CHOPPED RANCH
COBB SALAD
The classic Cobb salad is one of those more-calories-than-
any-entrée-on-the-menu dishes that lets you feel somewhat
virtuous all the while knowing that really you just want to
stuff your face with bacon, avocado, and blue cheese.
There ain’t nothing wrong with that. If a Cobb salad feels
a little uncomposed, that’s because it is: it’s nothing more
than a handful of ingredients all thrown together on the
same plate. The key to a great Cobb salad is to make sure
that each one of those components is perfect.
The chicken in a Cobb should be supremely moist and
tender. You can accomplish this by poaching the chicken
in not-too-hot water until it registers exactly 150°F on an
instant-read thermometer. At this stage, it’s cooked
through but still retains most of its moisture, without any
stringiness to speak of.
The remainder of the ingredients—the bacon, the eggs,
the dressing—are pretty straightforward, and luckily we
already have great techniques that’ll take care of them. If
you are planning this salad for a party or a picnic, all the
ingredients can be prepped in advance to be plated at the
last moment, though for best results, you should cook the
bacon and dice the avocado just before serving.
NOTE: Leftover roast chicken can be used in place of the
poached chicken.