You got it all wrong. Chicken salad doesn’t have to suck. It turns out you can make it super delicious, you just need to care, and by care i mean take time to make the perfect dressing. It should be almost salty, with a notable lemony presence, and a touch of zip from the mustard. You should want to drink it straight from the bowl.
Get that right and you will love chicken salad again.
I make mine with smoked chicken breast, done on the pellet smoker @275 till it hits 155. Doing this takes it to the next level. A good idea is to use a leftover breast from another dish. Try this smoked chicken and zucchini salad it’s awesome. Making it with poached or oven cooked is fine too.
All amounts are approximate, add more, add less. Nail the dressing and you’ll be happy. Trust me.
| Mise en Place | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRODUCE | STAPLES | ||
| 1/2 cup | grapes, cut in quarters | 1/4 cup | sliced almonds |
| 1-2 stalk | celery, cut in half, sliced | 1/2 cup | mayo |
| 1 tbs | parsley, minced | table salt | |
| 1 tbs | dill, minced | fresh ground pepper | |
| 1/2 red onion | small matchsticks | 1 tsp | dijon mustard |
| 1/2 lemon | juiced | MEAT | |
| 1 | chicken breast, cooked, cooled, diced | ||
| Equipment | |
|---|---|
| 2 | bowls |
| Directions | |
|---|---|
| Step | Action |
| 1 | whisk together mayo, big pinch of salt, few grinds of pepper, and mustard |
| 2 | start whisking in lemon juice to dressing, till tasty and slightly thinned. you may not use all of the juice, you may use more. |
| 3 | add in the parsley and dill and adjust seasoning. |
| 4 | combine chicken, grapes, celery, onion, and almonds in bowl. fold in half the dressing. |
| 5 | assess, if it needs more dressing add it. repeat till satisfied |
| 6 | eat! |
Categories: Salad
