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1
Place the chickens breast side down and side by side in a pot just large enough to hold them snugly.
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2
Add the onions, carrots, celery, 2 teaspoons salt and 9 cups of cold tap water.
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3
Wrap the thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns together in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie the ends of the package together securely with string.
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4
Add the pouch to the pot containing the chickens.
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5
Place an overturned ovenproof dinner plate (a little smaller than the cooking pot) on top of the chickens to hold them under the water.
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6
Bring the mixture to a boil (it should take 12 to 15 minutes), reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and boil the chickens gently for 20 minutes.
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7
Turn off the heat and let the chickens remain in the pot, covered, to continue cooking in the residual heat of the stock for 30 to 45 minutes.
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8
Remove the chickens from the stock and place them on a platter.
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9
You should have about 12 cups of stock and vegetables remaining.
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10
Using a ladle, skim and discard as much or as little of the fat from the surface of the liquid as you like.
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11
Set aside 2 cups of the stock and vegetables and leave the remaining 10 cups in the cooking pot.
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12
When the chickens are cold enough to handle, remove their skins and separate each chicken into four pieces.
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13
Leave on the bones or pull the meat in large chunks from the bones.
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14
Place the chicken in a gratin dish and cover it with 2 cups of the reserved stock and vegetables.
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15
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to reheat, or cover with foil and keep warm in a 130-degree oven until the rice is prepared.
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16
For the rice: Combine the rice, a teaspoon of salt and the remaining 10 cups of stock and vegetables together in the pot used to cook the chickens.
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17
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
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18
When the liquid is boiling, reduce the heat to medium or low, cover with a lid and boil gently for 45 minutes, until the rice is cooked but the mixture is still slightly runny.
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19
Serve the rice with pieces of the chicken on top and about 2 tablespoons of rice cooking liquid spooned over each serving.
