Fall-off-the-bone poached whole chicken (meal prep)

This basic poached whole chicken recipe is one of the easiest yet most rewarding and cost-effective nutritious foods you can make in your kitchen. 

It promises a rich chicken broth, fall-of-the-bone tender meat, and a light stock you can use to make many delicious recipes.

You'll get flavorful, simple ingredients from one whole chicken and endless dinner ideas.

I will show you how to poach a whole chicken at home. It's easy to do and perfect if you are into meal prepping.

Make it on lazy (Sun)days. It will save you money and give you the tastiest ingredients to produce several healthy meals for the week or weeks ahead.

Jump to:

• Why You Should Poach a Whole Chicken
• Poaching Versus Boiling a Whole Chicken
• Choose a Whole Bird
• How Long Does It Take To Poach a Whole Chicken
• Should you remove chicken skin before cooking
• Elevate the flavors of your broth and shredded chicken
• What to do with chicken giblets
• How to poach a chicken
• How to shred the chicken meat
• What to do with the broth
• Note on skimming, straining the broth
• Also Recommended
• 📖 Recipe

Poaching Versus Boiling a Whole Chicken

• If you want deliciously tender shredded chicken meat and deep, delicate chicken broth flavors, you must gently cook the chicken in liquid and below boiling point.

• First, bring the liquid to an initial boil or simmer on medium/high heat. But immediately lower the heat to maintain a slow and gentle bubble.

• If a chicken is boiled or cooked too quickly, it will toughen the meat and leave you with a flavorless broth. Slow and steady is the way to go here.

• The process is simple and requires little interference other than keeping an eye on your chicken and skimming off any extra fat or foam that comes to the surface.

Choose a Whole Bird

• These days, most chickens come at a uniform of 3 to 3 ½ pounds.
• But if you can, get a 4 to almost five ½-pound one—I get them at my local farmer's market. 
• A larger bird will yield more broth and meat for the same amount of work. 

Since you are using the whole chicken from its bones to its tissues and fat, choose the best quality poultry you can afford—free-range and organic if possible. It plays a role in the taste of the broth and the meat.

How Long Does It Take To Poach a Whole Chicken

It, of course, depends on the size of the bird. Usually, it takes about 1 to 1 ½ hours, depending on the chicken's size. In general, count on about 15 minutes per pound of cooking time.

Should you remove chicken skin before cooking

Please don't.

It will give your collagen-rich broth a perfect balance of fat and flavor and prevent the meat from drying. 

If you want a lighter broth, refrigerate it overnight. The fat will congeal on top, and you can skim it off before using it.

Elevate the flavors of your broth and shredded chicken

Salt—add at least salt to the poaching liquid. Sometimes adding nothing else but salt is preferred when using the collagen-rich broth and shredded chicken as a base in recipes where you want to control most of the flavoring when making the final dishes. 

Add herbs or onions—Want to upgrade your broth so that enough flavors are present to enjoy immediately? Then add onions, a few garlic cloves, and herbs such as fresh rosemary or thyme. Those ingredients all add aromatic flavors perfect for making brothy soups or adding a bouillon-like flavor to cook rice and quinoa. 

Add veggie scraps—The ends of carrots, leeks, onions, and even carrot leaves—all my favorites—can be added initially and then strained and removed afterward.

It's a great way to use vegetables for making a tastier broth without feeling too guilty about throwing them out before proceeding with fresh vegetable ingredients to finish your (chicken) soup or dish. 

Add freshly chopped vegetables—You can always add newly chopped vegetables like carrots, onions, leeks, or celery from the beginning to give extra flavor. They're even tasty enough, in my opinion, to enjoy in a cup of broth that same day. But they might be too mushy and not bright enough for soup recipes. So I would eventually strain them, but it does add a lot of extra flavor to your broth.

What to do with chicken giblets

Sometimes, you'll also get chicken giblets like the heart, neck, liver, and gizzards. 

I add these to the pot, except for the liver—it has a distinctive taste that can overwhelm the flavors of the broth.

Note: Single out the liver, refrigerate to pan-fry later with garlic and onions to toss on top of your green salad for a quick lunch.

How to poach a chicken

It's easy. Just pay attention in the beginning. But once you have that slow tempo of bubbles coming up now and then, you can walk away doing other stuff while keeping tabs on time and checking in occasionally.

That slow bubble is key to getting that beautiful tender meat.

1. Place the whole chicken and the giblets (except the liver) in a large, deep stockpot—the chicken has to fit in the pot comfortably.
2. Add your chosen veggies, veggie scraps, and herbs.
3. Add cold water, enough for the chicken to fully submerge with a depth of two inches. 
4. Flavor the water with salt.
5. Heat the water over high heat, pot covered. I usually bring the water first to an initial boil or simmer.
6. At the first signs of bubbling, reduce the heat until you can see the occasional bubble breaking through the water.
7. Partly cover the pot and cook for about 60 to 90 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the meat almost falls off the bone. 
8. Turn over the chicken at least once during the cooking process.
9. Skim off any foam (protein scum) on the surface and discard.
10. Check for doneness: stick a skewer into the joints where the drumstick meets the thigh. All the juices should run clear. If you use a thermometer, it's done when it reads at least 165°F/75°C. 

How to shred the chicken meat

• Carefully remove the chicken. The whole chicken might break apart when transferring it from the pot to a plate, so be prepared with tongs in one hand and a large slotted spoon in the other.

• Allow it to cool down.

• When cool enough to handle, separate meat from the bones and skin with your fingers. You can use a fork to pull the meat apart into shredded chunks or use a knife to cut it into smaller pieces—whatever you prefer.

• Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.

• A good portion of that shredded chicken can be used in chicken soup or tasty chicken salads, and you can refrigerate extras to fill up other dishes or make sandwiches. 

Note: chicken bones and skin can be used again to make light chicken stock. But we love nibbling the little marrow out of the soft, easy-to-chew-cooked chicken bones—not a pretty sight but so good. So, there is never much left to flavor another chicken stock. But if you are not a bone nibbler, reuse the chicken bones and skin or discard them.

What to do with the broth

• Strain any veggie scraps or herbs used to flavor the chicken broth.

• You can turn the broth immediately into soup for dinner. That can often be as simple as a Straciatella, noodle, or chicken soup ( add freshly chopped vegetables (like carrots, onions, leeks, celery, or whatever the soup recipe calls for). 

• If not immediately used, place the broth in individual-sized airtight containers, and store it in the refrigerator (up to 4 days) or freezer for later (up to 6 months). 

• Once ready to use in a dish, spoon off the fat that has congealed on top and turned solid. I am not too picky about painstakingly removing any tiny chunks of it. 

Check my 35 Easy Homemade Recipes Using Chicken Broth Or Stock.

Note on skimming, straining the broth

Sometimes a foam (solid proteins) rises to the top when slow-poaching a whole chicken.

I still have the habit—thank you, mom—of occasionally skimming it off with a ladle.

But I am not overly obsessed about it and am less concerned with an utterly perfect strain that might leave some of these bits of protein sink to the bottom, at least not for a (chicken) soup.

But if you want to get it clear, like a consomme type of stock, strain it before it is completely cooled.

What's next? Try this easy and healthy chicken salad recipe to use up that shredded chicken, an Asian-inspired buckwheat noodle soup that can use some of this chicken broth, and make this delicious Stracciatella (or Italian egg drop) soup.

Also Recommended

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📖 Recipe

Tender Poached Whole Chicken

Mariska Ramondino

Poaching a whole chicken is one of the easiest and most economical things to make. You'll get savory broth and silky shredded chicken for savory soups, chicken salads, sandwiches, and much more.

4.63 from 16 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Soups and Salads

Cuisine International

Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients

 

For the Broth

• ▢ 1 whole chicken 3 to 5 ½-pounds
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sea or kosher salt
• ▢ Water
• ▢ 1 yellow onion peeled and cut into large chunks
• ▢ 2 - 3 cloves of garlic peeled (optional)
• ▢ Fresh Rosemary or Thyme leaves

Add Vegetables or veggie scraps—optional

• ▢ ½ - 1 leek chopped
• ▢ 1 - 2 large carrots chopped
• ▢ 2 - 3 celery stalks chopped

Instructions

 

• First, check if the chicken doesn't have any giblets in the cavity. If so, remove it, and set it aside.
• Use paper towels to pat-dry the whole bird, including the cavity. Take the giblets out of the small bag and pat-dry as well.
• Place the whole chicken and the giblets (except liver) in a large, deep stockpot—the chicken has to fit in the pot comfortably.
• If using, add either veggie scraps or freshly chopped vegetables and herbs like Rosemary or Thyme leaves, onions, carrots, leeks, and celery. I don't always add garlic, but that's an option too.
• Then add enough water to cover the whole chicken with a depth of two inches.
• Add one tablespoon of salt.
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil on medium/high heat. As soon as the water has come to a boil, immediately lower the heat to a very slow but steady simmer—a few bubbles should rise now and then steadily but gently. Then partly cover the pot.
• Cook for about 60 to 90 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the meat almost falls off the bone. Turn over the chicken at least once during the cooking process.
• Now and then, you might see a froth (protein scum) coming up to the surface. Skim it off with a ladle and discard.
• When done and the chicken is very tender, use tongs (I also like to use a slotted spoon in the other hand to support the chicken from below) to transfer the whole chicken from the pot to a large bowl or shallow container. Cover and set aside until it's cool enough to handle.
• Strain the liquid through a sieve and discard any vegetables if used.
• You can use all or some of it to make a soup or reserve the broth for later.
• If you want to reserve it for later, transfer it to individual-sized airtight containers and allow it to cool first before storing it in the fridge or freezer.
• When the chicken is cool enough to handle, use your fingers to separate any chicken meat from bones and skin. Discard the bones and skin.
• Shred big pieces of meat with your hands into smaller chunks, or use a fork to pull the meat apart. Use the meat immediately to make a chicken salad or in sandwiches, or store it in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days for later use.

Notes

• Giblets: I like to reserve the liver for another time, as it can add a distinctive livery flavor to the stock. You can refrigerate to pan-fry later with garlic and onions and toss on top of a green salad for a quick lunch.
• Straining the broth: If I use the broth immediately to make a chicken soup or Italian egg drop soup, I am less concerned with an utterly perfect strain. However, if you really want a clear stock and remove bits of protein that might have sunk to the bottom, then strain it before it is completely cooled using a fine sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth.
• Refrigerate chicken broth for up to 3 days: After refrigeration, a thick layer of fat will have risen to the top of the broth. When ready to use it, always skim off the fat that has congealed on top.
• Freeze the broth in individual-sized airtight containers for later and up to 6 months.
• A 4 to 4 ½-pound chicken yields about 5 cups of shredded chicken meat and 16 cups of chicken broth.
• Chicken bones and skin: either discard or use it again to make a light stock. Place them back in a large stock pot and cover them with salted cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook again for anywhere from 4 to 24 hours. You could use any veggie scraps again to add more flavor. Strain solids and cool broth. You could also make this in the slow cooker and follow the same process as this bone broth.

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Nutrition (% Daily value)

Calories: 64kcal (3%)Carbohydrates: 7g (2%)Protein: 4g (8%)Fat: 3g (5%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 12mg (4%)Sodium: 906mg (39%)Potassium: 169mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 4135IU (83%)Vitamin C: 5mg (6%)Calcium: 27mg (3%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.

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