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Question by emmyg9: How to cook chicken breast when preparing chicken salad?
What’s the best way to prepare uncooked chicken breast if you intend to use it for chicken salad?
Best answer:
Answer by Tom ツ
I like to use roasted chicken for chicken salad, but poached is nice too
Add your own answer in the comments!
to preserve as much juice as possable,,get a good pan really hot,add oil,season your chicken well,place skin side down first,sear well turn over and sear,finish in the oven,once done let rest at least 5 minutes before you cut them otherwise all that wonderful juice will just be wasted.use a sharp knife and slice do not press down on your chicken..
tasty!
It can be cooked in any normal fashion, sauteed, grilled, roasted, baked, poached, even boiled. Your primary concerns are that it is thoroughly cooked, and that it remains tender.
When I’m cooking chicken to use in other recipes, I will poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts in chicken stock or broth with a couple of whole cloves of garlic and a little black pepper.
This doesn’t take long and I stop and pull everything out of the pan the instant the chicken is cooked through. This method ensures the chicken is moist and tender and the stock and garlic ensure a rich flavor.
I’ve also used mild juice like apple or pear with some stock if it’s a sweet/savory recipe I’m cooking the chicken for.
I assume that by “chicken salad” you mean for sandwiches.
One of my favourite for this is by poaching in white wine with cracked black pepper and thyme.
Take a saucepan, and put about an inch of white wine in the bottom. bring it to a slight roll (not boiling) and crack some black pepper into it, and sprigs of fresh thyme (stems and all). Then place the chicken breasts in and cover the pan. For maximum flavour, dont put them in whole: since you are going to be cutting the chicken into small pieces anyway, cut each breast into 4 – 5 pieces and cook this way. It wont take long like this.
When you make your salad, cut the chicken up, but remove any pieces of thyme that may be stuck to it from cooking. Make your base from equal parts plain yogurt and sour cream, and add a bit of dijon mustard and blend that together. Toss with the chicken, and add fresh thyme (stems removed), some more cracked pepper, and julienned cucumber. Toss again lightly until everything is blended, and enjoy on lightly toasted multigrain bread with fresh sliced tomato.
Geez, I’m getting pretty hungry…
Preheat pan to medium / medium low. Sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning on chicken breasts (boneless skinless). Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to pan and place chix on pan, cover w. lid. Cook for about 3-4 minutes and turn. Cook for additional 3-4 min. and check for doneness w/ food thermometer, juices should run clear, not pink and inside should be white, not pink. Olive oil and covering lid retail moistness, cube (I shred with two forks into 1/2 inch pieces) and add your ingredients for chix salad. I like Miracle Whip, celery, pepper, grape slices and walnuts (try it, really good) onion powder and a little garlic powder.
I use grilled chicken breast but you can bake it in the oven also.
If baking, add some Italian Dressing when you bake it to add flavor–it is good! (you can use the ‘juice’ in the salad if you want or use it to toss with pasta or rice for a nice salad.)
I enjoy grilled chicken for my salads. The smokey flavor goes well with my home made balsamic vinaigrette and the thinner sides of the chicken add a nice bit of crunch. I will used roasted chicken but with a lighter vinaigrette, or a tomato based dressing.