I first visited Hen Salad Chick throughout a lunch break at a piece convention in Alabama. The road wrapped across the constructing, however everybody assured me it was definitely worth the wait. Once I lastly tried their signature “Basic Carol” rooster salad, I understood the hype instantly. That excellent stability of tender rooster, creamy dressing, and delicate seasoning had me plotting easy methods to recreate it at house earlier than I completed my meal!

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After a number of makes an attempt and tweaks, I’ve lastly perfected this copycat Basic Carol Hen Salad recipe. It’s all the things I liked concerning the restaurant model – easy but extremely flavorful, with that particular texture that makes it stand out from atypical rooster salad. Whether or not you’re miles from the closest Hen Salad Chick location or wish to take pleasure in this Southern favourite at house, this recipe gained’t disappoint.
Hen Salads at Hen Salad Chick Restaurant
The Hen Salad Chick restaurant prepares scratch-made rooster salad on daily basis. It presents conventional, savory, fruity, nutty, and spicy rooster salad, in addition to scrumptious pimento cheese salad and egg salad.
Are you on the lookout for a superb recipe for rooster salad? This freshly made and full-flavored copycat Hen Salad Chick recipe will quickly turn out to be your favourite. Did I point out it’s simple to arrange?
Why This Recipe Works
What makes this copycat model so spot-on? A number of key parts:
- Utilizing solely rooster tenderloins creates the right texture
- Poaching the rooster in inventory provides depth of taste
- The key ingredient (dry Ranch combine) gives that particular Hen Salad Chick taste profile
- Finely dicing the celery ensures the right stability in every chew
- Chilling time permits all of the flavors to meld collectively superbly
Elements
For the Hen:
- Hen tenderloins – Creates the right shredded texture that’s distinct from breast meat; the shorter fibers give the salad its signature texture
- Low-sodium rooster inventory – Infuses the rooster with taste whereas poaching, including depth to the ultimate salad
For the Dressing:
- Mayonnaise – Supplies the creamy base that binds all the things collectively whereas including richness, Hen Salad Chick makes use of Duke’s mayonnaise
- Celery – Provides a recent crunch and delicate taste that enhances the rooster with out overpowering it
- Dry Ranch salad dressing combine – The key ingredient that offers this salad its distinctive taste profile
- Salt – Enhances all the opposite flavors and balances the creaminess
- Floor black pepper – Provides a delicate spice that rounds out the flavour profile
make Hen Salad Chick Basic Carol Hen Salad
- Place the rooster tenders and rooster inventory in a big pot.
- Warmth the pot over medium warmth, letting the rooster poach for roughly 15 to twenty minutes. Make sure the rooster is absolutely cooked earlier than continuing.
- As soon as the rooster is cooked, shred it. You need to use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or manually shred the rooster tenders utilizing two forks.
- Combine celery, mayonnaise, dry Ranch dressing, salt, and black pepper in a big bowl. Stir the rooster combination till it’s nicely blended.
- Add the shredded rooster into the bowl and stir till it’s absolutely included with the opposite elements.
- Switch the rooster salad to an hermetic container.
- For optimum style, put together the rooster salad and chill it a couple of hours earlier than it’s wanted. This enables the flavors to meld collectively.
serve Basic Carol Hen Salad
- Wrap: Roll in a tortilla with lettuce and skinny cucumber slices for a transportable lunch.
- Restaurant Type: Serve a beneficiant scoop on a mattress of leaf lettuce with recent tomato slices and crackers on the facet.
- Sandwich: Unfold between two slices of buttery croissant, delicate white bread, or entire grain bread with lettuce and tomato.
- Stuffed: Fill a hollowed tomato or avocado half with rooster salad for a sublime, low-carb possibility.
The opposite means you possibly can have rooster salad is on a sandwich. Their sandwiches include leaf lettuce and ripe tomatoes.
You too can stuff the rooster salad within a tomato or avocado. It’s solely as much as you.
What to serve with rooster salad
Listed below are some concepts on what to serve with rooster salad:
- A easy and fast possibility that provides a satisfying crunch. You may go for traditional potato chips, kettle chips, and even veggie chips for a more healthy twist.
- One other fast possibility is serving it with crackers.
- A sizzling bowl of soup can complement a rooster salad sandwich fairly properly. Tomato soup, vegetable soup, or rooster noodle soup are nice selections.
- A chilly pasta salad with loads of recent veggies may very well be a refreshing facet dish.
- Dill pickles or candy gherkins can present a tangy distinction to the creamy rooster salad.
- Slices of recent fruit or a combined fruit salad generally is a refreshing and wholesome facet. Melons, berries, apples, or grapes would work nicely.
- A facet of coleslaw generally is a nice match, as its tangy taste can stability out the creaminess of the rooster salad.
- A easy inexperienced salad with a French dressing dressing can present a light-weight and refreshing distinction.
- Grilled veggies corresponding to zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant can add a smoky taste that enhances the rooster salad properly.
- Potato Salad is a traditional facet dish for any sandwich and will be made in many various methods, with the addition of elements like dill, mustard, and even bacon.
- Bacon Baked Beans can add a candy and smoky taste, contrasting the creamy and savory rooster salad.
Storage and Make-Forward Ideas
- Meals Security: All the time preserve rooster salad refrigerated, and don’t go away it out at room temperature for greater than 2 hours.
- Fridge Storage: Retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 5 days.
- Do Not Freeze: Mayonnaise-based salads don’t freeze nicely as they have a tendency to separate when thawed.
- Make-Forward: This salad really improves after sitting within the fridge for twenty-four hours, making it excellent for meal prep.