Sous-Vide Chicken Salad Recipe

The star of your next picnic

We're cooking anything that can fit in a bag sous vide these days, because it's the easiest way to perfectly cook, well, just about everything. Even something as simple as chicken salad can be taken to the next level with this one technique and a few key ingredients, like tarragon, lemon zest and garlic. The result is the juiciest chicken salad you've ever had, perfect for topping any sandwich or greens.

To learn more, read "TT Culinary Institute: Sous Vide."

Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen

Sous-Vide Chicken Salad
4.9 from 61 ratings
By cooking the meat sous vide, you get the juiciest sandwich-worthy chicken salad, flavored with tarragon, garlic, serrano chile and lemon juice.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
2
hours
Servings
4
to 6 servings
Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds chicken breast
  • 3 garlic cloves, 2 smashed and 1 minced, divided
  • 2 tarragon sprigs, plus 2 tablespoons minced leaves, divided
  • 1 lemon, zested with a peeler and juiced, divided
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 celery stalk, minced
  • ½ serrano chile—stemmed, seeded and minced
Directions
  1. In a vacuum-seal bag, seal the chicken, 2 smashed garlic cloves, 2 tarragon sprigs, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Alternatively, place the ingredients in a sealable plastic bag and dip the bag into a large bowl of water to displace the air before sealing shut.
  2. Preheat a pot of water fitted with a sous-vide immersion circulator to 150° according to the manufacturer's directions. Making sure the bag is completely submerged in the water, cook the chicken for 2 hours. Remove the bag from the pot and place into an ice bath until completely cooled.
  3. Remove the chicken from the bag and transfer to a cutting board, discarding the garlic, tarragon and lemon zest. Roughly chop the chicken and transfer to a medium bowl with the minced garlic, minced tarragon leaves, lemon juice, mayonnaise, honey, celery and chile. Stir to combine, then season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving 413
Total Fat 28.9 g
Saturated Fat 6.3 g
Trans Fat 0.2 g
Cholesterol 104.3 mg
Total Carbohydrates 5.2 g
Dietary Fiber 0.6 g
Total Sugars 3.2 g
Sodium 449.9 mg
Protein 32.0 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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