Poached Chicken Chicken Breast Rick Bayless Recipes

POACHED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Combine chicken stock, water, yellow onion, celery, carrots, tomato paste, salt, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large pot; bring to a gentle simmer. Decrease heat to medium-low and simmer, checking the flavor occasionally, until vegetables are slightly tender, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Bring stock to a boil and add chicken, pouring in more water if chicken isn't completely covered in liquid. Bring poaching liquid to a boil; remove pot from heat and cover tightly with a lid until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

POACHED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a large stockpot. Add the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, lemon, bay leaf, peppercorns and the herb bundle; season with salt. Cover the chicken with water and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to a low, rolling simmer. Simmer 60 to 75 minutes, then cool the chicken in its stock. Strain the stock. Remove the chicken in large pieces from the skin and bones. Cut half of the meat into bite-size chunks. Thinly slice or pull the remaining meat.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECTLY POACHED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a small, heavy-bottomed pot. Make sure they fit in a single layer. Cover the chicken with broth or water. Add the herbs and bay leaf.
• Begin heating the pot over medium heat, giving the liquid an occasional stir. Once the water temperature reaches 175 to 180, reduce the heat to low so that the water maintains this temperature.
• Partly cover with the pot lid and cook for 10 minutes.
• Turn off the heat completely and allow the chicken to remain in the hot liquid for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 155 F.
• Remove and slice or shred the chicken. The meat should be cooked through and opaque throughout.
• Serve and enjoy.

POACHED CHICKEN (CHICKEN BREAST) - RICK BAYLESS

Steps:

• Place onion, water, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Add the chicken (plus addtional hot water to cover, if necessary), skim off any new foam that rises during the first minute of simmering, add herbs and bay leaves, partially cover and simmer for 13 minutes over medium heat.
• Remove the pot from the heat and let the checken cool in the broth, if there is time.
• Skin and bone the chicken, then shred the meat into small pieces, Sprinkle with salt before using, unless directed otherwise in your recipe.

LACQUERED CHICKEN IN CLASSIC RED MOLE - RICK BAYLESS

Steps:

• Preliminaries: On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below a very hot broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side. Scrape into a large bowl. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly nearly constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Scrape half of them in with the tomatillos. Reserve the remainder for sprinkling on the chicken.
• Brown other mole ingredients: Turn on an exhaust fan or open a kitchen door or window. In a very large soup pot (I typically use a 12-quart stainless steel stock pot), heat the lard or oil over medium. When quite hot, fry the chiles, three or four pieces at a time, flipping them nearly constantly with tongs until their interior side has changed to a lighter color, about 20 or 30 seconds total frying time. Don't toast them so darkly that they begin to smoke-that would make the mole bitter. As they're done, remove them to a large bowl, being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot. Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to insure even soaking.
• Remove any stray chile seeds left in the fat. With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned (the garlic should be soft), about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot.
• Add the raisins to the hot pot. Stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they've puffed and browned slightly. Scoop them out, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillos. Set the pan aside off the heat.
• To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, bread and chocolate. Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.
• Blend, strain, cook: Into a large measuring cup, tip off the chiles' soaking liquid. Taste the liquid: if it's not bitter, discard all abut 6 cups of the liquid. (if you're short, add water to make up the shortfall). If bitter, pour it out and measure 6 cups water. Scoop half of the chiles into a blender jar, pour in half of the soaking liquid (or water) and blend to a smooth puree. Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don't pass through the strainer. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
• Return the soup pot to medium heat. When quite hot, pour in the chile puree-it should sizzle sharply and, if the pan is sufficiently hot, the mixture should never stop boiling. Stir every couple of minutes until the chile puree has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about a half hour. (I find it useful to cover the pot with an inexpensive spatter screen to catch any spattering chile.).
• In two batches, blend the tomatillo mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra 1/2 cup water to keep everything moving through the blades), then strain it in to the large bowl that contained the chiles. When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until considerably darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes. (Again, a spatter screen saves a lot of cleanup.).
• Simmer: Add the broth to the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water. Taste and season with salt (usually about 4 teaspoons) and the sugar.
• You're now ready to make Lacquered Chicken or you can cool, cover and refrigerate until you're ready to use. When you're ready to proceed, rewarm the mole.
• Make the chicken: Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small (2-quart) saucepan, mix together 1 cup of the mole with the agave nectar or corn syrup. Simmer over medium heat until glossy and reduced to 1 cup, about a half hour. On rimmed baking sheets, lay out the chicken in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes (the chicken should be tender to the bone at this point-leg-and-thigh portions should register 165 degrees at the thickest part on an instant-read thermometer).
• Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Tip off the juices that have collected around the chicken, then brush the pieces liberally with the glossy mole mixture. Sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds. Bake for 10 minutes to set the glaze.
• Remove from the oven, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then slide into a very low oven to keep warm until serving time-preferably no longer than 30 minutes.
• Serve each portion of chicken with about 1/2 cup of warm mole, decorated with watercress or flat-leaf parsley and sprinkled with any left over sesame seeds.

BROILED CHIPOTLE CHICKEN WITH CREAMY SPINACH

Steps:

• Marinating the chicken: Combine the chopped canned chipotles with 2 tablespoons of the cream.
• Smear over the chicken breasts, cover and refrigerate for several hours, if time permits, for the chilies to season the chicken.
• Finishing the dish: Lay the chicken breasts in a broiler-proof baking dish just large enough to hold them comfortably.
• Set 6 inches below a very hot broiler and cook until richly brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Turn the breasts over, drizzle the remaining 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream around them and set under the broiler.
• Cook until the chicken is deep golden and no longer squishy feeling when lightly pressed, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken to 4 warm dinner plates and keep warm in a low oven.
• Scrape the cream mixture into a medium-large (3- to 4- quart) saucepan and add the broth and the spinach.
• Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the spinach is wilted and the cream is reduced and thick, about 3 minutes.
• Taste and season with salt, then spoon around the chicken breasts and serve right away.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SUIZAS (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• For fresh tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until they're darkly roasted (they'll be blackened in spots), about 6 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side-5 or 6 minutes more will give you splotchy-black and blistered tomatoes that are cooked through. Cool. Working over your baking sheet, pull off and discard the blackened tomato skins and, for round tomatoes, cut out the hard "cores" where the stems were attached. Transfer tomatoes and chiles to a food processor or blender, along with all the juices on the baking sheet. Blend to a smooth puree.
• For canned tomatoes: In a small dry skillet, roast the chiles over medium heat, turning regularly, until they're soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes. Place in a blender or food processor along with the drained canned tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree.
• In a medium-size (4- or 5-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela), heat the oil or lard over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high, and, when noticeably hotter, stir in the tomato puree. Cook, stirring, until darker in color and thickened to the consistency of tomato paste, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the broth, partially cover and simmer 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. The sauce should be a slightly soupy consistency-not as thick as spaghetti sauce. If it is too thick, stir in a little additional broth. Keep warm over low heat.
• Other preliminaries. Stir the crema (or one of its stand-ins) into the sauce. Put the chicken in a bowl and stir 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into it. Taste and season with additional salt if you think it needs it. Have the cheese at the ready.
• Heat the oven to 350°. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of 4 to 6 nine-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.
• Working quickly so the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dishes. Douse evenly with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 15 minutes. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro sprigs. These are best served piping hot from the oven.
• MAKE AHEAD The sauce can be made a day or two ahead; refrigerate covered. Once the tortillas have been heated in the oven, you need to work quickly and steadily toward serving in order to preserve their beautiful texture. Once out of the oven, the finished dish softens to near mush over a period of 15 to 20 minutes.

POACHED CHICKEN

Steps:

• To a large pot, add carrot, celery, garlic, leek, onion, lemon, bay, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns. Set the chicken into pot breast-side up, then add 3 to 4 quarts water to come up sides and just approach covering chicken, then cover and bring to boil. As soon as the pot boils, uncover and add salt, then turn down heat and simmer at low rolling boil, turning the whole chicken twice, every 30 minutes, 1 1/2 hours total. Let the chicken cool 30 minutes more in its own juice.
• Remove chicken from cooled broth into shallow dish and remove skin, then pull and remove meat from bones with the assistance of a paring or boning knife. Pull or chop the meat into small or bite-sized pieces.
• Strain the stock into a large container or bowl.