Tricks for awesome chicken salad?

[Anonymous]

Don't want to service Chicken Salad.

[Anonymous]

Roasting the chicken really is key. Use bone-in, skin on breasts. The bone adds flavor and the skin keeps the meat moist during roasting. Remove the skin and discard (or eat b/c at this point it will be crispy and delicious) before you start shredding the meat.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I just use a bottled lite vinagrette dressing and it tastes marvy! You can test test what works best for you. I happen to think a lot of people don't like mayo anymore for any number of reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:agree with an earlier poster that shredded is much better than diced. Add lots of pepper OP and I happen to hate mayo and so do a lot of other people -- so I use a light vinagrette dressing ...it's more asian...has nuts and shredded carrots and celery and tastes great...also lasts out in the sun longer than ones made w/ mayo

I'm intrigued... tell me more! What's in your vinaigrette? (I also dislike mayo, so usually use sour cream and yogurt.)

[Anonymous]

I have heard that Macaroni salad is tacky, are meat based salads ok then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that Macaroni salad is tacky, are meat based salads ok then?

How about this: food that is food (you know, plants and animals) that tastes good is ok. It's bitches inventing new ways to one-up each other that's tacky.

[Anonymous]

Add red grapes to your chicken salad-it is great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:double the dressing and mix everything right before you service it.

http://www.wholeliving.com/133290/healthy-chicken-salad

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound (2 small whole breasts) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon
1 Granny Smith apple
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup finely diced fennel
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 cups red seedless grapes, cut in half
6 slices pumpernickel bread
1 bunch watercress, tough stems removed
Olive-oil cooking spray
Directions
Combine salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with some of the salt mixture; place in saute pan. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes (flip halfway through cooking time). Remove from pan; set aside.

In a bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, chives, tarragon, and remaining salt mixture. Core the apple, and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a medium bowl with lemon juice, and toss to combine. Add fennel, celery, and grapes. Cut reserved chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to salad with yogurt dressing; stir to combine. Serve on pumpernickel bread, open-faced, with watercress.

I say keep it simple. Add the following to the shredded chicken:

Mayo
Walnuts chopped
Taragon fresh
Green grapes (halves) or chopped apples

[Anonymous]

This one is very mayo-heavy, so would not work for a long picnic in the heat.

Coronation Chicken
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/5428598/The-real...-Coronation-Chicken.html

I skip the wine, use mango chutney instead of apricots, and use un-whipped cream. Not that it would help you for tomorrow's picnic, but you can make ahead and freeze the onion, curry and tomato mixture.

[Anonymous]

F Martha, but this recipe is awesome -
http://www.marthastewart.com/338188/chutney-chicken-salad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard that Macaroni salad is tacky, are meat based salads ok then?

How about this: food that is food (you know, plants and animals) that tastes good is ok. It's bitches inventing new ways to one-up each other that's tacky.

Agree, PP. there is plenty of room in all of us to enjoy the up- and "down" scale cooking.

[Anonymous]

Mine's different every time I make it. But the consistent tricks to getting out of the boring zone, for me, are:

a) add something crunchy, but chop it really small. Apples, carrots, water chestnuts, red peppers.
b) or, if you feel like it, add something sweet like grapes, raisins, dried cranberries. Or pickle relish. I only do one of (a) or (b), not both.
c) if you eat them, nuts are a good thing. Especially toasted walnuts. But any nuts, really. Generally pan-toasted.
d) add something to your mayo. Could be ketchup, hot mustard, horseradish, or a ton of pepper. Just something to get it out of the boring mayonnaise zone.

I've never tried chicken salad with a vinaigrette before. Sounds good; I'll have to try it.

I don't worry about how the chicken is. Whatever I have left over. Usually that's 2-day old scraps from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

[Anonymous]

When I make it, I like to use half mayo and half sour cream. Just adds more creaminess with less goo. If I'm buying it, I get Robert's chicken salad at Harris Teeter and get nostalgic for Wrightsville Beach.

[Anonymous]

The easiest thing to do is use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred the white meat. I personally hate dark meat in my chicken salad, but that's a personal preference.

[Anonymous]

I cannot stand chicken salad with fruit in it. No apples, no grapes, and no raisins!

[Anonymous]

I use a rotisserie chicken as well, only white meat. Fresh herbs in your dressing go a long way- tarragon, dill, parsley. Mayo and sour cream mixed to give a creamier, less heavy dressing. Little bit of lemon juice. I'd leave out grapes or nuts- too divisive. But some relish might be good. I also serve mine with croissants and lettuce/tomato- makes the sandwich feel prettier.