BBQ Chicken + Salad = BBQ Chicken Salad

Photo to come

A good friend of mine has been asking for ideas for substantial salads to feed her teen-age son, who enjoys a good salad with some form of protein as a summer meal.

I promised I'd think about, but honestly, nothing special came to mind until I was out in the yard grilling some chicken for dinner. I had also made a wonderful crispy, crunchy salad for the meal full of raw vegetables and greens and a BBQ-sauce flavored vinaigrette to go with it. A light bulb went off in my head and I thought, here's a great salad for Sam!

So next time you are grilling chicken, make some extra and save it to toss into the salad and make extra salad to serve the next day with the chicken. I highly recommend the BBQ vinaigrette, but really any salad dressing (or even a balsamic vinegar) would work well.

BBQ Chicken

Grill the chicken however you'd like, or try my method:
Marinate chicken parts on the bone in lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and (optional) a tablespoon or so of either a BBQ rub spice mix or a tablespoon of liquid BBQ sauce.
Marinate, turning occasionally for 20 minutes or longer as desired.
Grill on medium high heat, basting occasionally with the left-over marinade. When the chicken is about cooked through, lower grill heat (or move chicken off to the side, away from coals) and brush with BBQ sauce. Flip and brush other side. Watch the chicken with sauce does not burn and continue grilling turning to cook in the bbq sauce until just cooked down to the bone (chicken should feel firm to the touch but still have some resiliency). Set aside for 10 minutes or so before serving so juices are reabsorbed. (The chicken will keep cooking as it sits so don't wait too long to pull it from the fire.)
Serve some for dinner the first night, reserve the rest for the main-course salad. (Remove skin and bones and shred.)

Crunchy Vegetable and Greens Salad

Make a salad full of hearty lettuces and vegetables that can stand up to the chicken and dressing.
I used mixed lettuces, string beans, cauliflower, carrots, green peppers, fresh, raw, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, radishes and more in a salad bowl I had rubbed with garlic. Serve with the chicken as a side dish the first night. The second night (or for lunch the next day, mix in shredded chicken as a main course salad. Serve both days with BBQ vinaigrette or other dressing. (Note, if you are making extra salad for the next day, put some aside "naked" and do NOT add the salad dressing until just before serving then.)

BBQ Vinaigrette

You could add a tablespoon or two of your favorite BBQ sauce to your favorite vinaigrette dressing or you could try my variation here.

Use about 1/4 cup oil olive and 1/4 cup white wine vinegar. Add a tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce and pinches of salt, pepper and dried oregano. Stir well, taste and adjust. For a heartier BBQ flavor use two or more tablespoons of sauce.