Skip to main content

How To Prepare The Best Chicken Salad

Best Chicken Salad




Time:

20 minutes, plus 2 hours' resting and 4 hours' chilling


The secret to this chicken salad recipe isn’t in the seasonings (though the tarragon and sour cream make it pretty wonderful) but in the texture of the chicken, described as “plush” by the chef Barbara Tropp in her “China Moon” cookbook. She incorporated Chinese methods and flavors to her cooking, including this foolproof method for poaching chicken breasts without overcooking. It makes a chicken salad that’s perfect for sandwiches (especially on dark rye or sourdough breads) or scooped onto a lettuce-lined plate with sliced radishes, tomatoes, crackers, grapes or all of the above.


The chicken breasts used here must be bone-in, but you can remove the skin if you prefer. The skin and bones flavor the cooking liquid, providing a bonus of several pints of chicken stock.


INGREDIENTS

Yield:

4 servings

About 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

2scallions, cut into thirds

¼teaspoon black peppercorns

1lemon, halved

⅔cup mayonnaise, preferably Hellmann’s, Best Foods or homemade

¼cup sour cream or crĆØme fraĆ®che, more to taste

½teaspoon Dijon mustard or 1 teaspoon brine from a jar of pickles, optional

2 or 3pale green celery ribs, cut into medium (¼-inch) dice

½cup minced onion or finely sliced scallion, optional

½cup walnut or pecan halves, broken into bite-size pieces

3tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, parsley, or chives, plus extra for garnish

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste



PREPARATION


Step 1

Choose a heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tightfitting lid. It should be large enough to hold the chicken snugly, but not much bigger. Fill pot about ⅔ full with cold water, but don’t put the chicken in yet. Boil some extra water in a teakettle.

Step 2

Add scallions and peppercorns to water, cover and bring to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and slip chicken pieces into the hot water. If needed, add boiling water from the kettle to cover chicken with water by 2 inches. Replace the lid and let chicken rest in the hot water for about 2 hours. Do not turn the flame back on: The pot will retain enough heat to cook chicken thoroughly and safely. (To test, cut into 1 piece of chicken and check the meat near the bone. If it is still pink, return the pot to low heat, bring the water to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes more.)

Step 3

Lift chicken out of the pot. Remove and discard bones, skin and fat. Pat the meat dry with paper towels, then cut or shred into small bite-size pieces and transfer to a bowl. (Meanwhile, simmer cooking liquid until tasty, strain and refrigerate or freeze to use as chicken stock.)

Step 4

In a bowl, whisk together juice of ½ lemon, mayonnaise and sour cream. If using, whisk in mustard or brine. Taste and adjust the seasonings and thickness to your liking. Pour over chicken, scraping the bowl clean with a rubber spatula.

Step 5

Add celery, onion if using, nuts, herbs and salt and pepper. Toss gently but thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.


Comments

TRENDING

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

How to prepare Menemen

Drinking Water Crisis in Rural Towns

How to prepare Skillet Chicken With Black Beans, Rice and Chiles

How to make Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard

How to prepare Seared Chicken Breast With Potatoes and Capers in 6 easy Steps

Popular Food To Eat in China |Cold Sesame Noodles

New symptoms of omicron virus

Popular posts from this blog

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

New post Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims 25 minutes ago Share this with Facebook   Share this with Twitter   Share Media caption Stormy Daniels: 'I was threatened' Adult-film star Stormy Daniels has filed a court motion for US President Donald Trump to testify about her claim that they had a relationship. Her lawyer wants sworn testimony from Mr Trump about a "hush" agreement the actress says she signed. The attorney, Michael Avenatti, is also seeking a legal interview with the president's lawyer. Ms Daniels alleges she had unprotected sex with Mr Trump in 2006 a year after he married Melania Trump. He denies it. Mr Avenatti's motion, filed in a court in the Central District of California early on Wednesday, ramps up the legal duel between the porn star and the president. Should Trump be worried about Stormy Daniels? The president and the porn star: Why this matters Ex-model ...

How to prepare Menemen

 Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs With Tomato) Time :25 minutes Menemen, made from eggs, tomatoes, peppers and sometimes onions, is a distinctly Turkish breakfast comfort food. Although a year-round dish, it is especially pleasing in the summer, with really ripe tomatoes from the garden or farmer’s market. Be creative with this dish: Add shallots, chiles, fresh herbs or Aleppo pepper, or treat it as purists do, with only tomatoes and eggs. Cook slowly, stirring infrequently, until the eggs form billowy puffs. You can serve topped with feta cheese or lamb sausage, with any warm flatbread on the side. INGREDIENTS Yield : 4 servings 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1medium white onion (about 10 ounces), peeled and diced ½teaspoon dried oregano, plus more as needed ¼teaspoon Aleppo pepper, plus more as needed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1mild but flavorful long green pepper (such as Turkish carliston, Hungarian banana or Anaheim), stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, ...

Drinking Water Crisis in Rural Towns

Drinking water is essential for life, but many rural towns in the U.S. are struggling to provide safe and reliable water to their residents. For decades, these towns have neglected their drinking water systems, resulting in aging infrastructure, water quality violations, and financial challenges. In this blog post, we will explore some of the causes and consequences of this crisis, and what can be done to address it. Causes of the Crisis One of the main causes of the crisis is the shrinking population of many rural towns. As people move to urban areas or other states, the tax base and the customer base of the water systems decline. This means less revenue to cover the costs of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the water systems. According to a report by the American Bar Association³, in 2015, 9 percent of all water systems had a documented violation of water quality standards, exposing 21 million people to unhealthy drinking water. These violations were more likely to occur in...

How to prepare Skillet Chicken With Black Beans, Rice and Chiles

  Skillet Chicken With Black Beans, Rice and Chiles TIME: 1 hour  This authentic one-pot marvel of chicken, black beans, rice, tomatoes, and chiles, adapted from Diana Henry's "From the Oven to the Table: Simple Dishes That Look After Themselves," will please everyone at the table. The cumin-infused rice soaks up all the luscious juices as the chicken thighs roast. The rice and chicken are both nicely cooked when the timer goes off. Use a 12-inch skillet for this recipe; any other size could lead to undercooked or overdone chicken or rice. If you have any leftovers, they taste fantastic in tacos or enchiladas. INGREDIENTS Yield: 4 to 6 servings 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs Flaky sea salt and black pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or peanut oil 1 large yellow or white onion, chopped 2 green or red bell peppers, halved, seeded and sliced 2½ cups chicken stock 2 red Fresno chiles or jalapeƱos, halved, seeded and chopped 1(3-inch)  cinnamon stick, broken in ha...