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Mama's Chicken Salad

Source of Recipe

From "Southern Living: A Southern Gentleman's Kitchen"


Recipe Introduction

"This recipe, like many in the book, is about keeping things as simple as possible. You'll find other chicken salad recipes with grapes, pecans, and a whole slew of other ingredients...but that ain't the point! Let the chicken shine! The key to perfecting this dish is getting the texture just right — not too chunky, not too processed. I suggest using the back of a fork to slightly mash everything together until just combined. I have laid out Mama's preferred preparation method below, but feel free to use any leftover chicken (grilled, rotisserie, baked, or broiled) you have on hand."

List of Ingredients

◦  4 large skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts (about 5 pounds)
◦  4 celery ribs, finely chopped
◦  1 medium Vidalia or sweet onion, finely chopped
◦  1¼ cups mayonnaise
◦  1 tablespoon kosher salt
◦  ½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper


Recipe

Bring chicken breasts and water to cover to a rolling boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 30 minutes.

Drain chicken, reserving broth for another use. Skin and bone chicken; cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Keep warm.

Combine celery and next four ingredients in a large bowl. Add chopped chicken, and lightly mash with back of a fork until blended, allowing some chunks to remain. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.


Serves 6