Poached Chicken Breasts

By the time I was old enough to learn to cook, my mother had kind of given it up!  We owned two businesses and she was the foundation of the "business" part of both of them.  Suffice it to say - she had other things on her mind!

But, we still had to eat!

So we had a few go-to meals (just like the rest of the world) that we had almost every week.  Shake 'n Bake pork chops with mashed potatoes, vegetable soup, chili (my mom made the BEST chili) and several different chicken casseroles or stove top stir fry/kitchen sink/whatever-we've-got kind of dishes!

Which means that every week she poached a bunch of chicken breasts.  She used them for all of the above chicken dishes and she made chicken salad to take in her lunch nearly every single day.

So, I may have been too late to learn her homemade sourdough biscuit recipe, but I knew how to poach a chicken breast!

I've made a tweak or two here and there and I've tried a few other methods, but when I'm meal prepping for a busy week - I go right back to how I learned it from mom.  So, on this one-year anniversary of her going to heaven to be with my Daddy - I wanted to share her technique for really lovely, perfectly poached chicken breasts.

Now, mom was a Depression-era child, so she was all about modern conveniences and the "value pack" of almost everything - so, I learned how to poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  You can absolutely use bone-in, skin-on - it does add a richness, but today it's all about honoring Peggy, so I am using the family pack of boneless skinless chicken!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (use as many as will fit snugly in the bottom of your pan)
A handful of celery tops (I save mine from when I cut celery sticks for snacks) or 2 ribs of celery cut in half
Fresh parsley - for 4 breasts, I use 3 sprigs
Fresh thyme (if you have it, if not 1 T of dried thyme) - 3 springs
Lemon slices (optional)
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 t peppercorns
1 t Kosher salt

*you can also add carrots, onions, different spices and herbs...make this your own!

Pour 1/2" of water into the bottom of your pot, then add the chicken breasts (they should fit snugly) and cover with enough water that they are submerged by 1" (does that make sense? - the water should be 1" over the top of the largest chicken breast). 
Add the celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt.
Turn heat onto medium-high and bring to a simmer (you'll see bubbles around the side of the pan, but it won't be boiling).
Turn your heat down to medium-low - it should keep the water simmering, but not boiling.
Mom always stayed close to the pot and skimmed any foam off the top, since we saved the broth to use for her soup and chili.  I do the same!
Continue to simmer for about 12-15 minutes (use an instant read thermometer and turn the heat off when the breasts are at 160°. 
Transfer the chicken to a heatproof bowl and using a strainer to catch the herbs and peppercorns, strain the hot liquid over the chicken and let them cool.
You can use the cooled chicken right away or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I put the broth in freezer bags and use for soups and chili - just like mom!