Cooking Chicken for Chicken Salad

[Kim Shook]

So what is the consensus – poaching or roasting? Ina says to roast. Other folks that I also trust say to poach. I am making chicken salad for Christmas Eve and want firm, tender, moist chicken that I can cut into very small cubes that won’t turn to mush when I mix with the other ingredients. I am serving it with miniature croissants and want people to be able to make their own sandwiches without a lot of fuss and mess. Thanks!!

[lancastermike]

My late mother always told me that it needed to be poached. But the best chicken salad I make is with the chicken smoked on the BGE.

I do believe that the classic method is poaching, but I think it tastes much better if the chicken, is smoked, grilled or done in the oven

[HungryC]

Poached/boiled is the way I'd go, since you're pairing it with rich, buttery croissants. If it was a stand-alone salad on a lettuce leaf, or tucked inside squishy white bread, the roasted chix would deliver more browned flavor. If you're concerned about it being too bland, spike the mayo with spices.

[Mjx]

Depends on the flavour and texture you want; roasting seems to give more robust, complex results, poaching, especially in fat, gives more delicate, subtle results.

[rotuts]

either way. I like SV as one can do a ton in advance and freeze and use for multiple dishes.

[Special K]

I always poach chicken legs and thighs in a pot of stock I've started a half-hour or so earlier. When it's done, I pull it out and let it cool, then strip the meat off and toss the bones right back into the stockpot. It's a two-fer!

[lochaven]

I make chicken salad often and have always thought poaching lends much more to the traditional flavor I grew up with. Besides, I think a roast chicken is pretty close to perfection, so I prefer to keep these flavors separate and apart. It all depends on what you prefer.

[Kim Shook]

Thank you all so much! I guess I'm poaching!