Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad

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This Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad is creamy, juicy, and bursting with the flavors of fresh basil and red plums. Take the “Avonlea” route by roasting the chicken and making your own mayo, or take a modern shortcut with rotisserie chicken.

In chapter XXIX of Anne of Green Gables, Anne is elated when Marilla prepares a broiled chicken for supper. She nearly jumps for joy as she exclaims, “Marilla, a broiled chicken! You don’t mean to say you cooked that for me!” For 21^st-century readers, for whom chicken is on the menu weekly, Anne’s excitement might be confusing. In late 19^th-century Prince Edward Island, however, serving chicken was still considered a luxury. In a 2012 Smithsonian Magazine article on “How the Chicken Conquered the World,” Andrew Lawler and Jerry Adler note that large-scale industrial production of commercial “broilers” made chicken a common commodity in the 20^th century. Before then, however, raising chickens was largely a local endeavor on family farms.

Perhaps that’s why Anne and her friends eat chicken as much as they do—Green Gables is a working farm. In fact, according to the librarians behind the delightful blog 36 Eggs, chicken is the sixth-most consumed food in the Anne of Green Gables series. There are 24 references to chicken in the books, making it a more popular Avonlea delicacy than fish and potatoes. It can’t compete, of course, with the book’s even more frequent references to cake, pie, and bread. At various points across the series, characters enjoy cold chicken leg, chicken pie, and broiled chicken. They tuck into fried chicken, eat canned chicken, and prepare jellied chicken. Then, once they’ve had a chance to enjoy some yellow plum preserves or raspberry cordial, they feast on roast chicken, rooster chicken, or boiled hen chicken.

Chicken Salad in Anne of Avonlea

The most memorable mention of chicken occurs in the second book of the series, Anne of Avonlea. Anne and her friends have just attended a concert at the swanky White Sands Hotel, and the whole experience takes on a hazy, dreamlike quality for them. Anne’s friend Jane puts it this way:

“‘Hasn’t it been a perfectly splendid time?’ sighed Jane, as they drove away. ‘I just wish I was a rich American and could spend my summer at a hotel and wear jewels and low-necked dresses and have ice cream and chicken salad every blessed day.'”

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Chicken salad is no workaday dish on Prince Edward Island. It is the kind of food best enjoyed while wearing one’s best white organdy dress, surrounded by fancy china and fashionable people.

Inspired by this passage and the world L.M. Montgomery describes, we’ve created a Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad for readers of The Library Kitchen. It features another key ingredient that always seems to be plentiful in Marilla’s kitchen: plums! Below, you’ll find a quick + easy method for making this dish, and an Avonlea-inspired method that involves roasting a chicken and making your own mayo. I find it’s worth the extra effort to go the Avonlea route, but sometimes we need an easy way to get a healthy dinner on the table. There’s no shame in that! Whichever method you choose will result in many happy bellies.

Ingredients and Equipment

Roasting pan with rack: If you plan to roast chicken, turkey, or other meat with some frequency, purchasing one of these is a worthwhile investment. I love our non-stick Calphalon version for easy clean-up! My favorite feature is the ease with which you can slip carrots, potatoes, and onions beneath the bird and let them cook in all those delicious drippings! Before we had this, I used my favorite rimmed baking sheet from USA pans. A cast-iron skillet will work well, too (heirloom quality Staub are great options).

Kitchen Twine: For tying together the chicken’s legs for even cooking. I often don’t have this on hand, though, and everything works out just fine.

Immersion Blender: For making the mayo. I use our Kitchenaid version at least weekly to puree soups without having to pour hot liquid into my blender! They’re easy to clean, inexpensive, and don’t take up much space.

Roasted chicken: You’ve got two options for preparing the chicken. Option one is to roast a whole chicken and then shred it. Option two is to purchase a rotisserie chicken and pull it apart. I’ve used option two many a time, and it’s a great way to make a “homemade” dish with minimal effort. However, I enjoy using option two in order to use meat from a local farm (we love New Creation Farm near Cleveland!) and customize the seasonings I use.

Red plums: Or sub purple grapes for a more traditional choice. Choose plums that are still firm to the touch, giving slightly when you press on them. This way, they’ll remain intact when you cut into the fruit and toss with the chicken.

Mayonnaise: We love making our own mayo using avocado oil as directed below, but store-bought will work, too! We prefer to avoid soybean oil, and look for the paleo and Whole30 approved brands like Primal Kitchen, which uses avocado oil.

Fresh basil: or sub parsley or chives. Fresh herbs look beautiful against the white chicken and mayo and are a great way to get your greens in.

Toasted pecans: or sub sliced almonds, or simply omit. For me, quickly toasting up some nuts to add a complex flavor and tasty crunch to the dish is non-negotiable!

How to Make Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad

The Modern Route

Purchase a rotisserie chicken and pull it apart, placing all the meat in a large glass bowl. If your rotisserie chicken is much smaller than 3 lbs, you’ll either want to halve the other ingredients in the recipe or purchase two small rotisserie chickens.

Chop 2 plums into small cubes, then slice the third plum to use as a garnish on the top of the chicken salad. Finely chop the basil and dice the celery.

To toast the chopped pecans, add a tablespoon of oil, ghee, or butter to a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the nuts to the pan, and stir occasionally for around 5 minutes, or until the nuts are browned. Don’t let them burn! If you’d like to make candied pecans, add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the pan at the end and quickly stir to incorporate as the sugar bubbles.

Add the plums, nuts, celery, and half the basil to the chicken and mix to incorporate. Add 1/2 – 3/4 cup of mayonnaise to the chicken salad and mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate. If you’d like a creamier chicken salad, add additional mayo. Sprinkle with the reserved basil, and arrange the sliced plums over the top of the salad. If serving the chicken salad in individual bowls, you may also garnish each bowl with its own plum slices.

Serve and enjoy!

The Avonlea Route

Roast a whole chicken and then shred it. To prepare the chicken, you’ll first pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Remove the giblets, stuff the cavity with half a lemon and half an onion, then season all over with salt, pepper, and paprika. Then, optionally tie the legs together with twine to ensure even cooking. (I’ve skipped this step before and everything turned out just fine.)

If you have the time, I find that the chicken is juicier and more flavorful if the seasoned bird is then covered and refrigerated before moving forward. This is totally optional, though!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan if you have one, or a rimmed baking sheet or cast iron skillet if you don’t. If you have any carrots around, for goodness’ sake stick them under the rack for the best carrots of your life. Roast for 45 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 when placed in the thickest part of the thigh or the juices run clear.

While the chicken is roasting, chop the fruit and vegetables, make the mayo, and toast the nuts.

Chop 2 plums into small cubes, then slice the third plum to use as a garnish on the top of the chicken salad. Finely chop the basil.

To toast the nuts, add a tablespoon of oil, ghee, or butter to a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the nuts to the pan, and stir occasionally for around 5 minutes, or until the nuts are browned. Don’t let them burn! If you’d like to make candied pecans, add a spoonful of honey or maple syrup to the pan at the end and quickly stir to incorporate as the sugar bubbles.

To make homemade mayo, it’s extremely helpful to have an immersion blender on hand. If you don’t have one, though, go full Avonlea by whisking together the egg, lemon juice, mustard, and salt, then very slowly dribbling in the oil while continuing to whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick and creamy. Once it thickens, you can begin pouring the oil in more quickly.

If you DO have an immersion blender, though, here’s what to do. In the following order, add: one whole egg, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, two teaspoons of Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¾ cup avocado oil to a tall container. Place your immersion blender wand in the bottom of the tall container, then turn on the machine. Blend for around 30 seconds, then slowly lift the wand to the surface and blend for another 20 seconds or until creamy. You may need to move the wand up and down a few times during the last 10 seconds.

Remove the chicken from the oven, tent with foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes. When it becomes cool enough to handle, pull it apart with your hands or two forks and place all the meat in a large bowl. Save the chicken carcass to make bone broth!

When the chicken is cool, add the plums, nuts, and half the basil to the chicken and mix to incorporate. Add 1 cup of mayonnaise to the chicken salad and mix with a rubber spatula to incorporate. If you’d like a creamier chicken salad, add additional mayo (up to a cup). Sprinkle with the reserved basil and arrange the sliced plums over the top of the salad. If serving the chicken salad in individual bowls, you may also garnish each bowl with its own plum slices. If serving the chicken salad in individual bowls, you may also garnish each bowl with its own plum pinwheel. Serve and enjoy!

What Should I Serve with Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad?

We recommend serving this chicken salad with the other recipes in our Anne of Green Gables series, which was our Book of the Month for August 2021! The menu includes:

Raspberry Cordial Soda

Poetical Cucumber-Mint Tea Sandwiches

Anne’s Liniment Layer Cake with Lavender

For a more casual meal, I love to serve it over a bed of spinach with some kettle chips or grain-free Siete chips on the side. Of course, you can’t go wrong with piling all the good stuff on a croissant or GF bread-of-choice!

If you make this Prince Edward Island Chicken Salad, please scroll all the way to the bottom and leave a star rating and short review! It’s really helpful for others, and I’d be enormously grateful!