1 million subscribers Wow that is such
an incredible milestone for the channel
and this community and I am so
appreciative and just bursting with
gratitude I feel like I've gotten to
know so many of you over the years just
based on your comments on the videos and
it's made this online space that much
more special so thank you
today we're whipping up a classic recipe
with a downshift ology spin and that's
chicken salad chicken salad is a
year-round favorite but it's perfect for
spring and summer when you want a
chilled salad that's also hearty enough
to fill you up my version is dotted with
crisp celery green onions toasted
almonds and fresh grapes but you know I
love adding fresh herbs to elevate any
salad recipe and I've got a secret
ingredient in this one I think it is the
ultimate chicken salad recipe if I do
say so myself so let's dive in I love to
use poached chicken in my chicken salad
because it's easy healthy and it means
that I don't have to turn on my oven if
it's a hot day outside but you could
certainly use baked chicken or even
store-bought rotisserie chicken in this
recipe you'll need 2 pounds of raw
chicken which for me is three chicken
breasts and that equals about 4 cups of
diced or shredded cooked chicken to
poach the chicken add it to a pot and
cover it by about an inch or so of cold
water you can poach chicken with simply
water and a teaspoon of salt but if
you'd like to add a punch of flavor
include some aromatics like parsley or
other herbs onion shallots garlic lemon
slices and peppercorns place the pot on
your stove if it's not already and turn
the heat to medium the goal with poached
chicken is to cook it very gently so
don't try to cook it faster on high heat
as your water temperature begins to warm
up you'll notice some white foam on the
surface that's just from the fat of the
chicken if you plan to save the cooking
liquid which results in a delicious
light chicken broth you can skim some of
that off but otherwise it's not
necessary once the water has started to
gently simmer add the lid and reduce the
heat to low
depending on the size and thickness of
your chicken you'll want to cook it for
about eight to twelve minutes or until
it reaches 160 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit
you can see how gently my water is
simmering it's definitely not boiling
and I'll use an instant-read thermometer
just to double-check the temperature
when it's done remove it to a plate or
cutting board and let it rest for a
minute or two then transfer it to the
fridge to chill as we want cold chicken
in this recipe if you plan to save the
poaching liquid which is extremely
flavorful and perfect for making race
and other recipes I've got several tips
on the full blog post while the chicken
is cooling we can prepare all of our
other ingredients for the salad and that
includes toasted almonds heat a pan on
medium low heat and add half a cup of
sliced almonds to a pan toast them for
about four to five minutes and stir them
frequently so that they don't burn then
transfer them to a plate and let them
cool completely to room temperature next
slice and dice two stalks of celery
because we want everything bite-sized in
this salad it's best to run your knife
the length of the celery two or three
times to create strips then slice it
across for a small dice the celery adds
a delicious crisp bite to the salad and
you can always feel free to add a little
more if you are a celery lover slice up
three green onions which are also known
as spring onions or scallions and you'll
want both the green and white parts
green onions are my favorite in spring
and summer recipes but if you don't have
green onions red onion also works great
in this salad the best chicken salads
always have grapes in my opinion for
that sweet fruity bite you'll need 1 cup
of grapes and you can use either red or
green seedless grapes I just like red
grapes for that beautiful contrast in
color slice the grapes into quarters so
the pieces aren't too big then set them
aside
now come the herbs and you probably know
by now that I'm a big fan of adding
herbs to salads for the freshest flavor
herbs really are the difference between
an average salad and an amazing salad so
definitely don't leave them out our
first herb is parsley so finely chopped
up about two tablespoons of parsley
leaves and then for the secret
ingredient tarragon tarragon pairs
beautifully with the chicken and it's
very aromatic with a flavor that
somewhat of a cross between a nice
fennel and licorice you don't need a lot
of tarragon just about 1 tbsp finely
chopped but trust me don't leave it out
it's the one ingredient that will have
your family and friends saying wow this
is the best chicken salad recipe but
they won't quite be able to put their
finger on why all right now that the
chicken breasts have cooled just slice
and dice those up I try to do a fairly
small dice about 1/2 an inch or less as
this will keep all of the ingredients
about the same size but it also makes it
easier to pile the chicken salad on
bread for sandwiches or to roll up in
lettuce leaves once the chicken is all
diced up add that to a bowl then add all
of your other ingredients including the
chopped grapes celery green onions
cooled toasted almonds and one cup of
mayonnaise if your chicken or almonds
aren't fully cooled you'll melt the
mayonnaise so do make sure everything is
cooled add 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
for a tangy little bit of spice along
with the chopped parsley and chopped
tarragon season with salt and pepper and
then finish it off with the juice of one
lemon for fresh acidity give that all a
stir until it's nice and creamy and
everything is fully mixed together and
then transfer it to a serving bowl you
can always add a few leaves of tarragon
or parsley on the top for garnish as
well
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this salad is truly the ultimate chicken
salad recipe and you'll be hard-pressed
to not just eat it straight out of the
bowl as I usually do but you can also
serve it in lettuce leaves for an easy
low carb meal and I usually grab butter
lettuce or romaine lettuce if I'm gonna
eat it this way of course you can also
make a chicken salad sandwich and I'm
using gluten-free bread topped with
lettuce then a few big spoonfuls of the
chicken salad and some microgreens on
top I hope you enjoyed today's video and
if you did make sure to give it a thumbs
up share it with your family and friends
and I will see you again in the next
video
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you