Spicy Southwest Salad with Fried Chicken Recipe

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This Spicy Southwest Salad with Fried Chicken is a salad for salad people AND a salad for people that aren’t. It’s a people salad. So we used the people’s ingredients for it—Mt. Olive’s roasted reds, pickled jalapeños, and pickled vidalia onions. Got a salad snubber in your life? Lure them in with fried chicken then hook them forever with a drizzle of homemade Southwestern Ranch.

PREP TIME

4 hrs 15 mins

COOK TIME

15 mins

SERVINGS

2

Ingredients

Fried Chicken Marinade

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 Tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 lb chicken tenderloins

 

Southwestern Ranch

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
  • 1/4 cup Mt. Olive Roasted Red Peppers, finely minced
  • 1 Tbsp Mt. Olive Jalapeño Slices, finely minced
  • 1 Tbsp Mt. Olive Pickled Vidalia Onions, finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp dried dill weed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne

 

Guacamole

  • 3 ripe avocados, diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1/4 onion, finely minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 roma tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup Mt. Olive Jalapeño Slices, diced
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
  • Salt
  • Pepper

 

Fried Chicken Breading & Frying

  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Canola oil for frying
  • Marinated Chicken Tenders

 

Southwestern Chicken Salad

  • Romaine
  • Tortilla chips
  • Black beans
  • Corn
  • Tomatoes, diced
  • Pickled jalapeños
  • Colby Jack and cheddar
  • Guacamole
  • Fried Chicken
  • Southwestern Ranch

Spicy Southwest Salad with Fried Chicken in a serving dish

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
Spicy Southwest Salad with Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken Marinade

  1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken. Whisk until well-integrated. Add chicken and toss to coat completely. Marinate in fridge for at least 4 hours.

 

Southwestern Ranch

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until well-integrated. Chill until ready for use.

 

Guacamole

  1. In a small bowl, mash avocados while leaving some chunkiness. Add fold in rest of ingredients until well-integrated. Chill until ready for use.

 

Fried Chicken Breading & Frying

  1. Fill dutch oven with ~2” canola oil and heat to 360ºF.
  2. Combine flour and spices in a small bowl. Working one tenderloin at a time, dredge completely with flour mixture then set on parchment-lined baking sheet.
  3. Working in two or three batches, fry chicken tenders for a few minutes or each side, or until golden brown and internal temp is 165ºF. Remove from oil to drain on paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.

 

Southwestern Chicken Salad

  1. To serve family-style, add romaine to large serving dish and crumble tortilla chips on top. Toss to mix. Then create individual sections/rows of black beans and corn, tomatoes, jalapeños and cheese. Place scoops of guacamole on either end of the bowl and place fried chicken tenders on top. Serve with Southwestern Ranch on the side.

PAIRINGS:
Spicy Southwest Salad with Fried Chicken

Sauvignon Blanc

American IPA

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