Chicken salad has always been “meh” to me. I don’t mind the flavors, but I’m not a fan of big chunks of cold chicken. It turns out it is mostly a texture thing for me. The other day, the Instagram algorithm suggested a reel from Rachel Halldorson that I had to try. She uses a leftover rotisserie chicken in a creative way and puts the chicken in a food processor. Having a consistent texture in my chicken salad is what does it for me apparently!

I highly recommend her method of making crispy chicken skin to top off a chicken salad sandwich, but I wanted to jot down my version of her chicken salad recipe here so I don’t forget it.

The Best Chicken Salad

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1/4 of a medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 pound leftover rotisserie chicken meat, chopped into chunks
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Toss the celery and onion into a food processor and pulse till it’s coarsely chopped. Add the chicken and pulse until chicken is finely chopped, but not too fine as to create a paste. Place mixture in a mixing bowl and stir in the mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. It should have the consistency of tuna salad.

Serve on toasted, buttered bread, havarti cheese, and finely chopped romaine lettuce.