Perfected Smoked Chicken Salad (w/pics)

Have you ever tweaked a recipe over and over again until you get it just right? I guess after about 10 different tweaks, I'm finally STOKED with my smoked chicken salad...



I started out with a 4 pound chicken and brined it...



After the brine, I rinsed and patted it dry... rubbed on a little oil and then seasoned...



Tossed it on the kamado joe and cooked at 300°...



While the chicken was cooking, I mixed up the dressing:

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp Mayo (or mix of low fat mayo / fat free sour cream)
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp minced green onion or shallots
1 stalk of finely diced celery
2 tsp salt
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

If you like nuts/fruit in your chicken salad, feel free to add a half cup of chopped nuts and a half cup of chopped fruit of your choice



When I hit 165 in the breast, I pulled it off, tented it with foil and let it rest for quite a while...



I pulled all the chicken meat off the bone and roughly chopped it...



Then added it to the dressing, mixed it all up, and let it chill for a while....



And then made the best grilled chicken salad panini I had EVER had. PERIOD.


Here's a video of the process if interested...

[ame]http://youtu.be/VVATvX9Kpks[/ame]

cpw said:

Looks tasty! I love chicken salad, but I always add grapes cut in half.

Click to expand...

Lots of people do. That's why I included the note about nuts and fruit in the ingredients list. My mom likes sliced almonds and quartered grapes in hers.