How to poach a chicken and make it last the family a whole week

Step 1

Prepare a few vegetables for the pot - typically a couple of sticks of celery, a carrot or two, a few peppercorns and some sprigs of parsley if you have any available.These are all optional, you don't have to use these if you don't have them / don't want to.

Step 2

Take the chicken out of its wrapping. It is recommended that chicken is not washed as the washing process tends to spread any possible contamination around the kitchen via splashes and aerosol.

Step 3

Place the chicken in a large pot and the put the vegetables around it.

Step 4

Just cover the chicken with cold water.I don't usually salt the water. Partly because I've found it doesn't need it, and partly because salt will draw moisture from the bird and we want it be kept moist.

Step 5

Bring the water to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. Boiling will toughen the chicken meat and make it dry. Turn the chicken over and simmer for a further 12 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the chicken in the hot liquid to go cold. Remove the chicken and vegetables from the liquor.

Step 6

Once the chicken has cooled, pick off all the and weigh it. A medium chicken, on average, will yield coming up to a kilo of cooked meat.

Step 7

Once you have picked off all the meat, put the carcass and any skin and bones back in the poaching liquid. Add a little splash of white vinegar. The acid of the vinegar helps the calcium to leach out of the bones giving you a bit more goodness in your broth. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 2 or 3 hours. A slow cooker is great for this and will save fuel.I know you have already poached the chicken, but you will still be able to get more flavour by simmering the bones on their own. Once the stock has finished simmering, pass through a sieve to remove the skin and bones and discard those, although dogs and cats may enjoy the skin.

Step 8

If you are following the ideas to use the chicken for a whole week, I've found it is most useful to weigh the chicken meat and store it separately for each recipe - don't forget to label the bag with the amount and the recipe it is intended for. Or store in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Step 9

Similarly the stock. I would usually divide it into 2 lots and freeze until ready to use, although I make soup so often, it doesn't usually get that far. Or it will sit safe in the fridge for 3-4 days.