If you ask your preferred AI informant “how to boil chicken” and wind up with an overcooked puck of poultry, shame on the programmers—but they aren’t entirely to blame. The better question is: How should I poach chicken? Poaching refers to something cooked gently in a simmering liquid. Boiling, on the other hand, is rough and tumble, with big bubbles rising rapidly to the surface, knocking things around as they burst. For such delicate meat and for even cooking, the gentle method is far more foolproof.
While you can poach any part of the chicken, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are one of the more popular cuts for this preparation. Poached chicken breasts are moist, tender, and easily infused with spices and herbs. Having a stash on hand shortens weeknight prep time, allowing you to incorporate satisfying protein into otherwise no-cook meals.
Plus, they’re infinitely versatile: Feed bite-size cuts of poached chicken to your growing toddler, slice them thin and toss with greens and a buttermilk vinaigrette for dinner on the fly, shred and stir them into your favorite simmer sauce to mix with pasta or pile on a bun with your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce. Truly, poached chicken breast is the blank canvas of cooking—you just need to know how to boil them—excuse me, poach them the right way. This step-by-step guide delivers flavorful, juicy chicken every time.
1. Start with cold water
Never submerge chicken directly into boiling water, which will result in poultry that’s raw in the center with a dried-out surface. Instead, fill a large pot with 1½” cold water. Choose a pot that will fit the amount of chicken you want to cook in a single, even layer. (Note: If you use frozen chicken breasts, it’s best to allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. If you’re short on time, you can poach a chicken breast from frozen, but it may not cook as evenly). If you’re cooking bone-in chicken, you might need more water—add water until the liquid reaches about ½” above the surface of the meat.
2. Season generously
Next, season the cooking liquid liberally with salt and other aromatics. Try smashed garlic cloves, bay leaves, slices of fresh ginger, peppercorns, dried chiles, halved lemons, heartier fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, etc. Alternatively, you can poach the meat in chicken stock or another flavorful liquid—think fresh apple cider, white wine, or water cut with Shaoxing cooking wine (an especially flavorful, savory wine made from rice) and soy sauce, like in this recipe from Epi contributor Grace Young—for deeper flavors.
3. Don’t boil; simmer
Place your chicken in an even layer on the bottom of the pot. Place the pot over medium heat and keep an eye on it until the liquid barely begins to simmer, then turn the heat to low and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breasts registers an internal temperature of 150° to 155°, about 15 minutes after the water starts simmering, depending on the thickness of the breasts. The total cooking time for bone-in chicken ranges from 20 to 25 minutes.