Tuesday and this morning I made Jennifer chicken salad for lunch. I had made the chicken on the grill after marinating it overnight in salad dressing. You can use any leftover white meat skinless boneless chicken breast. I have even cut the chicken breast right off a whole roasted chicken or one I have I’ve made chicken soup from. The breast meat from chicken in the soup gets diced up and put into the fridge, while all the dark meat goes into the soup.

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Stock INGREDIENTS:

1 whole 6 to 7 pound raw chicken

2 medium onions quartered

2 large peeled carrots cut into one inch pieces

1 large clove garlic peeled

4 celery stalks cut into one inch pieces

5 quarts water

½ tsp. dill

½ tsp. white pepper

¼ tsp. thyme

¼ tsp. marjoram

1 bay leaf

½ tsp. rosemary

½ tsp. Savory

5 or more chicken bouillon cubes instead of salt to taste

1 tbsp. Fresh parsley (chopped)

Chicken Salad INGREDIENTS:

2 chicken breasts diced

½ cup mayonnaise

2 celery stalks diced

1 carrot grated

Pinch of onion powder

Pinch of paprika

Pinch of white pepper

Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Begin by making chicken stock/soup. Remove kidneys, neck or any parts that may be inside the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken in an extra-large pot with all the chicken stock ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 hours or until chicken falls apart.

Remove chicken and cover with foil until it cools and can be handled. Strain soup stock through fine mesh strainer and discard vegetables. Reserve stock for soup.

Once cooled, dice chicken breasts (reserve dark meat for soup if desired). Whisk mayonnaise with spices. Mix in chicken breasts, celery, and carrot to the mayonnaise and spices. Serve on toast or a bed of lettuce.  

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing,2021