Chicken Mayonnaise Spread

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Chicken Mayonnaise Spread

Bowl of Chicken Mayo Only, Overhead View

We’ve allowed chicken mayo to become a neglected – and often abused – culinary Cinderella. And in the process we’ve ourselves have become savage culinary paupers. Trolling the internet recipes out there confirms my accusation: tinned chicken meat (of all things!), day 3 leftover chicken roast, poached chicken shredded into a stringy, pulled pork-like mess, etc., etc. Frequently cobbled together with tangy mayonnaise and often suffering the iniquity of copious quantities of chilli or BBQ spices.

My goodness! A living, breathing (hopefully happy, if otherwise mindless) animal had to die only to end up as a third rate solution to a problem caused by our rushed, pressed modern life styles? Possibly you’ll agree that ubiquitous chicken mayo deserves a little more respect than this? Before I get crisped at the stake: I get the home economy of converting leftover Sunday roast chicken into chicken mayo sarmies for Monday’s lunch at school or the office. But even then, a little bit of effort and extra care will not go amiss. I mean, you do care for (and respect) yourself and those dearest to you, don’t you?

Decent chicken mayonnaise is one of those stalwarts we should always, always have a tub full on hand in the fridge. It lends itself to so easily to a legion of applications: an impromptu filling for sandwiches, subs, wraps, pita breads, etc., or as a spread for savoury waffles, baked and halved potatoes and even a pizza topping if your inclination leads that way.

Chicken Mayo, Russian & Cheese Waffles, Overhead View

The modern, lacklustre battery chicken is ideally suited for an elevated chicken mayonnaise. Particularly the maligned breasts are excellent blank flavour canvases on which to live out all your wildest culinary fantasies, tempered with a healthy dollop of common sense, of course. Though bland in taste, the breasts are not completely tasteless. Elevating and supporting the inherent chicken flavour is what this recipe seeks to achieve. I mean: it’s supposed to be about the chicken in the chicken mayonnaise and not the quality of the mayonnaise and or any other flavourings chucked in at whims notice.

Our recipe here uses bone in, skin on chicken breasts gently poached in a savoury broth formed from the classic French mirepoix components of onion, celery and carrot, all gently supported by dried garlic flakes, bay leaf and black pepper. We don’t over-poach the breasts either. When the pinkish-ness next to the breast bone has disappeared, our breasts are ready – usually 45 minutes or so (depending on the size of the breasts). The bone and skin provides extra flavour and a wee touch of dissolved collagen during the poaching process, gently improving the final taste and texture of the final assembly. Adding a robust white wine to the poaching liquid lends an air of refinement and significantly improves the flavour of the final product as well.

Mixed Peppercorns, Dried Garlic Flakes & Bay Leaves, Overhead View

As an important aside: reserve the chicken breast poaching liquid. It makes an EXCELLENT meat broth that can be used to cook a myriad of starches, pulses and vegetables with. It also forms an excellent base for many soups and works almost indecently well with couscous. Once the poached chicken pieces have been removed, strain the cold poaching liquid through a sieve. Discard the poached veggies and spices. Store the broth in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to three days. Alternatively, freeze it immediately until needed later.

Allowing the breasts to cool in their cooking liquid allows for a moist, fairly loose cooked chicken meat as opposed to the dreadfully dry, cardboard-like consistency of cooked deboned and skinless breast fillets (which is more suited to frying or sautéing). Cutting the deboned, de-skinned poached chicken breast meat across its grain is very important for a fairly smooth final mouth feel. Flaking and fork teasing the cooked meat along the grain tends to lead to a stringy, fibrous texture eventually. This can be awkward to say the very least.

In the final assembly, a touch of a good quality BBQ spice supports the chicken’s inherent flavour, while ground sage and bayleaf powders broaden out the overall flavour profile. Finely chopped dill cucumber and fresh white onion adds a tad of sweet-savoury robustness to prevent the chicken mayo from becoming too rich, providing balance between the five main tastes: umami, sweet, sour, acid and bitterness / astringency.

And violà, there we have it: a decent, inspired chicken mayonnaise mixture to be proud off. Now go show some real love and respect to your kitchen chicken!

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CHICKEN MAYONNAISE SPREAD

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:

± 750g Filling

Preparation time:

± 45 Minutes, Total

Difficulty level:

Easy

Ingredients:

Poaching The Chicken Breasts:
Large chicken breasts, bone in, skin on	3 / ± 850g
Celery stalk, roughly chopped	1
Medium carrot, sliced	½
Medium onion, sliced	½
Dried garlic flakes	5.0ml
Mixed peppercorns	2.5ml
Dried bay leaves	3
Optional: Sauvignon blanc wine	100ml
Water	To cover

Preparing The Chicken Mayonnaise:
Poached chicken fillet meat, deboned, chopped & teased apart	400g
Fresh parsley, finely chopped	5.0ml
BBQ Spice	5.0ml
Salt	2.5ml
Dried, ground sage	½ ml
Ground bay leaf powder	¼ ml

White onion, finely chopped or grated	100g
Sweet & sour gherkins, finely chopped	25g
Mildly tangy mayonnaise or salad cream	200g – 225g

Optional: Crushed garlic	2.5ml
Optional: Finely grated lemon peel	± 1.5ml
Optional: Fine black pepper	½ ml

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Method:

To Poach the Chicken Breasts:

Rinse the breasts thoroughly under cold running water.
Put the breasts in a medium large saucepan and add all the other ingredients. Heat the saucepan over medium high heat until the liquid starts to boil lightly. Adjust the heat down until the liquid is simmering gently.
Simmer the chicken breasts for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim the liquid’s surface if excessive scum forms.
Remove from the heat and allow the breasts to cool down to room temperature in the poaching liquid. Preferably refrigerate the breasts overnight in the poaching liquid as the cold, poached breast meat will debone, cut and chop easier.
Remove the breasts from the poaching liquid. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve and reserve for use elsewhere. Remove the skins from the poached breasts and discard along with the poaching liquid vegetables, spices and herbs.
Carefully debone the breasts. Cut the big pieces into finger wide sections length-wise. Slice across the grain into very small pieces with a sharp knife.
Refrigerate immediately until needed, but no longer than two days.

To Prepare the Chicken Mayonnaise Spread:

Combine the chopped chicken meat and all the other ingredients except the mayonnaise / salad cream in a large mixing bowl.
Mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add the mayonnaise / salad cream. Mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper according to your taste.
Use immediately of refrigerate for up to three days.

Comments:

Let the filling stand for one day to fully develop the flavours.
The flavourings, chopped onions and gherkins is mixed into the chopped chicken meat before adding the mayonnaise / salad cream to ensure full and even distribution of all the ingredients.
Dill flavour pickled cucumbers will also work as a substitute if no gherkins are available.
The chicken mayonnaise can be frozen in an emergency. Defrost over two days in a refrigerator. Carefully drain any liquid and mix well with a fork. Use immediately.
Grated lemon peel lends a freshening, citrusy undertone the cuts through the richness of the filling. However, it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

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