Simmering Less Tender Meats and Poultry

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Published 2025

For fresh meats and poultry, use enough liquid to cover the meat completely, but don’t use too much, as flavors will be diluted. Water is the main cooking liquid, but other liquids, such as wine, can be added to flavor the meat. Add herbs, spices, and a generous amount of mirepoix to give a good flavor to the meat.
For cured meats, especially those that are heavily salted or smoked, use a generous amount of water to help draw excess salt or smoky flavor from the meat. In some cases, such as country hams, the water may even have to be changed during cooking to remove salt from the meat. Heavily seasoned cured meats, such as corned beef, are often simmered in pure, unseasoned water, but milder cured meats may be simmered with mirepoix and herbs. Do not add salt, however, because cured meats already contain a great deal of salt.