Boiling chicken is one of the many ways that cooks can safely prepare chicken for consumption and use in recipes. In fact, many recipes that call for shredded chicken advise boiling as a cooking method as it lends itself well to shredding. Also, many cooking experts recommend boiling chicken for those who want to save time by boiling chicken and then slicing and freezing it for use later in
. recipes. The first step for boiling chicken is to place it in a large pot and then to fill it with cold water until the chicken is covered. It is possible to boil any type of chicken, from whole birds with bones included to small, boneless cuts or slices. Due to its size and mass, a whole chicken will take the longest amount of time to boil while small boneless pieces will that the least amount of time. Experts also note that while bones in the chicken will increase the amount of time necessary to cook the chicken, the presence of bones will increase the flavor of the resulting broth, and cooks should note this if they intend to use the broth produced by boiling the chicken. The next step is to flavor the broth and the chicken with any additional ingredients if so desired. Common flavorings include peppercorn, celery, carrots and onion. Then, cooks should bring the pot of water to a consistent boil before reducing the temperature so that the chicken only lightly simmers. This will help to maintain the flavor and natural moisture of the chicken while cooking it thoroughly. Another method for cooks to consider is poaching the chicken, which is similar to boiling, but instead continuing to simmer after reaching a boil, the chicken is removed from the heat and it is covered for a longer amount of time. More Reference Links: http://www.favoritefreezerfoods.com/how-to-boil-chicken.html http://www.cookography.com/2007/how-to-poach-a-chicken-breast
