1 Choose your chicken Traditionally, recipes call for an old boiling fowl, but those can be hard to get hold of these days, while a whole chicken yields far more meat than is required here â by all means use one, strip off the meat and save the excess for something else entirely, such as a pie, but otherwise legs are a flavourful and economical choice. (Note, a whole chicken will serve eight and require double the other ingredients.) 2 Poach the chicken Put the legs, skin on, in a large pan with two litres of cold water and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.