Recipe close to Calvin's chicken salad?

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I’ve heard Calvin’s will ship their chicken salad now. Probably your best bet if it’s not way overpriced because nothing you make at home will come close

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Most overrated ck salad on the planet.

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Do you think it’s good and just overrated or do you not like it at all. Just curious. I could see it being “overrated.”

I think it’s good and will pick some up if I’m near but I’m not making a special trip for chicken salad. I just don’t like chicken salad that much. My significant other is a different story lol. She is one that overrates it.

Just overrated. I dolikeit, its in my top 5 for sure. I don't like the super food processor type of consistency . I prefer pieces of chicken. I luke smoked ck salad best. Oakpoint in central has an awesome smoked. Maxwells mkt is top motch too as is Bergerons on jeffersin hwy. Days smokehouse in watson is another smoked gem. Add cals in there's and that's my 5... beregons adds a touch of sour cream and cranberries that make it diffetent n enjoyable to me.

You will find many threads discussing Calvin's chicken salad in the link below. Lots of speculation,but no recipe. Some come close, but not the same.

LINK

I want to say cream cheese is in it.

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I want to say cream cheese is in it.

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I have never detected that flavor or texture. If there is any, it's not much.

Below is a post of mine from about 9 years ago in a Calvin's thread. It's not Calvin's, but it's very good and folks love it. A friend of mine made it last weekend for some folks who were eating lunch at her house and she had to give out about 6 copies of the recipe.

It's also possible that Calvin's uses their rotisserie chickens to make the chicken salad. I bake chicken pieces for mine these days. Line a baking sheet with non stick foil and it's easy clean up.

Try this:
(You can reduce the amount in half if you like. I make a lot at one time.)This is as close to Calvin's as I've gotten and the last time I made it, I had to give the recipe to 3 people, one of whom is a chef.

Makes almost 2 loaves of chicken salad sandwiches if you're going for sandwiches.

6 lbs bone in, skin on chicken pieces, all white, all dark or a mix.
1 1/2 sticks butter (optional)I've used it and not used it. Works fine using it.
7-9 hard boiled eggs
Mayo to taste-just enough to make the mixture moist and creamy, but not heavy on mayo.
1 10oz jar sweet relish
3-4 celery stalks, finely chopped
3-4 squirts yellow mustard
4-6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350. Season both sides of the chicken. Put on foil lined baking dish or in casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake about 1 1/2 hours or when chicken is cooked to your liking. I forgot to cover a few times and that worked just as well. You do get some good juices when it's covered and I save those for future use.

Let the chicken cool and then remove the bone and skin. Finely chop chicken in food processor. I use the pulse on the processor. Don't overdo it as the chicken will become gooey. It should be dry, but finely minced. Chop the hard boiled eggs in the processor. Just pulse a few times. Mix chicken and eggs together in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. It's better after having been refrigerated about 3 hours or so until cold.

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it cant just be mayo giving it that texture.

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I think cream is the ingredient you're trying to figure out. When you add Half and Half to cut up chicken, it makes it fall apart.. Cream is in the chicken salad recipe in the Neiman Marcus cookbook

Calvin’s Chicken Salad Recipe

Duke's mayonnaise (heavy mayo)
Dijon mustard
Tony’s seasoning or Old Bay (if you don’t have celery salt)
Celery salt (a small amount; celery is not a main flavor)
Black pepper
Small diced pickled jalapeño (optional)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Tabasco sauce
Champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar


Mix the chicken (baked breast meat or boiled breast meat that has been cooked and chilled) in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Add the other ingredients.
Blend in the stand mixer until you achieve the desired texture.


The key to Calvin’s chicken salad is the abnormally large amount of mayonnaise that might be hard for some home cooks to grasp. There is no dark meat in this recipe, nor diced onions, garlic, or celery; only powdered seasoning is used.

In my opinion, it is a New York deli style chicken salad