We here at Our Southern Odyssey love chicken salad for a number of reasons. The main reason is because chicken salad is just delicious. Other reasons are: it can be eaten by itself, on top of a bed of mixed greens, by itself with seasonal fruit to the side, in a coconut wrap or a lettuce wrap even. This is just some of the many ways we eat chicken salad. We would love to know your favorite way to eat chicken salad. Please tell us in the comment section below.
Another reason we love chicken salad is because it is so versatile and refreshing. Especially when the weather is so brutally hot outside. It is great for gatherings at church or a reunion, a large picnic at the lake or even a small picnic in the backyard. It is great in lunches for school or work. It is even wonderful to pack for a road trip that is just around town or an even longer one to a favorite destination, and of course it is great for lunch or dinner served on the family table. Chicken salad is one of those foods that can be simple or fancy, it is just all in the way that it is presented.
Everyone prepares chicken salad a little different but everyone agrees it must have chicken and mayonnaise, everything else is optional. Chicken is the main ingredient in chicken salad; therefore, making sure to have a well seasoned and perfectly cooked chicken is key to making this delicious recipe. We here at Our Southern Odyssey have the perfect chicken recipe to use in our Chicken Salad recipe. Click here for our Flipped Roasted Chicken with Bacon recipe.
Roasted chicken wrapped in bacon has an unbelievable delicious flavor. This is why we use this particular chicken recipe to make our chicken salad recipe. We use the dark meat as well as the white meat in our chicken salad; because, both types of meats have different flavors that are highlighted in the chicken salad. We do not use the chicken skin in our chicken salad recipe; because, we want the texture to be smooth and creamy. Chicken salad is a protein rich food. It can also be extremely healthy if the right ingredients are included.
We make our chicken salad with celery, carrots, bacon, eggs, onions, chicken, olive oil, brown mustard, and mayonnaise. We like to focus in on the vegetables. Which is why we use carrots, celery and onions in our chicken salad recipe. Using good quality ingredients in any recipe really turns the tide from standard to exceptional when it comes to flavor. That is why we use high quality binders as well as organic meats and vegetables. The mayonnaise, mustard and olive oil that we use are the binders in this recipe. Basically they help to hold everything together and give the Chicken Salad a creamy texture. The celery and carrots provide crunch, texture and color, not to mention they are very healthy. The bacon and eggs add additional flavor as well as protein. Onions add a mild heat that awaken the taste buds. And finally, chicken is the base that bring this entire recipe together. Chicken salad is the prefect harmony between vegetables and meat, and that is why we love this recipe so much.
Here are some tips when buying and choosing the ingredients in this recipe.
- Celery – When using celery for this recipe use the celery stalks that are closer to the center of the stalk. They are the most tender. As you peel the outside stalks away to the internal stalks you will notice that the external stalks are a deeper darker green. As you move inward the stalks change from a dark green to a lighter green. The external stalks are sometimes stringy and tough while the internal stalks are always tender.
- Carrots – Carrots come in a multitude of colors. The most common color is orange. Carrots are rich in carotene, vitamin K, and B6 which makes them extremely healthy. To make a fancy chicken salad substitute the traditional orange carrots for the purple, yellow or red carrots.
- Onions – Onions are pungent, flavorful and in their own way some of them have a sweet taste. There are many different types of onions. We would recommend using a sweet onion. Sweet onion still have heat; however, they will not overpower the other ingredients in the Chicken Salad. Make sure that the onion is firm. If the onion is soft the onion has already gone bad. When chopping the onion make sure to get the onion as small as possible. We have provided a step-by-step guide on our site that shows how to chop an onion, the link is provided here.
- Some basic meat precautions we should take in the kitchen. Remember to keep raw chicken away from vegetables especially vegetables that will not be cooked. Also, keep cutting boards and knives used to prepare chicken, or any other meat, away from other foods until they are properly and thoroughly cleaned. Make sure the work station is cleaned before starting to prepare the chicken as well as afterwards. We always make sure to wash our hands before and after handling raw chicken. And never use a knife that was used to prepare the raw chicken, to cut the cooked chicken. Unless the knife has been thoroughly washed after preparing the raw chicken. Having excellent kitchen hygiene is key to a healthy meal.
The step-by-step guide for How to Chop an Onion
The step-by-step guide for Flipped Roasted Chicken with Bacon
The step-by-step guide for Hard Cooked Eggs
Instructions:
Start by cooking six eggs. A step-by-step guide on how to cook Hard Cooked Eggs is provided here. Once the Hard Cooked Eggs are done or as the Hard Cooked Eggs are cooking, cook the chicken. A step-by-step guide on how to cook a Flipped Roasted Chicken with Bacon is provided here. Note, the Hard Cooked Eggs and the Flipped Roasted Chicken with Bacon can both be cooked the day before. After the chicken has had time to cool remove the bacon from the top of the chicken. The bacon that was used to wrap half of the chicken needs to be removed from the chicken and broke into small pieces. Go ahead and add half of the broken bacon to the large bowl that we will be mixing all the ingredients in. Then save the other half of the broken bacon to add as a garnish to the top of the chicken salad after everything has been mixed together. Now break apart the chicken into small pieces with your hands in a large bowl. All the meat from the 3.5 to 4 pound chicken will be used. We will not be using the skin of the chicken in this recipe. Make sure to look each piece of chicken for small chicken bones in the meat that will be used in the chicken salad. Slice one egg with the wire egg slicer only one way, so that oblong circles are made, and place with the bacon we are saving for later. We will, also, use this egg as a garnish. Slice the other five eggs both ways with the egg slicer. Use the step-by-step guide above if a visual is required. Add the eggs to the large bowl with the chicken and bacon. Take one of the celery stalks and slice down the stalk in many places, the celery stalk should now look like matchsticks. Now start chopping the celery into extra small pieces, the celery should look like tiny cubes. Add to the mixing bowl. Take the other celery stalk and leaving the celery stalk in its original shape cut the celery along the stalk to form half moons. Add the celery to the large mixing bowl. Chop the two carrots like the celery stalk, first into matchsticks then into tiny cubes and add to the large bowl. Chop the onion very finely and add to the mixing bowl. We have provided a step-by-step guide on how to chop an onion on our site. If additional instruction is required use the link here for the guide.
Now toss all the ingredients that are in the large mixing bowl to mix them up a bit. Add one cup of mayo, one tablespoon of stone ground brown mustard and one forth cup organic Apollo Sierra or Mistral olive oil to the bowl and mix well. Now using a pretty serving bowl scoop out the chicken salad and place in the serving bowl. Arrange the egg slices that was saved earlier, on top of the chicken salad and sprinkle the broken bacon bits on top as well. As an optional choice small green onions can be chopped and added to the top of the chicken salad if so desired. A step-by-step guide is provided above for additional information. The recipe that can be printed out is provided below. We hope you enjoy the recipe. If you do please let us know. Enjoy!
Chicken Salad
April 10, 2018
Chicken Salad is even wonderful to pack for a road trip that is just around town or an even longer one to a favorite destination, and of course it is great for lunch or dinner served on the family table. Chicken salad is one of those foods that can be simple or fancy, it is just all in the way that it is presented.
Persons
12
Notes
What you will need:
Cutting Board,
Knife,
Measuring Cups,
Measuring Spoons,
Large Bowl,
Small Bowl,
Egg Slicer
Ingredients
- Whole Flipped Chicken with bacon (around 3.5 to 4 pounds) - cooked and shredded
- 6 Hard Cooked Eggs - divided
- 1 Cup Celery - Chopped
- 1 Cup Celery - half mooned 1/8 to 1/16 inched thick
- 2 Carrots - Chopped
- 1/2 Onion - Chopped
- 1 Cup Mayo
- 1 Tablespoon Brown Stone Ground Mustard
- 1/4 Cup Apollo Organic Sierra or Mistral Olive Oil
- Green Onions - cut into rounds to garnish top of salad (OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Cook the 6 eggs - find recipe here
- Cook the Chicken - find recipe here
- The eggs and chicken can be prepare up to 2 days before you mix the rest of the ingredients.
- Shred the chicken place in a large bowl
- Break up the bacon add half to the chicken, place the other half to the side in a small bowl to use as a garnish
- Slice one egg and lay the slices to the side - to garnish the top
- Slice the other eggs both ways in the egg slicer and add to the chicken
- Chop the celery, carrots and onion add to the chicken - mix well
- Add the mayo, mustard, and olive oil to the chicken - mix well
- Scoop the chicken mixture into a serving bowl
- Arrange the egg halves on top, then the green onion rounds and finally the bacon.
- Enjoy with fresh fruit
© 2024 This recipe is provided by Our Southern Odyssey
