Looking to spice up mealtimes with different cooking methods? Try poaching – a technique that doesn’t get as much love as it deserves. This easy, moist-heat cooking technique relies on liquids to cook foods, works wonders for tenderizing ingredients and provides healthy preparations for your favorite meals. Experiment with poaching to add dimension and adventure to your home cooking.
To poach food is to cook it while submerged in a liquid at a low temperature until it’s tender and cooked through. Water is the go-to cooking liquid, but you can also use broth or stock and infuse flavor with anything from wine, lemon juice and vinegar to vegetables and fresh herbs.
Best Foods for Poaching
Eggs:
Poaching gives eggs a silky, tender white and a creamy yolk that makes an elegant, sophisticated addition to breakfast, lunch or dinner. From swirling a vortex to straining, there are various methods to achieve a perfectly poached egg. However, our favorite technique is simple, as it requires no swirling or tweaking to maintain the temperature. Bring about 1½ inches of water to a gentle simmer and add a splash of vinegar to help the egg preserve its shape, if desired. Crack the egg into a ramekin, then hold it close to the water’s surface and gently slide into the pan. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, then let stand for three to five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and enjoy over toast or on tostadas, burgers or warm salads.
Skinless Chicken Breasts:
Craving chicken that’s juicy, succulent and only takes about 20 minutes to make? Poached chicken is calling your name! Use 2 cups of poaching liquid for every 4 to 5-ounce breast and add a generous amount of salt to the liquid to ensure your chicken is well-seasoned. Check out our Tomato-Garlic Poached Chicken recipe for a fast and flavorful weeknight meal. Poached chicken also shreds beautifully, making it perfect for chicken salads, tacos, pastas and sandwiches.
Seafood:
Since poaching involves low temperatures and minimal agitation, it’s an ideal method for seafood, allowing it to retain its nutrients and delicate structures. You can poach a variety of seafood, from salmon, tuna and cod to halibut, haddock and shellfish. Seafood pairs beautifully with white wine, herbs, bay leaves, aromatic vegetables and lemon slices, which all make excellent flavor-building components for your liquid. Coconut milk is another way to create incredibly tender fish infused with slightly sweet flavors; try it in our Coconut-Lemongrass Poached Cod recipe! To prevent tough fish, be sure to simmer and not boil it. Add the fish to gently simmering liquid, then cook for about eight minutes or until it’s opaque throughout. Experiment with different poaching liquids and flavoring ingredients for tender, juicy entrées that are swimming in flavor.