Make Ahead

Tarragon Pecan Chicken Salad

October  4, 2022
4
2 Ratings
  • Makes Approximately 2 pounds
Author Notes

During college I worked for a local restaurant, Truffles Cafe on Hilton Head Island, SC, and my favorite thing on the menu was the grilled chicken salad sandwich which was adapted from The Silver Palate cookbook. When I opened my own restaurant, I made sure we had the chicken salad on our menu. It evolved a little due to circumstance and ingredients on hand, but it is still one of my favorite things to make with mayonnaise. —SaltedCarolyn

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 24 ounces Boneless Chicken Breast
  • 1/4 cup Beau Monde Seasoning
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 cup Celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers, diced
  • 2 ounces Dried Tarragon, crushed
  • 1 cup Kahlua Roasted Pecans, chopped
  • 1 cup Mayonnaise--Duke's or Hellman's
  • Salt and Peper to taste
Directions
  1. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts. Coat with Beau Monde seasoning (made by Spice Island brand, a must to make this chicken salad sooo delicious) and a touch of salt and pepper. Place on a roasting pan with a lip and pour heavy cream over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Let sit to cool and then dice.
  2. To make the Kahlua pecans: roast pecan pieces or halves in an oven for 5 minutes on 350 degrees. Remove from oven and toss with Kahlua (yes the beverage) or any other coffee flavored liquor and a touch of salt. Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
  3. In a bowl, toss together the celery, red pepper, chicken, pecans and tarragon. Add mayonnaise slowly, you just want enough mayo to coat the product and hold everything together. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  4. To make the yummy grilled chicken salad sandwich you will need the following: some kind of hearty whole grain bread, cheddar cheese and a touch of whole grain mustard. Heat a skillet and add some butter. Put the mustard and cheese on the bread, place open faced in the hot skillet when cheese has melted take out and make sandwich with chicken salad. You can put back in the skillet after you've added salad if you want, but I like the contrast between the cold chicken salad and the warm gooey cheese.

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1 Review

sexyLAMBCHOPx July 11, 2012
My kind of sandwich!