Why This Recipe Works
- A mixture of blue cheese dressing and Buffalo sauce evokes the style of basic Buffalo wings in salad kind.
- Crisp, recent greens and creamy avocado tame the recent sauce.
When somebody says “Buffalo hen,” I instantly consider the bar-food basic of greasy wings in buttery scorching sauce, the cool crunch of celery and carrots, and chunky blue cheese dressing. Salad is just about the farthest factor from my thoughts. And but, what’s a salad anyway? Positive, the phrase evokes a seemingly wholesome dish of flippantly dressed inexperienced leaves and different greens, however it’s a versatile time period that additionally contains issues like a Cobb salad, which comprises as a lot animal protein and fats because it does vegetable matter. Which is to say, can Buffalo hen be salad-ified? In fact it might probably!
To that finish, my go-to Buffalo hen salad pulls out all of the stops. There’s tender hen that’s been marinated with lemon juice and Frank’s Pink Scorching, slices of creamy avocado, and crisp greens which might be tossed in two completely different dressings: a blue cheese-based one and a candy, spicy French dressing made with scorching sauce and brown sugar. You can simply skip all of that and simply toss chopped Buffalo hen with some lettuce and store-bought dressing and name it a day—however then what would you need this recipe for? The purpose right here is not merely to cut up the important thing parts of Buffalo hen and toss them collectively in a serving bowl, it is to create one thing only a bit extra considerate, the place the hen is plump and tender, the flavors balanced, and the entire thing a satisfying one-dish meal.
Getting the Hen Proper
Good hen in a Buffalo-inspired salad is a distinct proposition from good hen in a scorching bar-food presentation. When served scorching, we’d need hen with its pores and skin on, cooked up crispy so it is juicy and scrumptious. Chilly in a salad, although, and that very same pores and skin immediately turns into rather less of an clearly fascinating factor (although, for the file, most of us at Critical Eats are all-in on hen pores and skin whatever the state of affairs). For the widest doable attraction, we have opted for boneless, skinless hen thighs, which can stay juicy even when cooled to room temp or served chilled, and with no pores and skin to upset the pickier eaters amongst us.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
Right here, a fast marinade of scorching sauce and lemon juice helps to tenderize and taste the hen thighs. As Critical Eats contributor Tim Chin wrote in his marinades investigation, utilizing an acid like lemon juice lowers the pH of the marinade, denaturing proteins and producing in a extra tender end result. Acids also can assist meats maintain onto moisture, making for juicier hen that’s much less prone to dry out. For ease and comfort, we marinate the hen for simply half-hour right here. Whereas the tenderization impact can be minimized, you’ll be able to marinate the hen for longer—as much as eight hours—for a extra dramatic impact. Longer than that and also you danger the meat turning mushy from the publicity to acid.
Use the Crunchiest Greens… and a Ripe Avocado
Daring flavors and hefty substances like hen, celery, and thick blue cheese dressing name for equally daring textures to face as much as all of it. Meaning choosing hearty romaine lettuce as a substitute of leafy greens that wilt simply, together with recent greens that pack actual crunch. As a substitute of the carrot and celery sticks which might be usually served with Buffalo wings, I shave the carrots into lengthy ribbons and thinly slice the celery, serving to them incorporate extra seamlessly into the salad.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
Pink cabbage, cucumbers, and pink onions deliver further crispness, whereas plump cherry tomatoes lend a pop of shiny acidity. The richness of a ripe avocado offers textural distinction, serving to to focus on the chunk of the opposite greens whereas additionally serving to to tame the warmth of the Buffalo dressing.
Two Dressings Are Higher Than One
Most salads name for one dressing, which is ok and dandy. However consider your favourite Buffalo wings: they’re coated in a buttery, spicy sauce and served with a chunky blue cheese dressing that helps to mood the warmth. However to seize the full-on taste of Buffalo hen, we have to introduce that factor in additional methods than simply on the hen alone. The answer? A further Buffalo dressing. Made with Frank’s Pink Scorching, mild brown sugar, and lemon juice, the sauce is nice, spicy, and tart. Tossed with the crisp greens and tender hen, the 2 dressings work in tandem to deliver this salad-ized model of a basic Buffalo hen to life.
Buffalo Hen Salad
A salad made for the Buffalo wing lover in your life.
- For the Hen:
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Frank’s Pink Scorching or different Louisiana-style scorching sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) recent lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1 pound (454g) boneless, skinless hen thighs
- For the Blue Cheese Dressing:
- 2/3 cup crumbled delicate blue cheese (3 ounces; 90g)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup (120ml) bitter cream
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity
- Freshly floor black pepper
- For the Buffalo Dressing:
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Frank’s Pink Scorching or different Louisiana-style scorching sauce
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (17g) mild brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon recent lemon juice from 1 lemon
- For the Salad:
- 2 medium carrots (6 ounces; 170g), peeled and trimmed
- Two 8-ounce romaine lettuce hearts (8 cups; 485g), thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced pink cabbage (2 1/2 ounces; 71g), from 1 medium cabbage
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery (3 ounces; 85g), from 2 medium ribs celery
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes (6 ounces; 170g)
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced Persian cucumber (2 ounces; 57g), from about 1 cucumber
- 1/4 cup very thinly sliced pink onion (1 ounce; 28g), from 1 small onion
- 1 medium ripe Hass avocado (6 ounces; 170g), pitted and thinly sliced
For the Hen: In a medium bowl, whisk collectively scorching sauce and lemon juice. Add hen and switch to coat evenly. Let stand at room temperature for half-hour.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
Preheat oven to broil with rack 6 inches from warmth supply and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Take away hen from marinade, letting any extra marinade drip again into the dish. Prepare hen in a fair layer on ready baking sheet. Broil till a thermometer inserted into the thickest a part of the thigh registers 170°F (77ºC), 10 to 12 minutes. Let relaxation 5 minutes. Slice hen in opposition to the grain.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
In the meantime, for the Blue Cheese Dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk collectively blue cheese, mayonnaise, bitter cream, buttermilk, vinegar, and salt. Season with pepper to style, together with further salt, if desired. Cowl and refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
For the Buffalo Dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk collectively scorching sauce, oil, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Season with salt to style. Cowl and refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
For the Salad: Utilizing a vegetable peeler, peel carrots lengthwise to create lengthy ribbons. Cowl carrot ribbons with damp kitchen towel and put aside till prepared to make use of.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
In a big bowl, toss collectively romaine, cabbage, carrot ribbons, and 1/2 cup blue cheese dressing. Prepare on a big platter. High with celery, tomatoes, cucumber, pink onion, avocado, and sliced hen. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and Buffalo dressing, season with salt and pepper to style. Serve.
Critical Eats / Robby Lozano
Make-Forward and Storage
The blue cheese dressing and Buffalo dressing might be made as much as 1 week upfront and saved in an hermetic container refrigerated.
The hen might be marinated and cooked as much as 1 day upfront, and dropped at room temperature earlier than serving.