Not The Same Old Chicken Salad

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

One of the easiest and tastiest summer suppers around is chicken salad. It’s so simple to mix some cooked chicken together with dressing and a few add ins, all without heating up your kitchen. The leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day too.

It’s taken awhile for me to warm up to this cool salad and sandwich filling however, since I’ve had a love hate relationship with chicken salad all my life. While it can be really, really good, just as often some of what passes for chicken salad has seen better days.

Growing up, my mom would make chicken salad with canned chicken. I was no fan of the chicken of the sea type of canned white meat (AKA canned tuna) and wasn’t about to go near its equally icky country cousin. Another no-no for me was mayonnaise. Have I mentioned I was a picky eater as a kid?

Then there was the fearful looking delicatessen chicken salad you could find at most deli counters. Back in the good old days, it seemed like many grocery stores kept their deli items around for far longer than was good for them; freshness and quality was not a priority as it is in many markets today.

My resistance to chicken salad changed when I tasted my first decent one at a little French storefront café that had opened in our town. The appeal of the all-white meat chicken salad at the French Corner was in the minimal use of mayonnaise and the addition of sliced red grapes. Somehow this change made it that much more palatable to me and I became a chicken salad convert.

Then a few years later, at my first official, yet under the table, after school job at a gourmet shop, we went through vats and vats of the stuff. It was one of the most popular items on the menu, so there was plenty of chicken picking to do. So I discovered chicken salad could make a more than appealing lunch.

The basics of a good chicken salad are high quality chicken, cooked and cut up, a little mayonnaise and/or sour cream, finely diced celery, and the seasoning of your choice. The quickest route to homemade chicken salad is to use a store bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken. If you are starting with fresh chicken, some people like to poach chicken and others like to season and roast it. It’s a matter of personal preference. Either way it seems the chicken comes out more flavorful if left on the bone.

Once you have cooked the chicken, remove the meat from the bones, discarding any skin and fat, and chop the meat into your desired size. I prefer larger chunks of chicken, but some prefer to chop it very finely, almost shredding the meat. Chop the celery just fine enough so that it adds a little crunchy contrast.

And with so many different ways to make chicken salad you can have a different variation for every day of the week. You can customize your chicken salad with various mix ins such as chopped veggies, fresh or dried fruit, bacon, nuts, and fresh chopped herbs.

A few ways to jazz up your chicken salad for summer, include tossing in some chopped walnuts or almonds, chopped dill or tarragon, chopped apples, or my favorite, sliced grapes. I also like to add a squeeze of lemon juice for brightness. Or try a Mexican version — skip the mayo and celery, and toss in sliced scallions, avocado, sour cream, chipotle and lime, and serve it with tortilla chips. If you are having a particularly lazy summer day, you can even add any of the above mix-ins to your favorite store-bought version of plain chicken salad, and you’ll be good to go!

Serves/Makes: 6

• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized chunks
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup red or green grapes, slivered
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste