Perfect Poached Chicken Breasts
Hardly anyone poaches chicken anymore—and with good reason: The classic technique is fussy and leads to bland meat. We set out to change that.
A cookbook recipe exclusively for ATK Essential members from Nutritious DeliciousGather Your Ingredients
Key Equipment
Before You Begin
To ensure that the chicken cooks through, don’t use breasts that weigh more than 8 ounces each. If desired, serve the chicken with one of our sauces (see related content) or in a salad or sandwiches.
Instructions
1.
Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently with meat pounder until 3/4 inch thick. Discard plastic wrap. Whisk 4 quarts water, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and garlic in Dutch oven until salt and sugar are dissolved. Arrange breasts, skinned side up, in steamer basket, making sure not to overlap them. Submerge steamer basket in brine and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2.
Heat pot over medium heat, stirring liquid occasionally to even out hot spots, until water registers 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot, remove from burner, and let stand until meat registers 160 degrees, 17 to 22 minutes.
3.
Transfer breasts to carving board, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice each breast on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices, transfer to serving platter or individual plates, and serve.
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