Simply Jamie
By Jamie Oliver
Simple poached chicken
1 hr 45 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
This is the gift that keeps on giving – a hands-off method that makes for easy future meals.
Recipe From
Ingredients
1 x 1.5kg free-range whole chicken
4 carrots
4 sticks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
1 bunch of woody herbs (30g), such as rosemary, thyme, bay, oregano
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Top Tip
Even if I lived alone, I’d cook this. If you’re worried about not using it all up in time, just portion up and whack the different elements in the freezer, where they’ll keep happily for up to 3 months. Simply defrost thoroughly before use.
Method
- Sit the whole chicken in a large snug-fitting lidded pan.
- Wash, trim and add the carrots. Trim, roughly chop and add the celery, along with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Peel, quarter and add the onion. Add the herbs with 2 teaspoons of sea salt and 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns.
- Cover everything with cold water, making sure the bird is fully submerged, then bring nearly to the boil over a high heat and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid ajar and poach for 1½ hours, then you can either eat it straight away, or leave it to cool in the broth ready to break down for the week ahead.
- Pour the broth into a jug. Remove the chicken skin to a small bowl, then strip all the meat off the bones and into a container. Spoon over any fat from the surface of the broth, then toss together. Discard the bones. Reserve the veg, squeezing the garlic out of the skins. Cover, and it’ll all be happy in the fridge for up to 3 days – the hard work is done. It might not look that pretty but rest assured, this preparation gives so much flex for big flavour and superfast meals, such as my Creamy chicken & chive pie.
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