Blackened chicken, pecans, and fresh chile bound tight with mayo and spiked with Ace Kickstart® for real flavor
Ingredients
Ingredients
- FOR THE CHICKEN SALAD:
- 2 large chicken breasts, cooked, diced (we blackened ours with Ace Kickstart®)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 green Hatch/Anaheim chile, stemmed (optionally seeded), diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- Casa M Spice Co® Ace Kickstart® to taste
Method
-
01
Dice chicken, onion, chile, pecans, and celery
12 minAssumes chicken is already cooked; if blackening raw chicken, add a separate cook step.
-
02
Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix well
3 minFold everything together until the mayo coats all the chicken and vegetables evenly—you're looking for a cohesive mixture with no dry spots, and taste as you go with that Ace Kickstart® so the heat and flavor build to your liking.
-
03
Season to taste with Ace Kickstart and mix
2 minRecipe suggests about 2 teaspoons as a starting point.
-
04
Refrigerate 24 hours for flavor to develop
1440 minOptional but recommended by recipe; can serve immediately if needed.
From Mike's Notebook
Blacken the chicken before dicing it — you'll get better crust and seasoning distribution than coating diced pieces.
Don't skip the 24-hour chill; Ace Kickstart® needs time to infuse the mayo and mellow the raw onion bite.
Toast the pecans lightly first — they'll stay crisp longer and won't get soggy from the mayo overnight.