fresh flavor
Sure, you could just buy a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and shred or slice that into salads and then you wouldn't even have to turn on your stove. Nothing wrong with that at all, but you'll miss the pure, clean flavor of a thinly sliced, cold poached chicken breast that I love so much in simple summer meals. If you keep your poaching water seasoning super simple (just salt will do), the cold poached chicken breast can be so much more of a juicy blank canvas than a cold rotisserie chicken could ever be. I love how easily the same batch of poached chicken can be safe and mild enough for toddlers, but also ready to have a wild party with anything you want to toss them with for yourself.
Make a New Kind of Chicken Salad Every Day
You don't need a recipe—just riff on the classic chicken salad and then tuck it into sandwiches or eat it straight out of the bowl. Or top a grain bowl with poached chicken drizzled with sesame oil and a hit of Sriracha. Or make a pretty composed salad with shaved or sliced raw veggies and slices of cold poached chicken topped with a homemade herb sauce.
Poached Chicken, Crunchy Vegetables, and Herb Dressing
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Make sandwiches (or quesadillas!)
Wide, thin slices of poached chicken breast make excellent sandwich stackers. Layer them with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo on your favorite bread and you're ready to go. Or shred the chicken, sprinkle it over a and stack it with some cheese between tortillas and melt it briefly in a hot skillet for a quick quesadilla.
Chicken Quesadillas
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Introduce Chicken Salad to Pasta Salad
Cold poached chicken makes itself right at home in any kind of vegetable or grain salad, and pasta salad is no exception. In the summer heat I especially love a cold rice noodle or soba noodle salad tossed with poached chicken.
Thai Chicken and Shrimp Noodle Salad
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Or just eat it on its own (with sauce)
Even if you're not a toddler, poached chicken on its own can be complexity satisfying—it just needs a sauce. Think peanut sauce, chimichurri, yogurt sauce, ginger-scallion sauce, and beyond.
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