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Chicken Sandwich No. 2
To the white meat of a cold boiled chicken chopped fine, add a crisp celery stalk chopped fine, and mix with a little mayonnaise dressing. Place between thinly cut slices of buttered white bread, and garnish with an olive.
A straightforward chicken salad sandwich from the era when a boiled fowl was standard Sunday equipment and Monday's lunch was built from what was left. A few of its assumptions need updating.
- Cold boiled chickenThe recipe presupposes leftovers from a fowl boiled whole; it specifies nothing about aromatics or how the bird was cooled. Poached or roasted breast works, and about 1 cup of chopped meat fills three to four sandwiches. If you are boiling a bird for the purpose, letting the meat cool in its liquid rather than on a plate keeps it moister.
- White meat onlyPresumably for appearance: it chops to an even, pale mince that reads as delicate. Dark meat is perfectly good here and has more flavor; the sandwich will simply look less genteel.
- Chop, do not shredThe recipe calls for the meat cut fine, which gives a filling that spreads smoothly. Shredded or pulled chicken drags the crumb apart in thin bread.
- Mayonnaise dressingIn 1909 this meant a hand-beaten egg-yolk-and-oil emulsion, often thinner and sharper with lemon or vinegar than a jarred mayonnaise. Use commercial mayonnaise loosened with a squeeze of lemon if you want the same tang. "A little" means just enough to bind, roughly a tablespoon per cup of chicken.
- CeleryOne stalk of a modern head, chopped fine, is right for a cup of chicken. The point is crispness against soft filling, so cut it shortly before assembling.
- Thinly cut breadA firm white sandwich loaf sliced about 1/4 inch, buttered edge to edge. The butter is structural as much as flavorful: it keeps the dressing from soaking into the crumb, which matters if the sandwiches stand before serving.
- SeasoningNo salt or pepper is listed. Taste the filling and correct it before it goes on the bread.
- The olive garnishThe recipe says only to garnish with an olive, without specifying type or placement. It is decoration, not an ingredient, and can be skipped.
This comes from a 1909 collection published when the sandwich was still being formalized as American party and luncheon food rather than laborers' fare. Books of this type ran dozens of numbered variations on a theme. Celery itself was a fashionable vegetable in this era, sold in tall cut-glass celery vases and served raw as a relish, so adding a chopped stalk registered as an elegant touch rather than a cheap filler. The instruction to trim with an olive points to the sandwich's setting: ladies' luncheons, card parties and the growing number of downtown tearooms, where presentation was much of the point.