Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich

ByDavid August 12, 2016June 23, 2021

Want to take an old favorite to a whole new level? Try this Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich!

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So the other day, we were getting our back deck re-stained. The original stain had faded away from the weather (i.e. feet of snow every winter), and it was just time to get the porch looking nice again. A portion of our back deck is screened in, and that part didn’t need any work. In order to clear off the outdoor portion of the deck, I rolled, carried, shoved and coerced everything from the outdoor part to the indoor part. Unfortunately, that meant both of my grills. Along with several large (and monstrously heavy) planters, our mini-lemon tree/bush and our outdoor table.

There was a tiny path through the furniture so the dogs could get out, but that was about it. I was ok with not having our screened-in porch for a few days. But the grills? That took it one step too far. How exactly do you expect me to eat in the summer without my grills?? I could’ve tried to carry one down into the yard, but that sounded like a bit of a disaster waiting to happen. That’s when I remembered the little camping grill stuck away in the shed.

Truthfully, I almost ditched that mini-camping grill several months ago. It hadn’t been used in years, and we don’t camp. (Our idea of camping involves a cabin in the woods with a jacuzzi and satellite tv.) But I’m glad I saved that thing! I tromped out to the shed, brushed off the cobwebs and got that little grill ready to go again…right in the middle of our driveway. I like to keep it classy around here. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!

Just like the little engine that could, that mini-camping grill stepped up and did the job! Although I made a dumb mistake and used lump charcoal in there instead of briquettes. I didn’t have any briquettes, and I figured lump charcoal would work just as well. It did, all the way from the afternoon to sometime in the middle of the night when it finally burned out. Oops.

So what was I making that created such a need for the grill? A Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich. Chicken salad is a bit like chocolate chip cookies and potato salad. Everyone has their favorite recipe. That’s ok. The point of this post is really to just put the idea of grilled chicken into your head. Take your favorite family recipe for chicken salad, but just grill the chicken first. Deliciousness taken to a whole new level! (I’ve included my go-to chicken salad recipe below. And you’ll notice that I cut out some of the mayo for sour cream. It totally works!)

I first stumbled across the idea of the grilled chicken salad sandwich at a grocery store a couple of years ago. We were visiting friends in the Philly area, and we stopped in for lunch at a grocery store. Lunch at a grocery store? But of course…especially when that store starts with Weg and ends with Man’s. (If you’ve got a Wegman’s in your area, then I’m jealous!) When we got back home, I took a stab at making this grilled chicken salad sandwich myself. And now it’s the only way I make chicken salad in the summer. (In the winter, I’ll typically just make it using a rotisserie chicken from the store instead.)

Have you ever grilled in your driveway?

Do you put grapes in your chicken salad? (I most definitely do not. I love grapes, but not in my chicken salad.)