Chicken for Salads

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SaltNBurnBoys
SaltNBurnBoys Posts: 170 Member
in Recipes
Hey guys!

I'm not sure if this should be here or in F&N, so if I should move it, just let me know.

I have recently discovered that I find salads much more enjoyable if they have slices of chicken in them (thanks, Saladworks!) But I have no idea how to cook chicken for this purpose. I know plenty of chicken dishes, but none of them are just plain strips of chicken.

So what's the best way to cook chicken for salads? Do I bake it? Put it in a frying pan? Boil it? I want to be able to enjoy salads without spending $10 each time.

Replies

  • kiittenforever
    kiittenforever Posts: 479 Member
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    Bake it - I put club house cajun seasoning on it then slice it and put it on my salad..
  • Follow_me
    Follow_me Posts: 6,120 Member
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    I flatten boneless/skinless chicken breasts with a roiling pin to about 3/4". This allows them to cook evenly. I'll soak them in a brine for about an hour. Dry them off and season them with a dry rub for another hour or so. Light the grill and cook them on a medium to high fire just a few minutes on each side until the meat thermometer reads 160. Take them off and let them rest a bit before slicing into juicy slices. The key to making them juicy is the brine and not letting them cook too long on the fire. This is what I put on my salads.
  • SaltNBurnBoys
    SaltNBurnBoys Posts: 170 Member
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    kiittenforever wrote: »
    Bake it - I put club house cajun seasoning on it then slice it and put it on my salad..

    Oh that sounds tasty. Thanks for the idea!

  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
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    When we eat salads for dinner we generally put chicken, tuna or lunch meat in them.

    I crockpot chicken. I will put an entire chicken in the crockpot for a different dinner other then salad. Season it for whatever the occasion. BBQ, lemon pepper, garlic...whatever you want. Serve dinner and then save the rest. We then have already cold, cooked chicken for whatever salad we want. It can usually be enough for a dinner salad and then lunch salad for two people in the days following once.

    If you are really just wanting to randomly have salad buy a bag of precooked chicken from the frozen food aisle. I enjoy the fajita chicken (thin cut). You can heat it up for a warm chicken salad or defrost it for a traditional cold chicken salad. The possibilities are endless.

    Sometimes my love feels frisky and he wants chicken strips on his salad. So we buy frozen chicken strips. Haha

    We did tuna on our salads last night. A 4 pack of tuna creations. They have four different flavors. Most amazing salad. EVER.
  • SaltNBurnBoys
    SaltNBurnBoys Posts: 170 Member
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    Follow_me wrote: »
    I flatten boneless/skinless chicken breasts with a roiling pin to about 3/4". This allows them to cook evenly. I'll soak them in a brine for about an hour. Dry them off and season them with a dry rub for another hour or so. Light the grill and cook them on a medium to high fire just a few minutes on each side until the meat thermometer reads 160. Take them off and let them rest a bit before slicing into juicy slices. The key to making them juicy is the brine and not letting them cook too long on the fire. This is what I put on my salads.

    Unfortunately I don't have access to a grill 95% of the time, but that's something I could suggest to my dad who complains about anything that's green.
  • SaltNBurnBoys
    SaltNBurnBoys Posts: 170 Member
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    LifeInTheBikeLane wrote: »
    When we eat salads for dinner we generally put chicken, tuna or lunch meat in them.

    I crockpot chicken. I will put an entire chicken in the crockpot for a different dinner other then salad. Season it for whatever the occasion. BBQ, lemon pepper, garlic...whatever you want. Serve dinner and then save the rest. We then have already cold, cooked chicken for whatever salad we want. It can usually be enough for a dinner salad and then lunch salad for two people in the days following once.

    If you are really just wanting to randomly have salad buy a bag of precooked chicken from the frozen food aisle. I enjoy the fajita chicken (thin cut). You can heat it up for a warm chicken salad or defrost it for a traditional cold chicken salad. The possibilities are endless.

    Sometimes my love feels frisky and he wants chicken strips on his salad. So we buy frozen chicken strips. Haha

    We did tuna on our salads last night. A 4 pack of tuna creations. They have four different flavors. Most amazing salad. EVER.

    Those are all really great ideas. I will definitely try them out.
  • wildtxn
    wildtxn Posts: 97 Member
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    I just marinade or rub down my chicken breast and bake at 350 for right at 48 minutes and pretty much perfect every time, I always make enough to last throughout the weak and set aside about 4oz per day to slice and add to my salads for lunch at work.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I put mine in a dish, sprinkle with salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and little chicken broth. Bake in oven. If I have calories, I will add a small amount of butter. It poaches gently and has a nice lemon flavor which is nice for salads.

    Or I will bake with a southwestern type of seasoning. This is great with taco salads or salads with beans & corn.

    It's not for me, but I know of several people who like to marinate theirs in light italian dressing and bake.

    How about sprinkling with dry ranch. Sautee in skillet with little oil. It will give some ranch flavor without all the added dressing? Only thing is it's high in sodium.

    Mrs. Dash has a variety of flavors that work great without sodium.

    Good luck!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    I buy chicken when it's on sale, bake it all, and portion the meat into meal-sized containers for the freezer. For example, this week big trays of leg quarters were $.99/lb. I bought a five pound package yesterday and will bake the chicken this afternoon. I bake this chicken very simply -- just putting it in a roasting pan, skin-side up, with maybe a bit of salt and pepper on the skin. Then I'll bake it at 350F until the internal temperature reaches about 185. (We like our chicken a bit overdone.) When it's cool enough to handle, I'll remove the meat from the bones and use the scale to separate them meat into meal-sized portions for the freezer. The skin and bones will also be thrown in the freezer for later use to make broth. When I want to use the chicken, I just thaw it out and use it for salads, soups, pasta, etc.

    I do the same thing with bone-in, skin-on breasts. For boneless, skinless breasts or strips, you would need to do something to keep the chicken moist. I am more likely to use them in a stir fry or pounded thin and sauteed. It you were to bake them plain in the oven they would be dry and unpleasant!
  • kazaargrandcru
    kazaargrandcru Posts: 152 Member
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    I just buy cooked rotisserie chicken. It's ready to eat & they sell them either hot or cold, whole or pieces (just breast or leg). Most grocery stores have them in the deli area where the in-store made ready meals are.

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