Best Chicken Salad

There's a much simpler way to cook the chicken and it's foolproof.
Use a whole chicken breast on the bone and add just enough cold water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat to a simmer, cook for exactly 20 minutes and immediately remove to a board to cool. Timing is critical. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones and pull it into large shreds with your hands--never use a knife. Very plush. We call it velvet chicken.

Rather than discarding the chicken skin and bones in step 3 add them back to the cooking liquid while you continue to simmer it. Remove and discard only after you have a rich, flavorful stock.

Yes, there are a number of calories and fat in this dish. Someone asked if there were better choices given the obesity epidemic. No there aren’t. Chicken salad has always been a luxurious dish. If you don’t want the nutritional content of this dish, don’t make it. It’s not meant to be eaten every day. There are plenty of forums online for low-fat/low-cal “sensible” eating. I can’t imagine my bubbe making this any other way and she was 98 when she passed.

I use cranberries that have been plumped up in a bowl with boiling water and drained. I also toast the broken walnuts in a cast iron skillet (without any oil coated on the base of the skillet) which adds another dimension of flavor. Lots of compliments and very easy tweaks! Enjoy!

I am sure the reason for the cast iron pot WITH lid is to contain the heat long enough to cook the chicken and also to prevent the meat from sitting in sub-optimal temperatures from more rapid heat loss that would create a bacterial pond. Personally I question the wisdom of suggesting this method to home cooks who may grab a flimsy aluminum pan and set themselves up for something that is potentially dangerous. I suggest adding small amounts of boiling water regularly to keep the temp in check.

Actually, in the technique I learned the process is slightly different. Start with cold water. Put in chicken. Cover. Heat until the water boils, and then cook two minutes longer. At that point, cut off the heat and let stand. This has always worked for me, and it does not take two hours. Nor does it toughen the chicken - - always moist and tender. This technique can be used for any amount of chicken. The additional weight of a big portion takes much longer to come to a boil.

Why breasts? More chicken flavor in thighs and legs. I seal boneless, skinless thigh and leg meat in a aluminum packet, roast it for an hour, let it cool, refrigerate it overnight, and then make my chicken salad including all the jellied juices and fat. Yum.

Growing up in India I never liked the taste of raw curry powder. We always roast a spice if no further cooking is planned. In a small pan without any oil on a very low heat gently roast the spices until you smell that nutty flavor. Keep mixing while roasting. Give it a try next time you use curry powder and see if you like the new flavor fire brings to the table.

I'm fortunate enough to have a sous vide cooker and it produces the most perfect chicken breasts for chicken salad. I use Best Foods mayo, chopped toasted pecans, grapes, sweet onion (Vidalia, Maui, etc.), celery, and tarragon. Of course, plenty of ground pepper and some salt.

Love the recipe, but the corresponding video states that the chicken should rest for 24 hours in a pot on the stove. I probably don't have to elaborate on what might happen if anyone actually followed this directive.

In reading the comments about the bland flavor of the chicken, I wondered if the addition of salt in the poaching liquid would change this. Most chefs argue that the proper seasoning of meat, fish, poultry, etc., should be the first step, not the last, in order to properly infuse the meat and bring out its flavor. If you’re on a salt-restricted diet, you could always exclude it, but my feeling (and humble experience) is that it makes an enormous difference - for the better - to add it initially.

This is an easy way to poach chicken;
Place chicken breast and stock in sauce pot be sure chicken is covered by stock. add 2 bay leaves and 4 parsley stems.. Bring to a light simmer over med. heat- not a boil. Simmer for 7 min. uncovered. Remove from heat, cover allow to sit for 10 min. Chicken should be cooked throughly .. returning to a simmer for 2 min if additional cooking time is necessary. Cool completely and chill if desired.

Duke's mayonnaise is excellent (available via Amazon)

Four pounds of chicken breast for four persons for lunch (and even dinner) is a very large serving.
In addition, to further cut down on calories, I use less mayonnaise and stretch it with either the chicken broth or white wine. Thinning out the dressing coats the chicken pieces nicely.

Toast the Pecans!