Swine & Sea — Chicken Salad — French Creole Recipe

Chicken Salad

There’s a version of chicken salad that tries too hard — overloaded, sweet, dressed until it forgets what it started as. This isn’t that.

This one begins where most people stop: with the whole bird. Roasted slowly, skin rendered, fat saved. Nothing wasted. The meat is pulled while it’s still warm, cut with intention, not shredded into anonymity.

The dressing isn’t an afterthought — it’s built from the chicken itself. Fat, egg yolks, lemon. A quiet aioli that carries the memory of the roast forward instead of masking it. Red onion, celery, tarragon — measured, not loud. Structure without stiffness.

This is chicken salad meant to be eaten deliberately. On good bread. With a knife nearby. The kind that feels finished without feeling dressed up.

Recipe

Chicken Salad

  • 1

    whole chicken
  • olive oil
  • Kosher salt

  • 2

    lemons , halved

  • 1

    garlic head

  • 2

    egg yolks

  • 1

    red onion , finely diced

  • 2

    celery stalks , finely diced

  • ¼ cup

    fresh tarragon , finely chopped
  • freshly ground black pepper
    Step 1

  • Pat the chicken dry and place in a roasting pan. Add the lemon halves and head of garlic and then coat everything with the olive oil and season the chicken with Kosher salt.

    • Step 2

  • Place the chicken in a 400° oven. Roast the chicken until golden brown and the thickest part of the chicken has a temperature of 165°. Approximately 1 hour.

    • Step 3

  • Reserve the rendered chicken fat in a bowl and allow to cool. Reserve the lemon halves and roasted garlic in a separate bowl. Allow the chicken to cool.

    • Step 4

  • Once the chicken has cool, shred the meat and place in a large bowl., discarding the bones.

    • Step 5

  • In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks with the juice of the roasted lemons.. Slowly stream in the warm chicken fat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy. Season lightly. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the garlic head. Use an immersion blender to break the garlic.

    • Step 6

  • Add the red onion, celery and tarragon to shredded chicken bowl.

    • Step 7

  • Add the part of the chicken fat aoili to the shredded chicken mixture. Mix throughly. Slowly add more until the chicken mixture provides enough moisture to the mixture but don't overdress.

    • Step 8

  • Season with Kosher Salt and black pepper. Cover the mixture and allow the flavors to meld overnight.