This is a classic chicken salad. A purist, traditional version. It’s really simple because it uses a store bought rotisserie chicken and has no extra frills, but its loaded with flavor. Whole Foods has really delicious rotisserie chickens that they sell cold. I Love Them. They are really good and useful for many things, but particularly chicken salad. Most of the time, they are less expensive than buying uncooked chicken parts. I don’t get it, but all the more reason to buy precooked chicken.
The secret to all of the flavor is using the chicken gelatin that forms in the bottom of the package. If you roast a chicken at home and then immediately refrigerate it, you get the same congealed juices. It’s basically really concentrated chicken stock and incorporates beautifully into a dressing. Using the “chicken jelly” as I like to call it would be the equivalent to adding a bouillon cube to a recipe for flavor. It’s already there, why not use it?
(yes, I’m talking about this stuff) ⤴️
What you need:
1 whole rotisserie chicken, cooled
1/2 cup of mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s)
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 stalks celery with leaves
Handful of dry toasted slivered almonds
Handful of fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
Begin by separating the chicken jelly from the chicken. You don’t want any white fat, just the golden brown stock. Take 2-3 spoonfuls of the jelly and put it in a large mixing bowl. Quickly return the jelly to liquid form by either microwaving it for a few seconds or placing the bowl over the burner for a few seconds, it doesn’t take much to liquify it. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard until you have a smooth dressing.
Remove the skin from the chicken and discard it. Carefully pick all of the meat from the bones and roughly chop it up. I like my chicken salad to be finely chopped, it holds together better in sandwiches. Next chop up the celery. Slice it in half lengthwise and then chop it into finer pieces. If the almonds are in big pieces, give them a rough chop too. Finely chop the parsley and any celery leaves you have. Add the chicken and all other ingredients to the mixing bowl with the dressing. Stir well to combine. If its a little dry you can add more mayo (it should be enough unless its a huge chicken). Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! It should keep in the refrigerator for a few days, but I promise it won’t last long.
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