Poached Chicken Chicken Breast Rick Bayless Food

LACQUERED CHICKEN IN RED MOLE

Steps:

• On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below the broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side. Scrape roasted tomatillos into a large bowl, along with any juices from the sheet.
• In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer half of the toasted sesame seeds to a large mixing bowl to combine with the roasted tomatillos; set aside the other half for serving.
• Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins from the dried chiles. Heat ¼ cup of the lard or oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Tear the dried chiles into large pieces and toast in the oil until they become aromatic and their interior side has lightened in color, 20-30 seconds for each side. (You will need to work in batches.) As they're done, remove them to a large bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the skillet; reserve the fat. Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and allow them to rehydrate, 30 minutes.
• With the skillet still over medium heat, toast the almonds and garlic cloves, stirring, until they are browned and the garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the almonds and garlic into the bowl with the tomatillos and sesame seeds, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet. Add the raisins to the hot skillet and stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they''ve puffed and browned slightly. Scoop them out, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet, and add to the tomatillo mixture; reserve the fat. Set the skillet aside, off the heat.
• Grind the black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and anise seed to powder in the mortar; transfer the powder to the tomatillo mixture. Tear the toasted bread into large pieces and add to the mixture; roughly chop the chocolate before adding.
• Add 2 cups of water to the tomatillo mixture. Drain the rehydrated chiles, reserving the soaking liquid if it''s not bitter. Otherwise, drain and substitute fresh water. Working in batches, add the drained chiles and some of the soaking liquid (or fresh water) to a blender; starting at low and moving to high speed, purée until very smooth. As you go, add more water as necessary to achieve an even consistency, similar to a thick canned tomato sauce. Use a rubber spatula to press the purée through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don''t pass through. Repeat with the remaining chiles.
• Heat ½ cup lard (or vegetable oil) in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it's hot, add the chile purée; it should sizzle sharply. Stir and adjust the heat as necessary to keep the chile purée at a brisk simmer. Stir every couple of minutes until it has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about 30 minutes.
• Blend the tomatillo-nut mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra cup or so of water to keep everything moving through the blades). Pass the purée through the medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; then add to the pot. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low to low heat, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture is considerably darker and thicker, about 30-45 minutes.
• Check the thickness by dragging a spoon or rubber spatula across the bottom of the pot. If the spoon leaves a deep trail, the mixture is thickened sufficiently.Add the broth to the mole and stir well. Partially cover the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat, stirring every 20 minutes or so, until the flavors come together and mellow, about 2 hours. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water.
• Season with salt (1 heaping tablespoon), and taste. Then add the sugar, stir, and taste. If necessary, add more sugar a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go, until the mole tastes mellow and balanced: you should be able to detect hints of flavor from all the ingredients. (Note: Mole can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.) For the Lacquered Chicken in Red Mole (not in video): Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, mix together 1 cup of the mole with the agave nectar or corn syrup. Simmer over medium heat until glossy and reduced to 1 cup, about 30 minutes; set aside. Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets; season generously with salt. Bake until the chicken pieces are tender to the bone and the juices at the thickest part of the leg and thigh portions run clear, about 45 minutes.Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Pour off the juices that have collected around the chicken, then brush the pieces liberally with the mole mixture. Sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds. Bake until a glaze forms on the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then serve each portion of chicken with an additional ½ cup of the mole, garnished with watercress or flat-leaf parsley.

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Roast the tomatoes and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below the broiler until they're darkly roasted with blackened and blistered spots, 5-6 minutes per side. (If using canned tomatoes, drain the tomatoes and set aside. Toast the chiles in a small dry skillet over medium heat, turning regularly, until they're soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes.)
• Dice the onion, reserving a few rings for garnish. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat; cook the diced onions, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the tomatoes and chiles from the oven and cool.
• Working over your baking sheet, pull off and discard the blackened tomato skins and, for round tomatoes, cut out the hard "cores" where the stems were attached. Transfer tomatoes and chiles to a food processor or blender, along with all the juices on the baking sheet. Blend to a smooth purée.
• Add the puréed tomatoes and chiles to the onions and cook, stirring, until they darken in color and thicken to the consistency of tomato paste, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the broth, partially cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with lard or oil. Bake at 350 degrees F just long enough to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep them warm and pliable.
• Spread about ¼ cup of the sauce over the bottom of four to six 9-inch individual oven-proof serving dishes, or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Working quickly while the tortillas are still pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, then line them up in the dishes, seam-side down. Cover with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese has browned slightly, about 15 minutes.
• Garnish the enchiladas with reserved onion rings and cilantro sprigs before serving.

POACHED CHICKEN (CHICKEN BREAST) - RICK BAYLESS

Steps:

• Place onion, water, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Add the chicken (plus addtional hot water to cover, if necessary), skim off any new foam that rises during the first minute of simmering, add herbs and bay leaves, partially cover and simmer for 13 minutes over medium heat.
• Remove the pot from the heat and let the checken cool in the broth, if there is time.
• Skin and bone the chicken, then shred the meat into small pieces, Sprinkle with salt before using, unless directed otherwise in your recipe.

POACHED CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Tip the carrot, celery and garlic into a large saucepan. Tie the herbs together in a bunch with a piece of kitchen string, then add to the pan with the chicken breasts, water and 2 tsp salt (adding a little more water if it doesn't quite cover the chicken). Bring to the boil, then immediately lower to a simmer and cook over a very low heat for 10-12 mins, or until the juices run clear in the thickest part of the breast.
• Remove the pan from the heat and scoop out the chicken breasts from the poaching liquid. Slice or tear the chicken into pieces and use in salads, soups or sandwiches.

MEXICAN ROASTED OR BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Defrost the chicken, if necessary, and remove the neck, liver, giblets, and excess fat. Rinse if needed, then place in the pot. If you prefer a lower-fat version, you can remove the skin and most of the fat from the bird, but the flavor will suffer (you can always skim the fat from the cooking liquid, later).
• Preheat the oven to 320°F.
• In a small bowl, combine the achiote, comino (cumin), oregano, and lime juice, then use the back of a spoon to mash into a thick marinade or thin paste.
• Place some of the marinade in the chicken and work it around inside, then pour the rest over the chicken and cover the skin.
• If you are braising in the oven, you may need to add a 1/2 cup of water, depending on the type of bird. Try it the first time you make the recipe, and you can leave it out, later, if you don't want the additional liquid. You do NOT need to add the water, if you cook this in the a slow cooker.
• If the lid for your pot has any holes, or there are any gaps between the lid and pan (or crock), cover the lid with foil so it seals tightly.
• The chicken will need to cook 2 1/2-3 hours. Check the temperature at the thickest parts and remove when the chicken is done (approx 170, a bit lower, if you want to finish the chicken on the stove top). If you want to brighten up the dish a bit and restore a sour bite, add another 1/4 cup of lime juice a couple of minutes before serving.

POACHED CHICKEN BREAST (CROCK POT)

Steps:

• Place the chicken in the slow cooker and pour over the broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 1-1/2 - 2 hours or until cooked. Let cool.
• I chop the chicken and lay it flat in small freezer bags. By using this method, you can break off any amount of chicken that you need and it thaws out quicker. The chicken will keep frozen for 3 months.
• Note: I would start checking to see if the chicken is cooked after 1-1/4 hours. (The original recipe stated 8 hours but taking it out after 6 the chicken was so overcooked, it cut into strings) Alot of the timing dedpends on the crockpot and/or size of chicken breast. Remember, the timing will change if you add/subtract the amount of chicken breast using. The success of this recipe depends on the chicken broth you are using. I use Major chicken broth concentrate -- Campbell chicken broth would work very well. Knoor's chicken cubes are way too salty and the color is not very appealing.