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Homemade Chicken Ham

April 5th, 2012

I found this recipe on justbento.com (currently my favourite site). I don’t eat pork or anything that comes out of a pig but I don’t mind finding alternatives to feed my little family. So, now I am quite happy that I’ve found a substitute when a recipe has ham in it.

I have to say that my first go was OK but verging to disaster as it was a bit salty. My fault for being lazy and not rinse the chicken breast properly. But I am getting better at it and am happy to share my take on the recipe… as I decided to use what is in the cupboard, I don’t have sea salt as in the justbento recipe, I just used normal salt. It might taste better with sea salt… I’ll try it one day..,. when I remember to add sea salt to my shopping list.

homemade chicken ham - torihamu

Ingredients:

1tbsp clear runny honey
1tsp salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1tsp dried thyme
1tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 freezer/ziplock bag
cling film

  1. Put the honey and salt in a freezer bag and squish the bag around to mix it.
  2. Add the chicken breast into the bag and squish it around again to coat the chicken breast with the mixture.
  3. Add thyme and pepper and squish the bag again to evenly coat the chicken.
  4. Squeeze the air out of the bag, seal it and leave chicken to marinate in the fridge for 48hours.
  5. After 48hours, take the chicken out of the bag and rinse well under the cold water tap. Leave it to soak in plenty of cold water for an hour to desalinate.
  6. Bring a pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating up, take the chicken out of the cold water and wipe off access liquid with paper towels.
  7. Lay the clingfilm down and roll the chicken breast tightly. Seal the edges by twisting them like a candy wrapper. Then take a smaller piece of clingfilm, roll it around the chicken again to secure the edges.
  8. Reduce the heat and let the water simmer. Drop in the wrapped chicken and let it simmer for five minutes. Take it off the heat and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and leave it to poach for at least an hour.
  9. After an hour, you can take it out and slice it and it’s ready for your sandwich or bento box :)

I tend to make more than one chicken breast at a time but when I do this, I still put each chicken breast in separate bag and cling film.

 

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