If chewy chicken, mushy mayonnaise, and disappointing flavor are the first things to come to mind when you hear "chicken salad," you're in luck! Here's how to transform your chicken salad from sad to satisfying!
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00:00If chewy chicken, mushy mayonnaise, and disappointing flavor are the first things
00:04to come to mind when you hear chicken salad, you're in luck. Here's how to
00:08transform your chicken salad from sad to satisfying.
00:12When we make chicken salad, it can be tempting to load it up with lots of creamy mayonnaise or
00:16other salad dressings. But not all creamy ingredients are created equally. You can end
00:20up making a healthy chicken salad extremely unhealthy if you choose high-calorie and
00:24high-fat cream bases. A basic chicken salad recipe typically calls for a half cup of mayonnaise.
00:29Within a serving of that basic chicken salad, the mayonnaise portion of two tablespoons
00:33typically includes 188 calories and 20 grams of fat. Meanwhile, a typical creamy dressing
00:38contains 126 calories and 13 grams of fat. As an alternative, you can opt for less mayo or
00:44a different creamy base. You can get plenty of flavor from sour cream, which only has 60 calories
00:49and 2.9 grams of fat in two tablespoons. To make it even healthier, try low-fat yogurt,
00:54which has 17 calories and 0.4 grams of fat in two tablespoons.
00:59Chicken is a lean type of meat, but you still need to be careful when cooking it.
01:02The best methods to keep the calories and fat down require little to no extra oil,
01:06such as grilling, broiling, baking, poaching, boiling, steaming, or microwaving. Be sure
01:12to remove the skin and fat before cooking to reduce fat overall. Meanwhile, using fried
01:16chicken will greatly increase the caloric, fat, and salt content. According to Healthline,
01:21if you cook chicken with dry cooking methods above 482 degrees Fahrenheit,
01:25several studies indicate that this may create harmful chemicals. So instead, utilize a method
01:29that doesn't brown the meat or produce smoke, such as sous vide, steaming, pressure cooking,
01:34or microwaving. On the other hand, methods like grilling, pan searing, deep frying,
01:38smoking, and roasting may produce carcinogens, which can cause cancer.
01:42And we'd all prefer to avoid that, right?
01:45Yeah, that would be bad.
01:46There's nothing more disappointing than a beautiful chicken salad ruined by mushy or
01:51watery ingredients. The biggest offenders in this area are raw or cooked watery vegetables,
01:55or ingredients that haven't been dried after you've washed them. To avoid this,
01:59simply pat them with a paper towel or a clean, absorbent dishcloth. If you're including tomatoes
02:03and cucumbers, remove the seeds and soft innards before adding them to the salad.
02:07You can even salt them to remove excess moisture, especially if you plan to cook them first.
02:12This can also help to release proteins to make the ingredients more flavorful.
02:15One good method for this is to toss the veggies with salt, transfer them to a colander for half
02:20an hour, and then dry off the excess moisture before cooking or adding them to the salad.
02:25Your chicken salad add-ins have the potential to make this classic concoction even more
02:28nutritious than normal, so choose your ingredients wisely. The most common additions include apples,
02:33nuts, celery, and grapes, but you're only limited by what you have at hand to add.
02:37Other potential options that you may not have considered include the likes of olives,
02:41seeds, onions, herbs, apple cider vinegar, pomegranates, and pickles.
02:46Pickles? I'm hungry."
02:49It's all just a matter of pairing them with the right themes. For example,
02:52the classic Coronation Chicken Salad recipe contains cinnamon, ginger, mango chutney,
02:56curry powder, sultanas, and cilantro for a nice Indian-style flair. Or you could opt
03:01for an Asian-inspired crunchy chicken salad with ingredients like dry ramen noodles,
03:05almonds, kewpie mayo, cilantro, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and togarashi.
03:10If you start with chicken that tastes like nothing, it can be difficult to cover up the
03:14blandness with external ingredients alone. If, however, you start by marinating, brining,
03:18barbecuing, seasoning, or adding citrus while cooking, you should have a far more
03:22flavorful chicken as a base. Of course, sometimes the whole reason we decide to
03:26make chicken into a salad is that we want to do something with otherwise bland, boring poultry.
03:30You can always gussy up your chicken by drizzling an acid like lemon or pickle juice on it.
03:35Stir-ins like spice mixes and herbs can also kick it up a notch. And while it's
03:38not the healthiest add-in, a little bacon will certainly add a nice zing.
03:42Pickled vegetables like cucumbers can add some zing with their vinegar base as well.
03:46Meanwhile, roasted veggies like peppers can lend a more robust flavor profile.
03:50Of course, you can always add fresh veggies or fruit for more savory or sweet flavor layers.
03:54Chutneys or relishes may also add extra interest. You can always include even more protein and
03:59different umami bites with nuts, hard-boiled eggs, or cheese. And don't forget alliums like
04:04onions and garlic for an even harder punch. You can avoid rubbery chicken by brining it
04:09before cooking or by cooking with a moist method like steaming, boiling, slow cooking, braising,
04:14or sous vide. Using a meat mallet for tenderizing can also help break down the protein and make it
04:19more delicious overall. Sometimes, though, your chicken is rubbery because the meat has more
04:23connective tissue than normal. In that case, your cooking method may not be at fault for the tough
04:27state of your meat. Luckily, you can still salvage overcooked chicken. If you cooked it on the grill
04:32or in the oven, you can often remove the burnt outer parts to reveal meat that's still tender
04:36inside. Adding olive oil or butter may also moisturize it a bit, and sometimes you can warm
04:41it up with a little water or other liquid-like broth to restore lost moisture. If you've been
04:46eating your chicken salad alone or on white bread or plain crackers, you're doing it wrong. They're
04:51simply not as nutritious as other possibilities, and since they're low in fiber, they won't fill
04:55you up either. Instead, consider a whole grain option, which usually has more vitamins and
05:00minerals than bread and crackers made from bleached white flour. It also contains B and E vitamins,
05:04iron, magnesium, zinc, and antioxidants. Another option is to serve it on top of lettuce or with
05:10other greens, which are a great choice if you're looking for a lower-calorie addition that can
05:14still add fiber and nutrients to your meal. Chicken salad has the potential to cause food
05:18poisoning if you're not careful about how you prepare, store, and serve it. According to the
05:23Centers for Disease Control, about a million people in the United States get sick from eating
05:27bad chicken each year. This can happen when you allow raw chicken juice to contaminate other food,
05:31or you don't use a different cutting board for that raw poultry. You should always remember to
05:35wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, sinks, and your hands after they come into contact
05:40with raw chicken. After you've cooked your chicken, be sure to check it with a food thermometer to
05:44ensure that it's reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which should kill any
05:49pathogens. You'll also want to keep in mind that bacteria starts to grow on food anytime it's in
05:53the danger zone, within the range of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The CDC says that chicken
05:58is normally safe out of the refrigerator for two hours, but if it's been sitting around in a hot car
06:03or the sun at 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above, it's only safe for an hour, as the bacteria will
06:07have multiplied faster. Chicken salad benefits from the addition of something sweet, like fruit,
06:12to contrast with all the savory elements. There's nothing inherently wrong with adding dried or
06:17candied fruit to chicken salad instead of, or in addition to, fresh fruit. But you should be aware
06:21that just a little bit of dried fruit adds more extra calories and sugar than you might suspect.
06:26If you add a quarter cup of raisins, that means an extra 170 calories and 37 grams of sugar,
06:31whereas if you add a serving of raw grapes, that only adds 39 calories and 8.8 grams of sugar.
06:36The same applies to every type of fruit and its dried alternative. Because dried fruit has the
06:41majority of its moisture removed, the fruit is shrunken, which can be deceiving because
06:45more calories and sugar can pack into the same amount of space.
06:49A variety of textures can make your chicken salad far more interesting. There's a scientific
06:53reason why we love crunchy foods, after all. When we eat crunchy bites, our brains have evolved to
07:04tell us that it's good to eat, unlike mushy and decaying food. Over time, we've come to equate
07:09that crunching sound with food safety. In fact, a 2006 study found that when we're stressed,
07:13we gravitate toward foods with bite. People even rate food as less pleasurable when they
07:17don't have any texture. So if you're not adding satisfying, chewy ingredients to your chicken
07:22salad, you're not getting as much from it as you could. A classic chicken salad with a crunchy
07:26twist might contain apples, celery, and nuts. Crisp fruits, vegetables, seeds, dry ramen, and
07:32sesame sticks can also add extra crunch to make you get far more pleasure from your salad than
07:36otherwise. When you don't wash raw fruits and vegetables before putting them into your salad,
07:41you put yourself at risk of various foodborne illnesses. According to the CDC, it's only safe
07:46to skip washing fruits and veggies if the packaging says they've been pre-washed. Otherwise, assume that
07:51they haven't been washed, and you only need to use plain, running water to do the washing. That's
07:55because produce is porous, and you don't want any soap to pass through the skin to the fruit beneath.
07:59If you're overly concerned about food safety, like if you accidentally get raw chicken juice
08:03on your produce, you can scrub the produce with a brush or wash it with one part vinegar to three
08:08parts water. Even if you plan to peel the fruit or veggie or cut it up with the peel intact,
08:12it's important to wash the peel before you peel it or cut it, as you can pass bacteria from the
08:16peel to the knife and then to the flesh of the produce. Raw veggies are typical for chicken
08:21salads, but there are other tasty alternatives. Roasted, grilled, steamed, dried, pickled,
08:27and fermented veggies can all make excellent additions. For starters…
08:31They have antioxidants.
08:33They do?
08:34That's right, and you may be surprised to find that some vegetables obtain nutritional advantages
08:39when you cook them. For example, carrots, spinach, peppers, cabbage, and asparagus provide more
08:44antioxidants when they're cooked. The best options are steaming or boiling. On the other hand,
08:49frying depletes these antioxidants, and a study from 2002 shows that carrots have more beta
08:54carotene after we cook them. Our bodies use beta carotene to make vitamin A, which has a variety
08:59of health benefits. Heat also makes the carotenoids in carrots easier to metabolize, so they can more
09:04effectively work to protect your eyes and possibly lower your risk of cancer. Furthermore, steamed
09:09broccoli holds onto more glucosinolate, which may protect against some cancers, and quick-cooked
09:13mushrooms may have more antioxidants. Adding fermented vegetables to chicken salad can also
09:17play a role in maintaining gut health. Pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, and other pickled vegetables
09:22are all great options in that area.
09:24Some people really push their luck when it comes to leftovers, but that's a habit you definitely
09:29want to avoid when it comes to chicken salad. Just relying on a look and sniff test can leave
09:33you with food poisoning, as you can't see and smell every food contaminant. Leftovers that
09:37contain meat are tricky, especially those that you don't reheat before eating, and chicken isn't safe
09:42as long as some other meats like beef, pork, and lamb. According to FoodSafety.gov, you can keep
09:47chicken salad safe in the refrigerator for three to four days, at a temperature of 40 degrees
09:51Fahrenheit or below. The USDA says it's good for up to five days, so you definitely shouldn't push
09:56your luck past six days or beyond. Unfortunately, chicken salad doesn't freeze well, and the USDA
10:01says that you shouldn't freeze it if it contains mayonnaise. While mayonnaise is safe to eat after
10:05it's been frozen, the emulsion effect will break down, causing parts of it to separate from its
10:09colloidal state.
10:12For more information, visit www.FoodSafety.gov