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roast chicken cobb salad with tarragon dressing
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Tarragon Roast Chicken Cobb Salad

A delicious twist on a classic cobb salad! There's juicy roast chicken, a tangy tarragon & mustard dressing, crisp lettuce, salty bacon, fudgy boiled eggs, fresh veg, bacon fat croutons & crumbled feta cheese.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Mixing Bowls
  • Frying Pan
  • Baking Tray

Ingredients

Roast Chicken

  • 1½ kg Whole Chicken (See Notes)
  • 1 Bulb Of Garlic
  • 1 Lemon
  • 10 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
  • 10 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Crispy Bacon

  • 250 g Streaky Bacon (Smoked Or Unsmoked)
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Croutons

  • 200 g Bread (See Notes)
  • 2 tbsp Bacon Fat (From Frying The Bacon)
  • 1 tsp Garlic Granules
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano

Boiled Eggs

  • 6 Large Eggs (At Room Temperature)

Tarragon Dressing

  • 50 g Dijon Mustard
  • 20 g Honey
  • 15 g White Wine Vinegar
  • 15 g Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 150 g Olive Oil
  • 1 Echalion Shallot (Banana Shallot)
  • 2 tbsp Finely Chopped Tarragon (You'll Need a 25g Bunch)

Salad Components

  • 1 Head Of Romaine Lettuce
  • 1 Head Of Iceberg Lettuce
  • 1 Whole Cucumber
  • 200 g Cherry Tomatoes
  • 100 g Feta

Instructions

Roast Chicken

  • Place the chicken onto a rack set inside a roasting tin. Pat the skin dry then let the chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
    If your chicken is trussed, untie it first.
  • In the meantime, preheat an oven to 160°c/140°c fan (320°f/284°f).
  • Next, cut the bulb of garlic in half & the lemon into thick slices. Stuff into the chicken's cavity along with the fresh herbs.
  • Drizzle the veg oil over the chicken then use your hands (or a pastry brush) to massage into the skin. Generously season the chicken all over with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper then place the chicken into the preheated oven.
  • Cook the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 65°c/150°f. This will take around 1-1½ hours. Start checking the chicken after 1 hour.
    Probe the chicken in the thickest part of the breasts & thighs.
  • Next, turn your oven up to 220°c/428°f then continue cooking until the chicken's skin is crispy & the internal temperature has reached 73°c/163°f. This will take another 10-15 minutes.
    Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches 75°c/167°f but to avoid drying the meat out, we take it out of the oven a few degrees lower than this then let the chicken rest. The internal temperature will rise to 75°c/167°f as the chicken rests.
  • Once cooked, loosely cover the chicken with foil & leave to rest for 30-45 minutes. Turn your oven back down to 180°c/356°f once the chicken's cooked (for the croutons!).

Crispy Bacon

  • Cook the bacon whilst the chicken is in the oven. To do this, set a large frying pan over a medium heat then add in the vegetable oil.
  • Next, lay bacon rashers into the pan then fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp & golden. Use a pair of tongs to flip the bacon over.
    You'll need to cook the bacon in batches, to avoid over crowding the pan.
  • Once cooked, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with kitchen paper then repeat the cooking process with the rest of the bacon. Don't get rid of the bacon fat, we'll be using this for the croutons!
  • Once cool, roughly chop the bacon then place into an airtight container & store in the fridge until needed.

Croutons

  • Cut the bread into 1 cm thick slices then cut/tear into rough chunks. I like to leave the crusts on by trim them off if you like!
    You'll need to cook the croutons once the chicken is out of the oven, as they cook at different temperatures. Or make them ahead of time & store in an airtight container.
  • Next, add the bacon fat, garlic & oregano into a large mixing bowl then season with salt & pepper & stir to combine. If you haven't got enough bacon fat, use olive oil to make it up.
  • Add the chunks of bread into the bowl then toss, to coat each piece in fat. Transfer the croutons to a large baking tray then bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown & crunchy. Once cooked, let the croutons cool before using.
    Give the croutons a stir/shake halfway through so that they colour evenly.

Boiled Eggs

  • Fill a large saucepan with water, add in a splash of white wine vinegar then cover with a lid & set over a high heat & bring to the boil.
    Adding the vinegar is optional but it makes peeling the boiled eggs easier.
  • Once the water is boiling, use a slotted spoon to carefully lower the eggs into the water then cover the pan with a lid & cook for exactly 7½ minutes.
    Make sure to keep the water at a rolling boil at all times!
  • As soon as the eggs are cooked, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice & cold water then leave to cool completely. The eggs will take around 10 minutes to cool.
  • Once cool, peel the boiled eggs then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. I like to cook the eggs whilst the chicken is resting but if you've cooked them ahead of time, you'll need to store them covered in the fridge.
  • Just before serving, cut each boiled egg into quarters.

Tarragon Dressing

  • Add the dijon mustard, honey, vinegar & lemon juice into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine.
  • Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mustard, whilst whisking constantly by hand. Make sure to add the oil in gradually, so that the dressing emulsifies properly.
  • Next, peel the shallot then finely dice. Add this into the dressing, along with the chopped tarragon. Stir to combine then season the dressing to taste, with salt & pepper.
    The dressing can be used straight away or stored in the fridge for up to a day.

Cobb Salad

  • Cut the cores off the bottom of each lettuce then separate the leaves. Wash in a bowl of a cold water then drain well before using (in a colander/salad spinner).
  • Next, trim the ends off the cucumber then cut in half down the length then in half again. Chop the cucumber quarters in half cm slices.
    This is how I like to cut my cucumber but cut yours however you like! If you'd find it easier, you could cut the cucumber in half widthways first.
  • The last component is the cherry tomatoes. I like to cut mine in half but quarters will work as well!

Assembly

  • Use a sharp knife to cut the breasts, legs, thighs & wings off the chicken. Then you can either chop the meat into chunks or pull the meat by hand (wear gloves!). I like to pull the meat by hand then chop the skin up!
    You could save the chicken carcass for stock! Make sure not to mix any bones through the meat.
  • Add the chicken into a large mixing bowl then spoon over 3 tbsp of the tarragon dressing, mixing to combine.
  • Next, tear the lettuce into bitesize pieces then lay them onto a large serving platter, to make a base for the rest of the salad to sit on.
  • Now it's up to you how to lay the rest of the cobb salad on top of the lettuce. For a classic cobb salad presentation, lay each salad component (chicken, bacon, croutons, eggs & veg) in neat rows.
  • To finish the cobb salad, crumble up the feta over the top. Pour the remaining dressing into a jug then serve!

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - To cook the roast chicken, follow my Aga roast chicken recipe. Cook the croutons in the baking oven, on the second from bottom set of runners and use the boiling plate to cook the bacon & boiled eggs.
2. Chicken - This is a large, sharing size cobb salad! For 6 portions, I like to use a medium whole chicken, weighing around 1.5kg. If you'd like to make a smaller salad, you could use chicken breasts or thighs instead. Or for a bigger salad, use a bigger chicken!
To cook the chicken ahead of time, let it cool then before pulling the meat. Store the chicken in the fridge without any dressing on then mix just before making your salad.
3. Bread For Croutons - I used tiger bread for my croutons but pretty much any type of bread will work! Some other good options would be sourdough, brioche, a crusty white bread or a brown/seeded bread.
4. Other Components - Other classic cobb salad components include avocado & fresh chives, so feel free to add them in if you like. I used feta for my salad but blue cheese is the classic choice. Either will work. If you'd like your boiled eggs to be hard boiled instead of soft, cook them for 10 minutes.
5. Preparing Ahead Of Time - All of the salad components can be prepared/cooked ahead of time & are best eaten within 2-3 days. It's best to store each component separately in the fridge & I'd recommend prepping the lettuce just before using to avoid any discolouring. The croutons can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
6. Serving Size - Feel free to make individual sized cobb salads instead of 1 large one! I'd recommend drizzling the dressing over each salad, so that you don't have to mix loads of portions separately. 
7. Leftovers - Leftover cobb salad should be stored in the fridge & is best eaten within 2 days. The lettuce & veg will start to wilt & soften quite quickly if they've been dressed though, which is why I like to let everyone drizzle the dressing over their own salad!