The Warren Home 
Home Search search Menu menu Not logged in - Login | Register
The Warren > Reviews > Recipes > Smoked Chicken Salad - 3 ways!

Smoked Chicken Salad - 3 ways!
 Moderated by: Vargr, shadowcat-x, boojum
New Topic Reply Printer Friendly
 Rate Topic 
AuthorPost
 Posted: Sun Jul 12th, 2009 01:26 am
  PMQuoteReply
1st Post
Vargr
Vargr


Joined: Tue Jun 7th, 2005
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
Posts: 5009
Status: 
Offline
Mana: 
These three recipes start from the same origin - Chicken smoked in a home smoker (recipe also included), and then make use of that ingredient to go in three rather different directions.  Two "Wraps" and somewhat more traditional chunky chicken salad follow.

The two "Wraps" also share a common source - the smoked chicken is processed in a food processor until smooth and thick, then seasoned to take it in different directions.

The "Southwest" version is reminiscent of chili and Mexican cooking, while the "Thai Peanut" has spicy-sweet Asian elements.  Of the two, the Thai Peanut actually ended up with more "heat" in the spices, but that could easily be shifted with a bit more chilies or red peppers in the "Southwest" version, or less Sriracha hot sauce in the Thai one.

Enjoy!  And Happy Cooking!

Smoking the chicken breasts/thighs:
Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs.  Vargr used something between 2 and 3 pounds, total, to make all three of these recipes at once. If only doing one, reduce appropriately.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
Dust one side with Gilroy Garlic Garni until a light coating covers the surface.
Dust the other side with Durkee Mustard Pepper grill creations seasoning.
Dust both sides lightly with original Emeril's Essence (just enough to add new complexity but not overwhelm the original spices).

Smoke at 200 degrees with a water tray above the heat for steam (a combination of mesquite and Jack Daniels barrels wood was used this time, but most any good wood for smoking will do) for about 2-3 hours until chicken is done but not dried out. (Watch carefully. These boneless, skinless pieces don't have the internal structures and thickness of bone-in chicken, and can VERY quickly go from "not quite done" to "shoe leather" depending on smoker temperature, amount of water in the water tray, and other elements.)

Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes:
Combine;
1 1/2 C boneless, skinless chicken breasts/thighs cut into 1/2 in cubes
1/2-2/3 C Jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4inch dice
1-1.5C green seedless grapes, cut in half or roughly chopped
1 pkg (2oz) pecan chips

Curry Sauce:
1-2T Curry Powder
2 T Graham Masala
1C Light Mayo
1/3 C Miracle Whip
1T Dijon Mustard
1T Spicy Sweet Mustard
1T Lemon Juice
1T Garlic Powder
1T Onion Powder
1 tsp Hickory Smoked Salt
1 tsp White Pepper
1/4C Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1/4-1/3 C half & half
Whisk all together until combined (thin with more half and half if too thick))

Pour over first 4 ingredients, stir/shake to cover and mix completely. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill and let flavors meld. Serve in cups made from leaves of a crisp head of lettuce.

"Base" chicken roll-up "paste"
(this is a finely chopped base of a paste-like consistency to add the other flavors to, but it makes a GREAT smoked chicken flavor for a wrap all by itself)
1.5C Mayo (or plain yogurt)
1/2C Miracle Whip
2T Dijon Mustard
1T Spicy Sweet Mustard
1T Lemon Juice
1T Garlic Powder
1T Onion Powder
1/4 Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Approx 2C Diced smoked chicken breasts and thighs. (Filled processor bowl when done)
Process in a food processor until very smooth
Add Half&Half 1T at a time during processing until very thick paste (holds together on a spoon)

(Made two batches of "base" for the party)

Southwest flavored roll-ups:
To 1 batch of the "base" above, add;
1/8C Chili Powder
1/8C Cumin
1 Sm. Can mild green chilies
1/2C "fiesta" grated cheese blend
1-2T Lemon Juice
Process until well blended and very smooth (Add more mayo/yogurt if too thick to spread easily)
Stir in by hand, 1 small can chopped black olives.
Spread on sun dried tomato flavored tortilla wraps and roll up into a long "cigar".  Wrap and seal in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cooled (or put in freezer for about 30-45 minutes), then remove plastic and slice the "cigar" into 1 inch long "pin wheels" for party treats or into half or thirds and serve with a salad for a nice meal.

Thai Peanut flavored roll-ups:
To 1 batch of the "base" above, add;
1/3C Thai peanut flavored sauce
1/4C Soy Sauce
2T Toasted Sesame Seed  (Note - this made the mix too oily. Try substituting toasted sesame paste)
1/2C Creamy peanut butter
1T Rice Vinegar
(Optional) Sriracha HOT chili sauce to taste (the Thai peanut sauce has a warm after-taste, but you may wish to have more pronounced heat. Be careful, the heat grows with "rest" time of the chicken paste, and can be hotter than expected if you keep the filling or roll-ups for some time in the refrigerator.)

Process until well blended and very smooth (Add more mayo/yogurt if too thick to spread easily)
Spread on spinach flavored tortilla wraps and roll up into a long "cigar".  Wrap and seal in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cooled, then slice into 1 inch long "pin wheels" for party treats or into half or thirds and serve with a salad for a nice meal.



____________________
We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
Back To Top


 Current time is 08:45 pm

The Warren > Reviews > Recipes > Smoked Chicken Salad - 3 ways!
Top



UltraBB 1.172 Copyright © 2007-2011 Data 1 Systems
Page processed in 0.0718 seconds (20% database + 80% PHP). 26 queries executed.