ENC Style BBQ Chicken Salad

I do about half my work at a place we call VHQ or Vivian Howard headquarters. An old tire warehouse that my mother-in-law transformed into a loft-style apartment, VHQ has been my dream office for nearly two years now. Only 3 blocks from our restaurants, VHQ is where I test recipes, where I wrote my book, where I exercise, where we shoot portions of the show and more often than not, where I eat lunch.

Sometimes a made from scratch soup, sometimes a kitchen sink saute of leftovers from testing recipes and sometimes a salad so big a Whopper burger has fewer calories, Lunch at the Q is generally the highlight of our little team’s day. This blog is my account of some of the stuff we throw together in the name of a tasty, healthy lunch. Enjoy!

All measurements are only suggestions and are not true measurements. This is super casual cooking that anyone can do in their own kitchen. 

Makes 4 - 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• Leftover Eastern NC Style BBQ Chicken – 3 cups, shredded

• Celery – 1 or 2 stalks, sliced thinly diagonally

• Apple – 1, diced into half-inch cubes

• Pecans – 2/3 cup, chopped

• Red Onion – 1/4 cup, quartered and thinly sliced

• Cabbage – 2 large handfuls (about 2 cups), thinly sliced or shredded

• Salt & Pepper

• Mossy NC BBQ Sauce – 1/3 cup (www.theveggiewagon.com) 

• Mayo – 2 tablespoons

• Tabasco – a few good shakes

1. Mix the Mossy NC BBQ Sauce with mayo and Tabasco to make a dressing. Set aside. 

2. Sprinkle shredded chicken moderatly with salt & pepper. Toss with spoon to mix in the seasoning.

3. Add all ingredients to the chicken except for the BBQ mayo dressing. Toss salad ingredients together. Add enough dressing to coat the ingredients well. Taste salad and adjust seasoning to your preference. Enjoy!

ENC Style BBQ Chicken

Spatchcock a chicken. Rub chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill. When it is almost finished cooking, baste with an ENC style vinegar bbq sauce. We like Mossy NC BBQ Sauce. One could use a roasted chicken, however, your salad will lack the delicious smokey characteristic of grilled meat.