Smoked Chicken Salad

RG 2.0

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Jason's Smoked Chicken Salad

Ingredients :
Smoke whole chicken and use just the breast meat as I did (and snack on the rest) or just buy 2 breasts and smoke
2-3 stalks celery chopped (I used about 2.5)
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 cups Red Grapes, halved
1 Gala Apple, diced into bite sized chunks
About 1/2 Cup Mayo (I just add it until it looks right, well coats everything as I mix with wooden spoon)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves (pull from stem, roll up and dice with sharp knife)
1 tbsp parsley flakes or fresh parsley
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions :
Smoke the chicken in whatever fashion you like on whatever cooker you like, the SI would do a wonderful job here ;) I smoked this with Cherry wood. The chicken skin isn't used so it's no biggie if it gets crispy or not. Once it reaches 160° in the breast, remove from smoker and allow to cool to close to room temp. While that's cooling I cut up the apple and cut out the core before dicing into bite sized chunks, add it into the bowl with the lemon juice and mix, next the grapes and onion, mix. Then the almonds along with the tarragon and parsley. Mix again and add sugar and then mix yet again. I like to incorporate everything as I go. Once then chicken is cool, pull it and put in a pile on a cutting board, get all that you can of the white meat. If you like, you can add some dark but I don't. Once piled up, rough chop it and add to the bowl. At this point you want to add the mayo and begin stirring. Maybe start with 1/3 cup and increase from there, I guess I have real close to 1/2 cup in there for my tastes. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and chill overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

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I will post more pics later after I make a sammich ;)
 
Jason, I love smoked chicken salad! There is just something about the smoked chicken that gives it a whole new flavor. I used to smoke the chickens and have my mother-in-law make the chicken salad. She could make the best chicken salad I ever had. She passed 3 months ago so now I am going to have to come up with my own recipe. Thanks for sharing, I'll give your version a try.
 
I hate to hear of her passing. I know what's it like to lose not only the person but their recipes too! My Mom made several dishes that none of us can replicate exactly. She just knew how to make it, didn't follow any recipes. This Chicken salad is pretty dang tasty to me but we all have different tastes. I know an old couple that just likes it to be chicken, mayo, salt and pepper. They wouldn't touch mine with a 10 foot pole, lol. That's okay though, we all like different things.

Try and let me know how you like it. I think it's the perfect balance of sweet, salty, crisp and crunchy. Works really well on nice toasted bread. My brother even serves it on toasted cinnamon raisin bread. He LOVES it that way.
 
Nice looking salad Jason (or John if that's your real name...  :-X ). I have some leftover turkey breast that I am going to try that out on. May keep the skin in since I don't have a dog...  :o I'll let you know how it goes.  :)
 
BedouinBob said:
Nice looking salad Jason (or John if that's your real name...  :-X ). I have some leftover turkey breast that I am going to try that out on. May keep the skin in since I don't have a dog...  :o I'll let you know how it goes.  :)

Sounds like good eats to me Ben. :P LOL

Seriously, there is no wrong way to make or eat food. Sometimes we may find something we like better. This recipe can be made probably 252.8 million ways. You can even use dill in the place of the tarragon, I just love the taste tarragon adds to it though.

Looking forward to the results of yours!
 
We have a community picnic coming up in a couple of weeks, and in the past I have taken smoked baked beans or smoked mac & cheese.  I think I know what I am taking this year... :-X  Looks great!
 
swthorpe said:
We have a community picnic coming up in a couple of weeks, and in the past I have taken smoked baked beans or smoked mac & cheese.  I think I know what I am taking this year... :-X  Looks great!

Thanks! I am sure you'll enjoy it.
 
Hey Jason, tried your recipe with some leftover turkey breast. Turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
 

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I tried the recipe last night with two smoked chicken breasts.  My daughter had two helpings and said it was 'da bomb'!  Thanks for sharing!
 

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AWESOME!! I am glad y'all enjoyed it. I am thinking about making some more, lol. I don't know if it would freeze well. Since I am the only one in the family that eats it, I might need to scale down the recipe a tad. I ate almost all of it last time, threw out about a sandwich worth. That's a lot of chicken salad to eat by yourself :P
 
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