Pickled Chicken Salad

I love a good story. The genesis of Chicken Salad Chick is one of my favorites and one that resonates with my own history. Although I haven’t made millions off of chicken salad. Or anything else…yet.

The founder unexpectedly found herself a single mother with no income in Auburn, Alabama. A lover of chicken salad, she sought to make the perfect blend. But much like chili, no two are alike. So she made several different kinds and sold it door to door. Through many trials and tribulations, her restaurant and eventually franchise was born. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/29/624713103/chicken-salad-chick-stacy-brown

I unexpectedly became a single mom of a first grader while in the aftermath of a work layoff many years ago. The sheer terror of how am I going to keep the heat on, food on the table, job hunt, keep up a home, and dual parent is nothing I would wish on anyone. At one point, I, too, did catering and personal chef-ing to make ends meet. I wanted to continue in my chosen profession of umpteen years but made a deal with myself. If I didn’t have a full-time job with benefits by the start of school, I would invest in the cooking journey.  I started back to work literally on the first day of school with one of the largest non-profits in the nation. (Bupkus pay, boo.) I took it as a sign about fulfilling a calling.

Founder Stacy Brown names each varietal of salad after a strong woman in her life. While I am partial to the Classic Carol with only celery and onion (I don’t like fruits, nuts and other gravelly things funking up my chicken salad), I discovered a life-changing salad today.

Dill-icious Diva is a classic mayonnaise-based chicken salad with plenty of dill and small-diced cucumbers instead of celery. I think there’s a hint of onion in there, and I’m pretty sure that some pickle juice made the cut. Perhaps the chicken is marinated in pickle juice, such as Chik-Fil-A’s secret recipe? It’s totally refreshing in this Southern July heat and humidity and perfectly balanced. Pickled chicken salad! It is heavenly.

As you can see, I bought the last tub! She sells everything by the pound in the grab & go case. This is seriously good stuff, so I really hope it’s not a seasonal offering.

I love how the chicken is shredded (some are partial to chunks, but not me) and super tender. The sides are so classically Southern: grapes with cream cheese and pecans, broccoli with mayo and bacon, mac & cheese, pimento cheese. I love how many men I see in the store every time I go. Reminds me of when I got a boyfriend to embrace quiche by calling it scrambled egg pie. And the founder firmly believes in a sweet bite after a meal, just to know that you’re truly full. So a small, frosted vanilla cookie comes with every order.

Chicken salad really is ubiquitous in the South. When I lived in Alabama, tea houses dotted every town, where ladies would lunch and perhaps purchase antiques or other homey decorations on display in the store. Often you could catch a bridal shower or bridesmaid luncheon. And they all featured chicken salad — either in a scoop, sandwich, stuffed into a tomato — and a soup and other side salads. Lots of them have boutique pickles for sale, too!

Near my house was The Chocolate Biscuit. Various chicken salads highlight their menu, as do traditional southern sides like broccoli salad, mandarin orange salad, and pimento cheese. And of course, chocolate biscuits, chocolate bread pudding, and chocolate cobbler.

But sadly, no pickled chicken salad. The local Chicken Salad Chick employees are very proud of their workplace and the mission and values of the company. That’s the kind of place I like to patronize.