Image: Kin

Poaching is the method of immersing food in liquid that is just below simmering. The temperature of the liquid should be around 165 – 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I love poaching Chicken drumsticks, the drawback is that it requires some time to cook. Don’t worry, your patience shall be rewarded. For this recipe, I poached the drumsticks in chicken stock. Be sure to use chicken stock and not chicken broth. I threw in carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and leeks into the stock and let it simmer for about an hour. Afterwards, I reduced the heat and added in the chicken drumsticks.

Poached Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 Quarts of chicken stock
• 1 Leek
• 1 Yellow onion
• 3 Carrots
• 3 Celery stalks
• 4 Cloves of garlic
• Pack of chicken drumsticks
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Bay leaf

Chop the carrot and celery, set to the side. Finely chop the leek, onion, and garlic. Place the stock pot onto the burner and set the heat to medium-low. Add the olive oil. Add the finely chopped ingredients into the pot and sweat them out. The ingredients should not brown, and you should notice the moisture increase. Add the carrots, celery, and bay leaf into the pot. Add the chicken stock. Cover the pot and let the stock simmer for an hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce the heat so that the stock temperature reaches somewhere between 170 to 180 degrees. Add the chicken drumsticks and poach for 25-30 minutes. The time is hard to estimate as the size of the drumsticks can vary. Make sure the internal temperature of the chicken at the thickest part reaches 165 degrees. Do make sure the chicken is completely cooked before eating.  Strain out the vegetables and store the stock in the freezer in jars.  You don’t want it to go to waste.

~ Kin