Revamping Chicken Salads

Throwing together leftover cooked chicken, dressing, and greens is a way to put dinner on the t able without much thought. Maybe that’s exac tly the problem.

j B Y S T E V E D U N N k

Our poached chicken delivers ultramoist meat, which we use in our Chicken Caesar Salad, Sichuan-Style Chicken Salad, and Thai-Style Chicken Salad with Mango.

Every time I throw together a salad with chicken using whatever leftover meat I have on hand, I think of what Rodney Dangerfield would say: The chicken don’t get no respect.

Corny as that sounds, the chicken tastes exactly like what it is: an afterthought. Straight from the refrigerator, the once flavorful, juicy meat seems dry and dull as cotton (see “Give Cold Chicken the Cold Shoulder” to understand why). Allowing the chicken to come up to room temperature helps, but unless you’re using poached chicken, it’s never going to be optimally moist.

Here’s why: Poaching is much gentler than dry-heat methods such as searing, roasting, and grilling. While the cooler cooking temperature doesn’t create a browned crust, it does let the meat retain moisture and fat that would be squeezed out by other cooking methods. And when done well, the results are incredibly succulent and clean-tasting, providing the ideal blank slate for tossing with greens and a flavorful dressing.

The Poach Approach

A while back, we came up with a simple approach to poaching that reliably produces flavorful, succulent meat. It’s based on the principles of sous vide cooking, a technique in which vacuum-sealed foods are submerged in a water bath that’s been preset to the food’s ideal cooked temperature. But here, we place the chicken in a steamer basket set in a pot of water, bring the water to a subsimmer temperature of 175 degrees, and remove the pot from the burner so that the water’s residual heat gently cooks the meat.

I gave it a try with four boneless, skinless breasts and salted water. It took about 15 minutes to bring the liquid up to 175 degrees, at which point I shut off the heat and let the chicken linger in the steamy water until the meat registered 160 degrees.

Steve Shows You How A step-by-step video is available at CooksIllustrated.com/jun18 Dressed f or Success

One of the cardinal rules of meat cookery is letting the cooked meat rest before cutting into it. This allows the muscle fibers to relax and reabsorb the flavorful juices. Typically, I would let boneless, skinless breasts rest for about 5 minutes, which would give some of the juices time to redistribute before the chicken gets cold. But since my goal was exceptionally moist meat, and because I intended my salads to be served at room temperature, I let the meat rest longer. Why? Picture slicing into hot chicken that has rested for just a few minutes: What you see is a stream of vapor escaping from the cut side, which is moisture. Giving the chicken a good 10 to 15 minutes to cool ensured that more of the moisture would stay locked in the meat.

I was now ready to use the chicken in salad. I’d been eager to work up a version of the classic Sichuan dish called bang bang chicken, a staff favorite in which finely shredded meat is tossed with a dressing made of chili oil, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, and black vinegar and then combined with napa cabbage, scallions, celery, and cilantro. When I tossed the fragrant dressing with the chicken, I realized that there were two subtle but significant techniques built into this dish that guaranteed bold flavor: First, shredding the meat instead of cutting it into chunks, as I typically would for chicken salad, created loads of surface area that allowed the dressing to thoroughly soak into the meat and give every bite maximum flavor. Second, dressing the meat by itself before pairing it with the other components ensured that every piece was completely coated.

I applied those lessons to two other bold-tasting salads: a shredded Thai-style chicken-mango version freshened with lots of herbs and spooned into lettuce cups, and a quick chicken Caesar salad, for which I thinly sliced the meat to maximize its surface area.

It didn’t take much to give chicken the respect it deserves, and I could taste the difference.

Ensuring Maximum Flavor in Chicken Salad

( Poach chicken for juiciest meat. ( Use room-temperature, not chilled, chicken. ( Shred or slice chicken to create lots of surface area for dressing to cling to. ( Toss chicken, not just salad, with some of dressing.

1. Cover 4 trimmed 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound thick ends gently until ¾ inch thick. Whisk 4 quarts cool water with 2 tablespoons salt in large Dutch oven. 2. Arrange chicken in steamer basket without overlapping. Submerge in pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until water registers 175 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. 3. Turn of heat, cover pot, remove from burner, and let stand until chicken registers 160 degrees, 17 to 22 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Give Cold Chicken the Cold Shoulder

If you poach the chicken ahead of time and chill it, be sure to let it come to room temperature before using it in one of our salads. That’s because cold meat tastes less juicy and lavorful than meat that’s warm or at room temperature. ( Here’s Why: Juiciness and lavor in meat are not just a function of moisture but also of fat and of salivation. When meat is cold, the moisture is gelled and the fat is irm, so neither lows as freely. Less lavor is released, so you also salivate less. In addition, the solidiication of the juices means that the muscle ibers don’t slide against each other as easily during chewing, which gives the meat a tougher, stringier texture.

SICHUAN-STYLE CHICKEN SALAD (BANG BANG JI SI)

SERVES 4 TO 6

We prefer Sichuan chili powder, but Korean red pepper flakes, called gochugaru, are a good alternative. Rice vinegar can be substituted for black vinegar, if desired. Vary the amount of Sichuan peppercorns to suit your taste.

Dressing

¼ cup vegetable oil 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed 1 (½-inch) piece ginger, peeled and sliced in half 2 tablespoons Sichuan chili powder 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground 2 teaspoons sugar

Salad

1 recipe Perfect Poached Chicken f or Salad, shredded into thin strips Salt ½ head napa cabbage, sliced thin (6 cups) 1½ cups coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems 6 scallions, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced thin on bias 1 celery rib, sliced thin on bias 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. FOR THE DRESSING: Combine vegetable oil, garlic, and ginger in bowl. Microwave until oil is hot and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Stir in chili powder and let cool for 10 minutes. 2. Strain oil mixture through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl; discard solids. Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, and sugar into strained oil. Add up to 1 teaspoon additional peppercorns to taste.

3. FOR THE SALAD: Add chicken to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Toss cabbage, 1 cup cilantro, two-thirds of scallions, celery, and pinch salt in second large bowl. Arrange cabbage mixture in even layer on large platter. Mound chicken on top of cabbage mixture and sprinkle with remaining ½ cup cilantro, remaining scallions, and sesame seeds, if using. Serve.

THAI-STYLE CHICKEN SALAD WITH MANGO

SERVES 4 TO 6

We like to serve this salad in leaves of Bibb lettuce to form lettuce cups, but it can also be served on a bed of greens. Toss 6 to 8 cups of greens with 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, and a pinch of salt before spooning the chicken on top.

Dressing

3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes) 1 shallot, minced 2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra f or serving 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 1 garlic clove, minced ¼ teaspoon red pepper f lakes

Salad

1 recipe Perfect Poached Chicken f or Salad, shredded into thin strips 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch pieces ½ cup chopped fresh mint ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro ½ cup chopped fresh Thai basil Salt 1 head Bibb lettuce (8 ounces), leaves separated 2 Thai chiles, sliced thin

1. FOR THE DRESSING: Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl.

2. FOR THE SALAD: Add chicken to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Add mango, mint, cilantro, and basil and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Serve salad in lettuce cups, passing Thai chiles and extra fish sauce separately.

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD

SERVES 6

We recommend using homemade croutons, but store-bought are fine as well. Adjust the amount of anchovies to suit your taste.

Dressing

⅔ cup mayonnaise 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced 3–4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced ½ teaspoon pepper ⅛ teaspoon salt

Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce (12 ounces each) (large outer leaves discarded), washed, dried, and cut into 1-inch pieces (16 cups) 2 cups croutons 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup) 1 recipe Perfect Poached Chicken f or Salad, sliced crosswise ¼ inch thick Pepper

1. FOR THE DRESSING: Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. 2. FOR THE SALAD: Toss lettuce with croutons, ¾ cup Parmesan, and two-thirds of dressing in large bowl until well combined. Divide dressed lettuce among 6 plates. Toss chicken with remaining dressing. Divide chicken equally among plates and season with pepper. Serve immediately, passing remaining ¼ cup Parmesan separately.