The best part of this Brazilian Chicken Salad, aka Salpicão de Frango is that it’s an extraordinary dish from very ordinary kitchen ingredients: chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomato sauce, and raisins. With the right treatment to each one of them, they become a Brazilian Chicken Salad (Salpicão) as you’ve never had it before. You’ll need a whole chicken for this recipe, but you can also adapt the recipe if you have leftover chicken. Try to resist cutting the chicken with a knife when you pull it. It’s the textural juxtaposition of the hand-pulled chicken mixed with the carrots and crunchy potatoes that takes this dish to the next level. The thinner you pull the chicken, the better it will taste. Did I mention that you can make everything ahead of time for this Brazilian Chicken Salad (Salpicão)?
And variations – after Thanksgiving, try making it with turkey and cranberry. You can serve this as an individual salad by placing a mound of salad into a ring mold or you can serve it buffet style on a big oval platter, topped with crunchy potatoes. For this post, I found these Veggie Sticks at Costco that looked pretty interesting to me, and they go really well with our Brazilian Chicken Salad (Salpicão).
If you prefer to roast your own chicken, preheat the oven to 400˚F. To truss a chicken, cut a piece of twine long enough for the job, about 3 feet. Position the chicken breast side up with the neck towards you. Center the twine underneath the tail and bring it around the tips of the drumsticks in a loop. Cross the ends of the twine above the chicken, pulling it tight to close the cavity. Pull the twine down so it embraces the breasts and wraps down around the wings. Pull it tight again and knot the twine. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place it in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven until it’s done (the breast should be cooked to about 155˚F and the legs to about 165˚F, both as measured by a meat thermometer, or until pierced with the tip of a knife until the juices run clear about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven, cut the twine off and wait until the chicken cools to room temperature before pulling the meat.
Brazilian Chicken Salad (Salpicão)
Serves 6 to 8
For the chicken
1 (3 to 4 pound) roasted chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced onions, about 1 large onion
¾ cup dark raisins
2 tablespoons white wine
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons tomato sauce, preferably marinara
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 cups coarsely grated carrots, about 4 to 5 carrots
1 bag shoe sting potatoes to serve with salad
- Pull the meat of all parts of the chicken by hand. (Discard the bones or use them for chicken stock). The thinner the meat, the better (and yes this can only be achieved with some effort). You should have about 4 cups of pulled chicken or about 1.4 lbs. Set aside.
- Place the olive oil in a large skillet and start cooking the sliced onions over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until they are tender, sweet, and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes (Resist the temptation to turn the heat to high, otherwise the onions will brown). The slower you cook the onions, the sweeter they get. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, over low heat, cook the raisins in the wine, just until the raisins are soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the raisins with any remaining wine to a plate to cool and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the mayonnaise and tomato sauce. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika, all to taste.
- In a big bowl, mix the pulled chicken, carrots, onions, raisins, and mayonnaise sauce. Taste to adjust the seasoning. You can store the salad in a plastic container covered with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Just remember to bring it to room temperature 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
- Place the salad on a large platter and arrange the string potatoes on top.
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