Poached Poulet With Brown Rice
- 2 chickens (about 3 pounds each, minus neck and gizzard)
- 2 large onions (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (4 1/2 cups)
- 3 carrots (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2 cups)
- 2 ribs celery (4 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups)
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- 1 1/4 cups brown short-grain rice
- Place the chickens breast side down and side by side in a pot just large enough to hold them snugly.
- Add the onions, carrots, celery, 2 teaspoons salt and 9 cups of cold tap water.
- Wrap the thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns together in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie the ends of the package together securely with string.
- Add the pouch to the pot containing the chickens.
- Place an overturned ovenproof dinner plate (a little smaller than the cooking pot) on top of the chickens to hold them under the water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil (it should take 12 to 15 minutes), reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and boil the chickens gently for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the chickens remain in the pot, covered, to continue cooking in the residual heat of the stock for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Remove the chickens from the stock and place them on a platter.
- You should have about 12 cups of stock and vegetables remaining.
- Using a ladle, skim and discard as much or as little of the fat from the surface of the liquid as you like.
- Set aside 2 cups of the stock and vegetables and leave the remaining 10 cups in the cooking pot.
- When the chickens are cold enough to handle, remove their skins and separate each chicken into four pieces.
- Leave on the bones or pull the meat in large chunks from the bones.
- Place the chicken in a gratin dish and cover it with 2 cups of the reserved stock and vegetables.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to reheat, or cover with foil and keep warm in a 130-degree oven until the rice is prepared.
- For the rice: Combine the rice, a teaspoon of salt and the remaining 10 cups of stock and vegetables together in the pot used to cook the chickens.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to medium or low, cover with a lid and boil gently for 45 minutes, until the rice is cooked but the mixture is still slightly runny.
- Serve the rice with pieces of the chicken on top and about 2 tablespoons of rice cooking liquid spooned over each serving.
chickens, onions, carrots, celery, salt, thyme, bay leaves, black peppercorns, brown shortgrain rice
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3624 (may not work)