Okay well, technically not yet, but maybe one day! As I’ve said time and time again, I’m not much of a cook BUT my husband is a marvelous chef in our home! He’s always creating new and different meals. This is his own creation of THE BEST CHICKEN SALAD EVER!! It took some arm twisting just to get the recipe from him. So please, if you use this recipe, please give credit where credit is due!

First and foremost, you need fresh, high-quality chicken! You can buy cases of fresh, never frozen chicken at wholesale prices from places like Zaycon Foods – 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients.

Zaycon Foods boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Season it to perfection with Salt, Pepper, and Italian Emeril Essence and smoked on the grill with applewood! This is one of the main key components to great chicken salad. We prefer a (Weber) charcoal grill, instead of gas, and we use a chimney to start the charcoal, making sure all of the outer coating is burned off before cooking.

Seasoning

Cook your chicken until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Large cuts of chicken breasts, such as these, take more time than thinner cuts.

Remove the chicken from the grill and place in refrigerator to cool. You want to make sure your chicken has had time to set and cool before you cut into it so you don’t lose any of the delicious juices.

Prepare Chicken

Once cooled, you’ll need to finely chop up the chicken. Using a food processor is the quickest and most efficient way to do this.

Now for the finishing touches…

add in chopped pecans, mayonnaise, lemon, and mustard…

Chicken_Collage

I’m typically not a fan of nuts, but I will eat them in this. The mayo we use is Duke’s Mayonnaise but any kind you prefer will do.

One of the MOST IMPORTANT ingredients is the lemon! It gives it the fresh, zesty bite! Plus it will keep your chicken salad from turning a dull color.

IMG_0389

Mix the chicken salad thoroughly and serve with crackers, on a sandwich, or even in a salad! We made 10 POUNDS of chicken salad at one time so we added chicken salad into almost every meal!

Chicken Salad and Crackers

Chicken Salad Recipe

This recipe is for 10 pounds of chicken. Please adjust portions accordingly.
  • 10lbs fresh, high-quality chicken seasoned to taste
  • 1/2 cup crushed Pecans (or more)
  • 3 cups Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tsp Mustard

 

Disclaimer: 40 pounds of chicken was provided to me by Zaycon Foods in exchange for this post. These views and opinions are my own and were not influenced by compensation.

I am encouraged and expected to write honestly about my experience: good, bad or indifferent. As a blogger, I have no obligation to endorse anyone or anything.