9.1 Poaching

What poaching is

To poach is to cook food slowly in hot liquid that is not bubbling. Of all the cooking methods, it uses the least heat, so the food cooks gently and gradually.

Poaching is the right choice for delicate foods. Good examples are eggs, fish, the white meat of chicken, and fruit. It is also a healthy way to cook: liquid, not fat, moves the heat into the food.

The right temperature

Poaching liquid is kept between 160°F and 190°F. That is well below a simmer.

The surest check is an instant-read thermometer. Without one, watch the surface. The liquid should move a little as warm liquid rises from below (a convection current), but there should be no bubbling at all.

Why patience matters

Poaching liquids

Plain water works, and so does milk. For more flavor, cooks use a seasoned broth called a court bouillon. A court bouillon has four parts:

• the liquid itself, often a stock or broth;
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• an acid, such as wine, vinegar or lemon juice;
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• a bouquet garni, which is a small bundle of aromatics such as bay leaf, parsley, thyme, garlic and peppercorns, tied with string or wrapped in cheesecloth;
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• mirepoix, a mix of chopped onion, carrot and celery. For a white mirepoix, the traditional ratio is two parts onion to one part carrot and one part celery.
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Fat can also be a poaching liquid. Cooks poach in olive oil, duck fat or clarified butter. A shelled raw lobster tail poached in butter or oil is one well-known example.

Fruit for dessert is often poached in a mix of water and sweet wine, flavored with spices such as cinnamon, cloves or star anise.

Poaching a chicken breast

• Heat about 2 inches of poaching liquid until it is just under a simmer. You will see many small bubbles on the bottom of the pan, but none rising to the top.
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• Put the chicken in. Watch the heat the whole time. Turn it down if the liquid starts to bubble; turn it up a little if you see no movement in the liquid.
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• If the breast is not fully covered, that is fine. Turn it over with tongs partway through. If it is fully covered and the pan can go in the oven, you can set the pan in a 325°F oven so the heat reaches it evenly from all sides.
• Cook until the inside of the chicken is safely cooked. Poultry must reach 74°C (165°F) inside, held for 15 seconds. Check with an accurate instant-read thermometer; pressing the meat or cutting into it is less reliable.
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• Lift the chicken out.

The meat will look pale. Low, wet heat does not brown food, so poached chicken misses the deep flavor that browning gives. In return, it stays moist.

The liquid left in the pan can become a sauce. Reduce part of it, then thicken or enrich it with beurre manié, by mounting it with butter (monté au beurre), or with a spoonful of cream. A little of a rich sauce lifts the whole plate.

No special pan is needed. Any sauté pan or saucepan that holds two to three inches of liquid will do, although special fish poachers are sold for poaching a whole fish.

Poaching an egg

Poached eggs go wrong for many cooks. Most failures are avoided by keeping the water below a simmer.

• Bring about 3 inches of water with a splash of vinegar to roughly 170°F. Small bubbles should cover the bottom of the pan but should not rise and burst.
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• Break the egg into a small cup first.
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• Swirl the water in a circle. Lower the cup to the middle of the pan and tip it so the egg slides in gently.
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• If loose threads of white drift away, guide them back with a spoon or a heat-proof spatula.
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• Poach for about 4 to 5 minutes. Jiggle the egg with a spoon: the white should feel fairly firm, and the yolk should still wobble.
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• Lift it out with a slotted spoon and drain it on paper towels.
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To get ahead for service, put poached eggs into ice water. When it is time to serve, warm each one for about 40 seconds in water at poaching temperature.

A poached egg can sit on buttered toast or go into Eggs Benedict. It can also top a salad with a sharp, acidic dressing; when the yolk breaks, it runs into the dressing and becomes part of it.