Matthew McConaughey needs a second Academy Award for his recipes. His recipe for tuna salad went viral in November, and now he’s on the cusp of culinary fame again, this time for his chicken salad. In an interview with Food & Wine, McConaughey broke down all of his best tips for making a killer chicken salad at home.
Don’t worry: His recipe for chicken salad does not require a mix of head-turning ingredients like his tuna salad. Though admittedly, we’re now in a committed relationship with crispy jalapenos, thanks to him. Instead, McConaughey claims the key to a great chicken salad starts with the basics: a well-cooked chicken.
What is McConaughey’s secret?
OK, let’s talk turkey…er…chicken. McConaughey says the absolute best chicken salad is made with a whole roasted chicken. He doesn’t like to mess around with cooking smaller cuts of chicken, saying, “I don’t like pieces of chicken being cooked. I think…if you can cook a whole chicken…that’s much better than cooking just a breast or cooking just a wing or cooking just a chicken piece on the grill. It gets too dry the other way.”
He has a point. It’s much more difficult to dry out a whole chicken. Roasting low and slow in the oven (e.g., Ina Garten’s perfect roast chicken) doesn’t expose the meat to direct heat like grilling or searing; rather, it cooks the chicken evenly. The skin, fat and bones of a whole chicken all work in tandem to lock in moisture. You can also roast your chicken with lemon, herbs, spices and other aromatics to layer extra flavor into your chicken salad.
True, roasting a whole chicken does take more time than other cooking methods, so it may not be doable every time. Luckily, you can take a shortcut if necessary and opt for a good grocery store rotisserie chicken instead.
How does he make his chicken salad?
Once the bird is fully cooked, the real magic begins. McConaughey believes chicken should always be shredded and never chopped. “You pull it off the bone. That’s my favorite chicken salad when it’s pulled off the bone, not chopped,” he says.
Shredded chicken is easier to pile high on a sandwich (chopped chicken doesn’t stay in place as well). It also gives the chicken salad more textural variation, with raggedy edges to capture the mayo.
McConaughey starts the base for his chicken salad the same way he starts his tuna salad: with a combination of mayonnaise, olive oil and Italian dressing. You can either choose a good brand of Italian dressing or try homemade Italian dressing. Just make sure you have something with acidity from lemon juice and/or vinegar plus herbs like oregano and basil.
What else does he use in the recipe?
Like his tuna salad recipe, it’s all about using whatever you have on hand. His family hates throwing away food and takes a zero-waste approach to meal planning at home.