Fried Chicken Caesar Salad

Fried Chicken Caesar Salad. Maybe the perfect lunch salad. Boneless fried chicken fingers get served atop a crisp caesar salad with a homemade roasted garlic caesar dressing.

Fried Chicken Caesar Salad.

Originally published July, 2012. 

Who doesn’t love a good Caesar salad?

This standard crowd-pleaser however can get a little…well…boring. So, any time you can find a new twist on a classic, I consider that to be a very good thing.

An outstanding example would be one that’s legendary at our house, our Radicchio Almond Caesar Salad. That would be an excellent choice to add boneless fried chicken to as well.

Radicchio Caesar Salad

Last week when we featured the outstanding recipe for Smoky Spiced Fried Chicken I added a couple of extra chicken breasts to the brine. I brined them in order to make this idea for a Fried Chicken Caesar Salad.

Brining is not necessary for this recipe though. However if you choose to, just use the brining mixture from the Smoky Spiced Fried Chicken recipe mentioned above.

For me, crisp cooked, chopped bacon is an essential ingredient in Caesar Salad

I borrowed a couple of ideas from our radicchio salad to create yet another excellent Caesar variation. Brining the chicken adds extra levels of flavor and moisture. 

However, this recipe can be made with plain, unbrined boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces as well.

You can use your own favorite Caesar dressing if you like or if you want to try your hand at a fantastic homemade version, find my standard Roasted Garlic Caesar Salad Dressing here.

Besides the fried chicken I added some thinly sliced red onion. For little sweet chewy bursts of taste and texture, some golden raisins were sprinkled in. Toasted almonds would also be a good addition.

Fried Chicken Caesar Salad.

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Fried Chicken Caesar Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Fried Chicken Caesar Salad. Maybe the perfect lunch salad. Boneless fried chicken fingers get served atop a crisp caesar salad with a homemade roasted garlic caesar dressing.

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into about 4 fingers (4 chicken breasts)

For the Flour and Spice Dredge

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• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 1 tsp ground thyme

For the Caesar Salad

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• 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped, washed and dried
• 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 slices smoked bacon, crisp fried and chopped
• ½ cup good Caesar salad dressing

Instructions

To prepare the chicken.

1. Mix all ingredients in the dredge together in a large bowl until very well combined.
2. Add the chicken pieces. Toss well and press the chicken pieces into the flour dredge with your palms to get good contact with the meat.
3. Let stand for ten minutes, then toss again and press down with your palms again. This helps get a nice crunch on the chicken.
4. In a 12 inch cast iron skillet heat 1/2 inch canola or corn oil. 
5. Fry until golden brown for about 2 minutes a side, depending on the size of the pieces.. Just below medium heat works well on my stove.  A cast iron skillet is the best for fried chicken. Be extra careful to regulate the heat properly of using anything other than cast iron. Even cooking is essential.
6. I always use my meat thermometer to ensure that the largest pieces have reached an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, which is perfect for fried chicken. The chicken should be a beautiful golden brown when it comes out of the oil. Let it rest on a wire rack to drain for 5 minutes before serving.

To prepare the Caesar Salad

1. Toss all the ingredients very well together until the lettuce is well coated in the dressing.
2. Place the fried chicken pieces on top just before serving.
3. Dust with a little extra parmesan cheese to garnish.

Notes

 

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 604Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 173mgSodium 890mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 6gSugar 15gProtein 65g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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