Roasted Chicken Salad

As the weather starts to warm up I tend to make a lot of cold salads. One of my favorites is this Chicken Salad recipe; I don’t follow the normal rules of poaching the chicken. No, I brine then roast the chicken. What is brine you ask? A Brine is a salt/sugar solution used to impart great flavor to certain types of meat, like chicken, turkey and pork. The size of the size of meat will determine how long you will leave it in the brine. I usually brine the chicken in the morning and place in the fridge until ready to cook.

My family loves this chicken salad recipe. The kids are usually eating the chicken as I cut it up. It is perfect for lunch or even dinner on hot summer evenings, and my husband has even been known to eat it right out the container. I recently brought a large container for my church’s Women’s Meeting, and there was none to bring home.

The recipe is pretty simple and well worth the wait of brining and roasting. You can make it the day or night before a party, which gives time for the flavors to really settle in. I use Craisins and red onion in my Chicken Salad, but you can use any thing you like to yours.

Roasted Chicken Salad

2lbs bone in chicken breast

1 cup of Craisins

½ cup of finely diced red onion

About ¼ cup of miracle whip or your favorite mayo (I don’t really measure, I go by creaminess)

About ¼ cup of sour cream

Brine for Chicken

1 cup kosher salt

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1tsp dried oregano

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 gallon of water

To brine Chicken, combine all spices and sugar in a large container.

Add about 2 cups of hot water. Stir until salt and sugar is dissolved.

Fill the container with cold water then add chicken and cover.

Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer you leave it in brine the more salt drawn into the meat.

To roast the chicken, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove chicken from brine and place on cookie sheet and pat dry.

Roast chicken for 30-40 minutes or until internal temp is 170 degrees.

  

Remove chicken from oven and let cool.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, move to a cutting board.

Remove skin and bones, chop into small chunks.

Add diced red onion and Craisins to chicken in a bowl.

Next, add miracle whip and sour cream to bowl. Add little at a time until desired creaminess is reached.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you enjoy this chicken salad recipe at your next picnic or just for lunch. Be blessed and enjoy.