About the Recipe
I once attended a potluck where one of our friends brought what was, at that time, the best chicken salad I'd ever had. I asked him for the recipe, and he kindly shared it. It was right up my alley—written in Microsoft Word with bullet points, few measurements, and those he did provide included gems like "a shit ton of grapes." I followed it to the letter a few times before deciding to put my own spin on it. My version involved wet brining the chicken in a salt, sugar, and herb mixture for a few hours/overnight, using only chicken thighs, and grilling the thighs. The result? I was genuinely impressed by how next-level the chicken salad became. Naturally, I deemed it "mine" due to the few tweaks I made. For a truly top-chef experience, use homemade mayonnaise—chef's kiss, I promise!
Ingredients
2-3 pounds of chicken thighs
2 cups of mayonnaise
1/4 cup (total) combination of white distilled vinegar and red wine vinegar
4-5 green onions thinly sliced
1-2 stalks of celery diced
1/4-1/3 cup finely diced yellow or white onion
Quartered purple grapes (to your level of sweetness)
Dried cranberries roughly chopped (to your level of sweetness)
Roughly chopped walnuts - to your liking
Salt, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste (e.g., dill, tarragon, rosemary, etc.)
Directions
Wet brine the chicken by mixing 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon sugar per 4 cups of water. I like to add rosemary and garlic powder for a little extra flavor. Brine for 3-6 hours.
Remove chicken from brine and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil. Grill until cooked through. Let cool, then dice finely.
Make the dressing by combining mayonnaise and vinegar. Set aside.
Mix the diced ingredients - chicken, green onions, celery, onions, grapes, cranberries, and walnuts.
Coat the mixture with the dressing.
Season with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste. Adjust sweetness with extra grapes, cranberries, or sugar if desired.
Serve over lettuce, with your favorite crackers, or in a wrap!