Crockpot Poached Chicken

As the warmer months approach, I've been on a mission to create recipes that don't require my oven or stovetop. Do you believe it, there's no AC here in Germany?!

Ya, I didn't believe it either. Until we got here, and realized… no AC. Hence the desire for no-heat recipes as often as possible. The oven really warms up the house, but the crockpot is a wonderful alternative. 

I use poached chicken in any number of recipes, but I especially love it for chicken salad (stay tuned this week for my Hard Rock Chicken Salad recipe!). The Hubs would rather I make buffalo chicken dip with it, so I usually poach enough for both recipes. 

The process is relatively simple. Add your chicken breasts to the crockpot, then pour in enough chicken broth to completely cover the breasts. If you don't have chicken broth on hand, you can always use water. Or a combination of both. I prefer chicken stock because it adds a little extra flavor. 

You can also add in various seasonings and spices too! Because I made this especially for my chicken salad, I topped the broth off with 1 lemon (sliced into wedges) and a few sprigs of fresh dill. 

The rest is easy… just put the lid on your crockpot, set the heat to low, and walk away for a few hours! My chicken takes about 2-3 hours to cook, depending on thickness. I suggest you start checking for doneness around the 2 hour mark. When done, remove the chicken from the pot and let rest for 10 minutes before you shred, slice, or dice it. 

Why do we let the chicken rest? Because we don't want all the yummy juices to run out and leave us with tough, dry chicken. Trust me, peeps. 

Poached chicken is great for so many recipes, I couldn't even list them all. But try it with chicken salad, buffalo dip, quesadillas, chopped on green salads… the list could go on and on! And you don't need to heat up your house to do it either, total bonus. 

I'll be back soon with my special chicken salad recipe, Hard Rock style. Until then peeps, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Crockpot Poached Chicken

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 cups chicken broth

1 lemon, cut into wedges

4 sprigs fresh dill

Directions:

Add all ingredients to your crock pot. The liquid should completely cover the chicken breasts. If it does not, add enough water until the breasts are covered. Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours, checking after 2 hours to see if the chicken is cooked. Do not let the chicken overcook or it will dry out. Once cooked, remove from pot and allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before slicing, shredding, or dicing.