Chicken salad

[Andrew Fenton]

My wife is hosting a baby shower on Sunday, and I have been tasked with making chicken salad for sandwiches. Anybody have recommendations for such a salad?

[kimmyb72]

i like chicken salad with a little mayo & honey mustard, just enough to coat. then crushed pineapple, onion celery, & a little red cabbage for color. you can sub the pineapple for apples or grapes also.

[bbq4meanytime]

Use the store roasted (hot food) chicken or chicken breast for ease and good chicken flavor.

[fifi]

I like to add really sweet onion, celery and chopped pecans. Sometimes I add green seedless grapes cut in half. The dressing is usually 1/2 Hellman's and 1/2 plain yogurt.

[JAZ]

I personally have never been a fan of fruit of any sort in chicken salad, although many people do seem to enjoy it.

My standard "American style" is chicken, green onion and celery finely diced, mayonnaise, celery salt and black pepper. I used to add a teaspoon or so of Durkee's, but then they changed the formula or something, and I'm not crazy about the new one. A pinch of dried mustard is what I use instead now.

I used to get a great curried chicken salad at a deli that was made with onion, toasted slivered almonds, mayo and curry powder (and chicken, obviously). I believe they are the only restaurant in the world that does not add raisins to their curry-style chicken salad, and I, for one, appreciated it.

Something a little out of the ordinary is chicken, diced roasted red peppers, and minced basil with garlic mayonnaise (aioli, if you prefer).

But, please. No Fruit.

[Malawry]

I like to make it with celery, onion, mayo, chopped pecans and some raisins (which I soften and plump up by pouring boiling water over them and then letting them cool). Very popular with my girls.

[nessa]

Chicken, mayo, curry powder, green seedless grapes, chopped slivered almonds A touch of sugar can be added as well. Even my sweety who doesn't like "curry" can't get enough of this.

[fifi]

I also do the curry thing once in a while. No raisins, though. I am one of those folks that don't like raisins in food.

Funny... I don't normally like fruit in savory food but the grapes in the chicken salad is one of the rare exceptions. I like the texture contrast with the pecans. I put a lot of pecans.

I have also made a "cajun" version with finely chopped sweet onion, celery and red bell pepper. Then I season the mayo with cajun seasoning and a bit of lemon juice.

[NulloModo]

I like to keep chicken salad basic, and all about the chicken. Stew the chicken with plenty of oregano, a little cumin, some onion, garlic, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper.

Shred or roughly chop the chicken, add some mayo, hot sauce, and tiny chopped pieces of onion and red bell pepper, maybe even a little celery if you are of that type. Throw in some salt and pepper and you are ready to go.

[rickmartin]

Whole roasted chicken meat, scallion, home made mayonnaise, a little orange zest, salt and pepper on good country french bread. Simple. Yum.

RM

[Cusina]

I make a curried version with haved grapes and almonds and serve it on rasin bread. Interesting texture and flavor. Goes over well at something like a baby shower.

I'm not sure how many you are serving, but you might try making up two variteties. One more traditional, one fruity and more "exotic".

[Andrew Fenton]

I like to keep chicken salad basic, and all about the chicken. Stew the chicken with plenty of oregano, a little cumin, some onion, garlic, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper.

Shred or roughly chop the chicken, add some mayo, hot sauce, and tiny chopped pieces of onion and red bell pepper, maybe even a little celery if you are of that type. Throw in some salt and pepper and you are ready to go.

Now we're talking! But I wonder if a chicken salad with cayenne and hot sauce isn't a little assertive for a baby shower. I should ask if this is to be served on crustless white bread, or in a more rustic format.

[fifi]

BTW... Probably the best chicken salad I have ever made was with some chicken breast and thigh meat that I "stole" from a whole chicken while making chicken stock using the eGCI "recipe". The fact that you might add a whole chicken to the pot and then "steal" the best parts when they were just poached to perfection had never occurred to me in over 30 years of stock making. That was one of those *whack forehead with the heel of the hand* moments.

eGCI Stock Class here.

[Malawry]

I do the same thing, fifi. A batch of chicken stock at work is made with four whole chickens. The meat from the four chickens is just enough to serve everybody chicken salad for one lunch. Works out great.

[snowangel]

Barbara Tropp's Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking has a few great chicken salad recipes. No mayo in any of them.

[Dana]

I made a chicken salad this week. Didn't have any celery, for some odd reason - usually I have it on hand. Anyway, I added chopped zucchini instead and it was terrific. I prefer walnuts instead of pecans.

[purplewiz]

I know you're probably looking for a more traditional-style chicken salad, but this is one of my favorites.

1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 whole roasted almonds, chopped very roughly

1/2 cup tamari

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

The secret to this is to let it sit for at least an hour, preferably overnight, so the dressing is absorbed by the chicken. It's a very loose salad, so it's best served in pitas.

This is based on a chicken salad they served at Harmony Farms in North Carolina, where I first had it and fell in love with it.

Marcia.

[chicagowench]

I roast chicken breasts on the bone, then skin and rip into bite-sized chunks (or cut the meat up for neater presentation). Mix together mayonaise and dijon mustard to taste (I like mine heavy on the dijon), add tarragon and a pinch of kosher salt. Blanch freshly shelled spring peas, shock peas in ice water. Mix chicken, peas, and mayo/dijon mixture.

If I'm being fancy, I serve this in tomatoes or endive leaves.

[andiesenji]

My most successful chicken salad is simply a classic Waldorf salad with chunked chicken added just before serving.

You can even divide and flavor half or less with a dressing made with curry paste. Not everyone likes curry so do allow for people who do not care for it.

I make my own pita, baking small ones, but you can buy small ones (4 inch in diameter), which are easy to eat while holding with just one hand.

You can fill them or allow guests to fill the pita themselves.

Far too often chicken salad causes the sandwich bread to become soggy and difficult to eat, falling apart, etc. The pita solves this problem.

[Andrew Fenton]

I roast chicken breasts on the bone, then skin and rip into bite-sized chunks (or cut the meat up for neater presentation). Mix together mayonaise and dijon mustard to taste (I like mine heavy on the dijon), add tarragon and a pinch of kosher salt. Blanch freshly shelled spring peas, shock peas in ice water. Mix chicken, peas, and mayo/dijon mixture.

This sounds great! And it doesn't hurt that I already have a bunch of tarragon that I need to use up. Also, come to think of it, I've got a bunch of peas that I need to shell and cook...

[hjshorter]

Now we're talking! But I wonder if a chicken salad with cayenne and hot sauce isn't a little assertive for a baby shower.

If the mom to be has indigestion like I did, spicy is definitely out.

I make chicken salad with sliced toasted almonds, julienned dried apricots, thinly sliced scallions, cilantro, and a gingery creme friache dressing. It's delicious in mini pitas.

[Andrew Fenton]

Heather, that also sounds amazing! How do you make the creme fraiche dressing? Can you post a recipe?

[phaelon56]

I think the Vietnamese version, known as Goi Ga, might make for excellent sandwiches. It has shredded cabbage and carrots along with steamed chicken and a light, tangy, slightly sweet and sour dressing that is not mayo or dairy based.

[Gifted Gourmet]

One of my very favorite summer treats is chicken salad. Everyone has their own version of this delectable dish .. how about yours?

Chinese chicken salad is said to have come from Wolfgang Puck .. another variation which is popular has grapes and fruits among the chicken bits ... still another has crunchiness added through the use of nuts ... and then there is curried chicken salad ... served on bread or a lettuce leaf .... so many variations!

Is yours more salty than sweet?

Unusual or standard?

Mayo-dressed or vinaigrette?

Ladies' delicate fancy chicken salad or heartier men's?

Tell me about your own version!

[judiu]

Here goes:

White meat chicken, celery, a little bit of red onion chopped very fine, Hellman's mayo, red seedless grapes, pecans or walnuts or pistachios broken up and the usual s&p.

I have recently found a commercially available chicken salad that's almost as good as my own; Wendy's! It's a big chunky mix of everything in mine, minus the onion, and add apples. Amazingly good!