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By Root 649 0

at which point you’ll have to act quickly because the food will be well on its way to a state of thermal equilibrium with its surrounding environment, which is not a happy place for these kinds of foods to be in. So, not only can’t you tell when the food is done, it won’t stay that way for long. No wonder nobody poaches anymore.

The solution?

As much as I’d love to claim this method as my own, I have to give credit to the patron saint of modern food scientists, Harold McGee, who wrote about this method in The Curious Cook.

1. Start with the liquid at a boil to kill any surface bacteria.

2. Drop the temperature of the liquid to the final desired temperature of the meat.

This way the food never overcooks. This doesn’t mean you can leave the food in there all night, but—while its never a good idea to turn your back to a simmering pot—you could. Fruit, by the way, is often poached in syrup, but in that case the real goal is not to control the final internal temperature but to cook the fruit without blowing it to bits with the turbulence of boiling.

I like to poach in an electric skillet, which I calibrate by filling with water, dropping in the probe of one of my many thermometers, and taking the thermostat for a ride. I found that the temperature range was way off, so I re-marked it with white tape and a pen. Then I went one geeky step further by wiring a dimmer into the cord so that I could maintain temperatures well below the “simmer” level. Of course, I’d never suggest you resort to such extreme measures for poaching, but hey, if you’re handy with wiring, you can give it a try as long as you hold me and my publisher blameless for any potential damages.

The Liquid

I usually poach fish in either wine (I tend toward sweeter wines like Rieslings) or a mixture of wine and water with lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Adding herbs makes the room smell nice, but considering the relatively short cooking time I don’t think it does much for the flavor of the fish—unless, of course, you’re making sauce. One of the nicest things about poaching liquid is that as long as you have added the salt with a light hand, once the food comes out you can jack up the heat and reduce the liquid, mount it and serve it with the fish.

To “mount” a sauce is to stir or whisk in a few bits of cold butter at the last minute.

Master Profile: Poaching

Heat type: wet

Mode of transmission: 90:10 percent ratio conduction to convection

Rate of transmission: slow

Common transmitters: any liquid

Temperature range: low and narrow 140-170° F (depending on who you ask)

Target food characteristics:

• tender proteins: fish, eggs, chicken and other poultry23

Non-culinary application: Jacuzzi on “stun”

Poached Chicken Methods

Combine the wine, stock, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a large heavy-bottomed pot, then proceed with one of the following methods.

Method 1

Place the probe end of thermometer in the liquid and place over medium-high heat to maintain a temperature of 185° F. Submerge the bird in the liquid and set the thermometer alarm for 190° F. If the alarm sounds, the water has gotten too hot, reduce the heat to maintain 185° F. This method takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a rack set on a baking sheet to drain.

Method 2

Cut the bird into serving-size pieces and submerge in cool liquid in an electric skillet set for 180° F. Use your thermometer in a leg or thigh, and when it reaches 180° F remove pieces to a rack set on a baking sheet to drain. This is probably the most foolproof method.

Now that you have all this poached chicken, what do you do with it? Well, you could simply eat it chilled atop a nice salad of mixed greens and fresh tomatoes with a boiled egg. Or eat it warm with Hollandaise Takes a Holiday, chop it into your favorite chicken salad recipe, or even simmer the pulled meat in your favorite barbecue sauce for delicious sandwiches. The possibilities are limitless.

Software:

1 quart white wine

Chicken stock (or water) to cover