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Southern Cobb Salad

A Southern take on a Cobb salad, loaded with fried chicken tenders, fresh strawberries, grapes, Granny Smith apples, candied pecans and crumbled goat cheese. Served with a homemade poppyseed dressing.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 2 entree salads

Ingredients

For the poppyseed dressing:

  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tablespoon poppyseeds

For the fried chicken tenders:

  • 3/4 pound chicken tenderloins
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon salt divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon paprika divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2-3 cup canola or vegetable oil for frying

For the Southern cobb salad:

  • 4-6 friend chicken tenders see recipe above
  • 1/2 pound fresh strawberries
  • 1 5-ounce bag romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup red grapes
  • 1 medium green apple
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/3 cup candied pecans
  • homemade poppyseed dressing see recipe above

Instructions

For the poppyseed dressing:

  • Add all ingredients (except poppyseeds) to a large measuring cup. Whisk ingredients together. Add poppyseeds and stir together. Set in the refrigerator until ready to serve salad.

For the fried chicken tenders:

  • First, we need to marinade the chicken tenders. Add tenders to a gallon ziplock bag. Add buttermilk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder. Seal bag and toss chicken to coat completely with spices and buttermilk. Place bag in a bowl and set in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and no more than 8 hours.
  • Once chicken is done marinating, prepare the oil for frying. Place 2-3 cups of oil into a cast-iron skillet (should fill skillet halfway). heat over medium heat. The oil should take about 7-10 minutes to get hot.
  • While oil gets hot, prepare the dredge. Add flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder, and baking powder to a shallow dish. Whisk to combine ingredients.
  • Remove tenders from the refrigerator. Remove on tender from the bag and shake off excess buttermilk. Drop into flour mixture and toss with flour mixture to cover all edges of the tenderloin. Place tenderloin on a clean plate and repeat with rest of the tenderloins.
  • Once oil is hot, place a tenderloin into oil. If it's sizzling, then oil is hot enough. Add 3 more tenderloins and cook all 4 tenderloins for 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat with any remaining tenderloins. Let tenderloins cool.

To assemble the salads:

  • Split romaine lettuce among two large plates. Chop cooked tenderloins into bite-sized pieces and split among both plates. Wash and slice strawberries and split among both plates. Wash and cut grapes in half and then split among both plates. Dice apple and split among both plates. Split pecans and goat cheese among both plates. Serve salads with prepared poppyseed dressing and enjoy!

Notes

If you'd like to serve this as a smaller salad for multiple people, add all ingredients to a large bowl and toss with as much dressing as needed. Don't toss with dressing until serving time to prevent lettuce from wilting.