Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (Panera Copycat)

November 2021. Fall in Memphis, and I am 63, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Mama in Whitehaven, navigating her days between clarity and fog, still sharp enough to critique my cooking and still loving enough to eat it anyway.

I experimented this week — smoked pork belly burnt ends, cubed and re-smoked with sauce and butter until they were sticky, caramelized, and indecent. The kind of food that makes Rosetta say "Earl, your arteries" and then eat three more pieces, because even nurses have limits, and the limit of smoked pork belly burnt ends has not yet been found by human science.

I sat in the lawn chair next to Uncle Clyde's smoker as the dark came on, and I thought about what I always think about: the chain. From Clyde to me. From me to Trey, maybe, or Jerome, or whoever comes next with the patience and the hands and the willingness to stand next to a fire at three in the morning and wait for something good to happen. The chain doesn't break. The fire doesn't stop. And I am here, 63 years old, in a lawn chair in Orange Mound, Memphis, Tennessee, watching the smoke rise, and the rising is the living, and the living is the gift.

That week I kept thinking about the way fall does something generous to everything on the table — the pork belly got the glory, but it was the smoked chicken I’d pulled earlier in the day that ended up in the refrigerator, waiting for something lighter to carry it. Rosetta had been on me to balance all that smoke and butter with something that didn’t require a cardiologist on speed dial, and the Fuji apples sitting in the bowl on the counter — crisp, cold, and purely October — told me exactly what to do. This salad is what happens when the pitmaster listens to the nurse, and it turns out she was right: sometimes the best thing you can do with good smoked chicken is just get out of its way and let the season finish the job.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 large Fuji apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups cooked chicken breast, sliced or pulled (smoked chicken works beautifully here)
6 cups romaine or mixed greens, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup candied or toasted pecans
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese
1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
For the white balsamic vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together white balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and minced garlic. While whisking continuously, drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Prep the apples. Thinly slice the Fuji apples and toss immediately with lemon juice to prevent browning. The thin slices fan out nicely over the salad and hold their crunch.
Toast the pecans (if not already candied). In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast pecans for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
Build the base. Divide the chopped romaine or mixed greens evenly among four plates or wide bowls.
Add the toppings. Layer each salad with sliced chicken, fanned apple slices, dried cranberries, pecans, crumbled Gorgonzola, and red onion rings.
Dress and serve. Drizzle the white balsamic vinaigrette over each salad just before serving. Serve immediately so the greens stay crisp.

Nutrition (per serving)

Fuji Apple Chicken Salad (Panera Copycat) — When the Season Does the Seasoning