Juicy and Tender Poached Chicken With Watercress and Miso Dressing

Poached chicken may not be as popular as fried, roasted, and braised chicken, but when it's done correctly, its tenderness and juiciness are unmatched. They key to perfect poached chicken, though, is to not cook it like most recipes say. Instead, follow the cold-poaching method I developed and wrote about in depth for chicken that comes out supremely plump and tender, not stringy and dry or, worse, raw in the middle. Those unfortunate results are common pitfalls with the more traditional methods like simmering until the chicken is cooked, or dropping it into hot water, turning off the heat and letting it sit for a while, hoping it'll be properly cooked at the end (spoiler: it's often not).

By adding the chicken along with flavorful aromatics to cold water, you gently bring it up to temperature with the water. Then, the key is to hold it at a temperate well below a simmer, just a bit hotter than chicken's ideal internal doneness temperature (around 150 to 170°F). There's no food safety risk, the chicken will be exposed to high enough temperatures for long enough to eliminate any unwanted bacteria like salmonella.

Served with rice and peppery watercress and dressed in a bright, flavorful miso vinaigrette, it makes an easy, light, clean-tasting dinner or lunch.