Literally named “chicken in a pot,” poule au pot is a traditional Sunday dinner in France. This rustic yet healthy dish consists of a whole chicken cooked with vegetables in a flavorful broth (no store-bought stock needed). For such a simple recipe, the result is an incredibly flavorful dish, with fall-off-the-bone chicken guaranteed every time.
The origin of this recipe is linked to France’s King Henry IV (1553–1610), who was born in the Château de Pau, in Béarn. The story goes that the king democratized and established the poule au pot as France’s national dish in the 17th century, in response to the terrible famines caused by the long-lasting religious wars between the Huguenot Protestants and the Catholics. The rumor states that he declared to his minister, Maximilien de Béthune (duc de Sully), “If God gives me more life, I will ensure there won’t be a plowman in my kingdom who does not have the means to enjoy a poule au pot on Sundays.”
Tips for Success
Traditionally, poule au pot is made with a “poule” (a stewing hen). The use of this larger poultry yields a richer, more complex-tasting dish. But since stewing hens have become harder to find and more expensive nowadays, the recipe is now almost exclusively made with chicken.Many agree that poule au pot is in fact one of the easiest ways to cook a chicken. It requires little skill and preparation and guarantees a juicy, perfectly tender chicken flavored by a fragrant vegetable broth. Since the whole chicken cooks in broth for a long time, it’s indeed almost impossible to mess up.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge at least one hour before you start this recipe. This will allow the meat to come closer to room temperature and help avoid any thermal shock when placing it in the simmering broth, which would toughen the meat.
- Don’t be afraid to season this dish generously. Like most soups and chicken dishes, make sure to salt the broth when you start cooking and then adjust the seasoning at the end, if needed, to your liking.
- If you can get your hands on organic vegetables (carrots and turnips), keep the peels on as they will add extra flavor to the broth. Just make sure you scrub them first with a vegetable brush.
- Keeping the spices and herbs simple is all you need to build classic French flavors; cloves, black peppercorns, thyme, and bay leaves should suffice. But you can of course add your own twist to the broth by adding a few slices of fresh ginger, two or three star anise pods, or even a lemongrass stalk cut in half lengthwise.
- My personal tip is to keep the leaves of the celery stalk to later garnish the finished dish. It will add a nice crunchy component and a fresh zing.
Poule au Pot
Poule au pot is a very simple dish that takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to cook. It’s thus a dish best made on weekends when you can devote a few hours to being home and pop your head into the kitchen occasionally to check on the pot.Poule au pot is traditionally served on its own or poured atop a bed of cooked white rice. Any leftovers? Discard the bones, shred the chicken, dice up the vegetables, and add noodles to the broth to make a comforting chicken noodle soup.
Poule au pot can be made and refrigerated for three to four days and frozen for up to three months.
- 1 whole chicken (4 pounds)
- 1 whole onion
- 5 whole cloves
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 leek
- 1 celery stalk
- 3 to 4 carrots
- 4 turnips
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Prepare your vegetables. Take your onion and poke the cloves (the spice) into its flesh, using the sharp end of the clove. Peel the garlic cloves. Cut the leek and celery into 3 pieces each. Peel and halve the carrots. Halve the turnips. Set aside.
Place the chicken into a pot that is large enough to contain the chicken, a good amount of water, and the vegetables that will be added later.
Fill the pot with enough water to cover the top of the chicken’s breast. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the water starts simmering, you should notice some yellow-brown foam rising to the top of the pot. Using a spoon or ladle, skim this foam and dispose of it. When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and add the vegetables, herbs, and spices. Turn the heat back up to high to reboil.
Continue to skim any foam that may appear. The foam will stop forming after a few minutes.
Once the entire pot comes back to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 2 hours and 30 minutes, undisturbed.
After the time mark, taste the broth and adjust the seasoning if needed. The chicken should now be fully tender and almost falling apart. Turn off the stove and carefully remove the chicken from the pot onto a plate. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
Once slightly cooled, cut the chicken into pieces and transfer onto serving plates. Place a few vegetables around the chicken and pour the broth over the top.
Enjoy as is or with cooked white rice, fresh country bread, or both.
