A Chicken Caesar You’re Supposed to Eat With Your Hands

It’s not that I don’t like forks and knives. It’s just that, sometimes, eating with your hands is more fun. Think about hot dogs at a baseball game or burgers at a cookout or funnel cakes at a fair. Think about pizza.

Or caesar salad. Yep, Caesar salad! This classic has indeed pitched its tent in Camp Cutlery. But today, we’re teaching it to loosen up, hoot and holler, jump around. Here’s how:

Don’t chop the lettuce.

I love an alt-greenery Caesar (have you tried our zucchini one?), but romaine is what we want and need here. It’s large, crisp, and sturdy enough to turn into lettuce cups. Simply pull the leaves like you’re plucking petals from a flower. He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not…

Simplify the dressing.

If I’m grilling chicken and making my own croutons and yada-yada-yada, I don’t want to stress about the dressing. Instead of starting with egg yolks and oil—and making our own emulsification—we’ll start with store-bought mayonnaise, which does all the hard work for us. To this, add minced anchovies and garlic, lots of lemon juice, olive oil, Worcestershire, an unshy amount of black pepper, and a splash of balsamic. The last is unconventional, but I love its sweet tang.

Did I say dressing? I also meant marinade.

How to make the chicken in a chicken Caesar ultra-Caesar-y? Marinate it in some of the dressing. I opt for chicken breasts, which are classic salad fare, but you could throw caution to the wind and use thighs instead. Because the marinade is mayo-based, it means the chicken will be moist no matter what.

Cook your chicken and croutons the same way.

On the grill. If you’re already firing up one heat source, milk it for all its worth. I start with bread slices—I like a rustic, Italian-style white, but anything works—and drizzle with olive oil. Grill until charred on both sides, then tear into itty-bitty pieces.

Don’t forget the bonuses.

You could totally fill lettuce cups with Caesar-dressed grilled chicken and croutons and no one would be mad. In fact, they’d probably ask for seconds. But! There are a few mix-ins that I really love here: Grated parm (or pecorino). Capers, which my mom always adds to caesars, and now I do, too. And shredded radicchio. Not only does this stretch the filling, but it adds a little bitterness to cut through the richness; plus, a pop of ruby color.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps

View Recipe

Ingredients

For the Caesar dressing:

1	cup mayonnaise
1	(2-ounce) can anchovy fillets, drained, and minced
2	lemons, juiced
2	garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2	teaspoons Worcestershire, plus more to taste
1	teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1	pinch kosher salt, plus more to taste

1	cup mayonnaise
1	(2-ounce) can anchovy fillets, drained, and minced
2	lemons, juiced
2	garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, and minced
2	tablespoons olive oil

1	tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2	teaspoons Worcestershire, plus more to taste
1	teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1	pinch kosher salt, plus more to taste

For the chicken lettuce wraps:

4	chicken breasts, halved horizontally
6	slices bread, ideally crusty and rustic
2	tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1	small head radicchio, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
1	cup grated Parmesan
2	tablespoons drained capers
3	hearts of romaine, broken into leafs for lettuce cups

4	chicken breasts, halved horizontally
6	slices bread, ideally crusty and rustic
2	tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
1	small head radicchio, halved, cored, and thinly sliced

1	cup grated Parmesan
2	tablespoons drained capers
3	hearts of romaine, broken into leafs for lettuce cups

What’s your favorite way to Caesar? Tell us all the deets in the comments!