Chicken Salad - Shredded or Sliced, Diced, Cubed?

[MelissaH]

If I've cooked chicken breasts specifically for the purpose of making chicken salad, I'll dice with a knife. If I'm using leftover roast chicken, I'll rip it off the carcass while it's still warm, and then run a knife through it a few times so it's mostly shredded but doesn't have any overlong fibers.

[gfweb]

5 hours ago, rotuts said:

sorry try here for the complete show.  let it load before you Peek :

 

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365814984/

 

PS   I do CS  all ways .  what's extremely important is that the Ck. not be dry.

 

so I have to start w  SV chicken    sometimes just white meat , sometimes just dark , sometimes a mix

 

and they are bagged separately and SV'd in ' bulk ' and FZ  142 for the skinless / boneless / tendon less  white  3 hrs +

 

160 F  x 8 or so for the dark.  one of these days Ill try the dark at 142 for 8 and see how that goes.

 

if you start w tender , moist meat , with most of the flavor still in the meat  , even a generic supermarket chicken, that's

 

2/3 d's of the CS battle right there !  

 

 

 

 

I more often do turkey salad.... with SV smoked breast. For  that medium chunks...slivered red grapes...candied pecans

[JohnT]

It depends on what chicken parts are used. If the chicken is purchased as a pack of breasts and it was summer, I would smoke the breasts and then cut them across the grain and serve on a green leaf salad with a ramekin of sweet chilli sauce. If I was planning on making a straight chicken salad that could be served with a leaf salad or as a sandwich (chicken mayo style), I would roast a whole chicken (with sage, onion and breadcrumb stuffing) and then shred it by hand, with the exception of the breasts, which would be diced. I do not know what it is like in your part of the world, but here at the bottom end of Africa a whole chicken is actually cheaper than buying a pack of four breasts!

 

Although we can buy the US style mayo, most folk here either make their own or use a mayo produced by Cross & Blackwell, which is the most popular - it is a smooth, slightly runny type rather than the thick gelatinous Heinz product from the US.

 

When making a salad with a roasted chicken, I always add some of the stuffing to the mix - it adds great flavour to the chicken which really has little flavour in these modern days.

[suzilightning]

8 hours ago, JohnT said:

Although we can buy the US style mayo, most folk here either make their own or use a mayo produced by Cross & Blackwell, which is the most popular - it is a smooth, slightly runny type rather than the thick gelatinous Heinz product from the US.

 

 

Salad cream?

 

Just chopped up some green onions, roasted chicken breast and a lady apple then mixed it with some mayo and celery salt for a lettuce cup.....

[gfweb]

@JohnT Not sure many in the US buy Heinz mayo.  Hellman's/BestFoods rules in the North and West and Duke's in the South. 

[Soupcon]

My chicken salads depend on the season and what I happen to have on hand at the time. I always include onions of some kind (shallot, scallion, red), toasted nuts, chopped celery, and any other suitable vegetable diced or some kind of fresh or dried fruit. The dressing is usually home made mayonnaise cut with sour cream or creme fraiche and mixed with what ever curry paste I have on hand. I dice my chicken and use poached chicken breasts or left over roast chicken.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Soupcon
spelling (log)

[ChocoMom]

I guess I'm pretty flexible with chicken salad.  For the cracker type applications, I prefer shredded- so long as it is finely shredded, and not stringy like. For roll ups, or sammies, finely diced works well.  Over salads, thin slices or larger chunks are perfectly fine.   I prefer it with a bit of green onion, finely diced celery, even nuts and diced apple..   The dressing part is typically mayo with a little sour cream or cream cheese. Depends on what is in the fridge, really. 

The salad I get sometimes from the deli has shredded chicken, sliced almonds, and celery...and is delicious! 

 

When I make it at home, it is almost certainly from leftover chicken breasts that have been either baked or cooked in the slow cooker. 

[JohnT]

6 hours ago, suzilightning said:

Salad cream?

No, mayonnaise - they also make a salad cream though.

 

4 hours ago, gfweb said:

@JohnT Not sure many in the US buy Heinz mayo.  Hellman's/BestFoods rules in the North and West and Duke's in the South. 

Apologies, I incorrectly stated Heinz but should have stated Unilever - I was talking about their Hellman product, which is not as popular in South Africa as the Cross & Blackwell mayo. This is most likely due to the fact that for many years the US had an embargo against South Africa and most people of that eara grew up with the C&B mayo and not the Hellman mayo, thus acquiring a taste for the one and not the other. I think, if a survey was done with youngsters today, the youngsters are most probably going to choose Hellman over the C&B product. I have never seen a Duke's product here.

[weinoo]

Yesterday, this happened (again). With a breast set aside (specifically for this use) from a whole bird, and poached in some stock...

 

\

 

\

 

Used both in the salad, along with celery, onion, dill, scallion, parsley, lemon, mayo and s & p.

[lindag]

It may seem sacrilegious but I much prefer canned chicken breast (such as Swanson’s) to roasted or poached.

I find the texture to be superior.  It is much like the texture of tuna salad and makes for better sandwiches which is what I make it for.

[heidih]

Shredded for Asian style like "Chinese shicken salad" or  Goi ga, diced for old fashioned American tearoom style.

[rotuts]

@lindag 

 

consider SV CkBr

 

any simple system yo can Muster

 

re S v C :

 

1 ) texture in your mouth

 

2 ) surface area to absorb additional add-in flavors.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We only make Asian chicken salads.  

Cubed for curried (mayo, toasted curry powder, green onion, mango chutney, cilantro.

Shredded for "Chinese" (soy-sesame dressing) or Vietnamese (lime juice, mint, cilantro dressing)

 

We use sliced chicken for sandwiches.

[Kim Shook]

I like the consistency of chicken salad that is made with a couple of different "cuts" - especially if its going to be on a sandwich where a big dice would result in losing a bunch of it every time the sandwich was picked up.  I do a really fine dice - really a mince - with probably 1/4 to 1/3 of it and a 1-inch dice that I then "smush" a bit with my fingers.  The bigger pieces end up being a mix between a chunk and a shred, but not long shreds.  This all gets mixed together with what ever ingredients and dressing I am using.  Great.  Now I want some chicken salad.  😁

[lindag]

5 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

I like the consistency of chicken salad that is made with a couple of different "cuts" - especially if its going to be on a sandwich where a big dice would result in losing a bunch of it every time the sandwich was picked up.  I do a really fine dice - really a mince - with probably 1/4 to 1/3 of it and a 1-inch dice that I then "smush" a bit with my fingers.  The bigger pieces end up being a mix between a chunk and a shred, but not long shreds.  This all gets mixed together with what ever ingredients and dressing I am using.  Great.  Now I want some chicken salad.  😁

I've been adding plumped Craisins to my chicken salad, it really adds a lot.

Also, as my friend said she made hers with Miracle Whip  I switched to that and it is delicious.  I've never really cared for MW but it does have its uses, I have found.

[Kim Shook]

48 minutes ago, lindag said:

I've been adding plumped Craisins to my chicken salad, it really adds a lot.

Also, as my friend said she made hers with Miracle Whip  I switched to that and it is delicious.  I've never really cared for MW but it does have its uses, I have found.

Love Craisins in chicken salad - especially with toasted walnuts or almonds.  And I share your MW love - I grew up with it.  I don't use it for everything like my mother did, but there are some things I love it with - Waldorf salad, fruit salad, some chicken salads and ham salad. 

[weinoo]

 

Are you two from California? What next, slivered almonds??? (Oh shit,I see you said that!)

[heidih]

California might serve it in avocado halves Goes well with the style that incudes curry powder

[Margaret Pilgrim]

47 minutes ago, heidih said:

California might serve it in avocado halves Goes well with the style that incudes curry powder

Or quartered cantaloupe.   

[BeeZee]

I will be making chicken salad for Mother’s day brunch/lunch since my husband is the outlier who won’t eat lox. I plan to cube poached chicken, fine dice celery, use a mixture of mayo and Greek yogurt, and a bit of grainy mustard.

[weinoo]

25 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

my husband is the outlier who won’t eat lox

 

Lots of people won't eat lox.  What about smoked salmon? Sable? Sturgeon? Herring? Whitefish?

[BeeZee]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Lots of people won't eat lox.  What about smoked salmon? Sable? Sturgeon? Herring? Whitefish?

I call him the outlier because in our family, even my BIL, who eats like a 6 year old, likes lox. My husband does not like smoked or preserved fish. Raw, however is fine.

[gfweb]

I make a smoked turkey salad with slivered red grapes that is excellent. Crumbled candied bacon on top and pickled onions

[lindag]

12 hours ago, gfweb said:

I make a smoked turkey salad with slivered red grapes that is excellent. Crumbled candied bacon on top and pickled onions

Pickles onions are my jam!  I make sure there are two in my happy hour Clam Digger.

[lindag]

19 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Are you two from California? 

Please don't paint me with that particular brush!