Boiling Chicken

Boiling Chicken


Yield: 6-8 cups cooked chicken

2 Chickens see note

Water

1 Onion, quartered

1 Carrot, cut in thirds

1 Celery rib, cut in thirds -along with some celery -leaves

Salt



Leave the skin on the chickens. Place chickens in a large pot along with the vegetables. Add water to almost cover the chickens. Add salt. Cover the pan and bring slowly to a boil. If a foam or scum rises to the top, remove as much as you can with a large spoon. Reduce heat and simmer for no more than 1 1/2 hours.

Remove and discard vegetables. Remove chicken to a platter or plates to allow to drain and cool until able to handle. Place a strainer over a large bowl and pour the chicken broth through. Refrigerate the broth so the fat can start to rise to the top for easy removal.

Remove chicken from the bones and chop any large pieces. You should have enough here for four main dishes, and perhaps some left over. Refrigerate if you are not going to use right away.

If you are going to freeze the diced chicken, it is best to freeze it with a little broth included. I have not had good luck freezing diced cooked chicken in zip-locks.

Remove the fat from the broth. What you don't use on cooking day can be frozen in plastic rigid containers. You can make it into soup and freeze it!

Note: If you only want white meat, you can cook only chicken breasts. I recommend that you use the bone-in breasts for better flavor. Use approximately 2 1/2 pounds of bone-in chicken breasts to equal one chicken.