According to some sources, this is the original Cobb salad invented by Los Angeles restaurant owner Bob Cobb. In the early 1920s, Brown began making it for late-night meals with friends at his Derby in Los Angeles. When his Brown Derby opened in Hollywood in 1929, he added it to the menu. It didn’t take long for the chopped salad with chicken, bacon, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and avocado to become the restaurant’s signature dish. Brown Derby uses poached chicken breasts, cooks bacon until super crispy, freezes blue cheese and grates it on salads, hard-boils eggs, chops vegetables and makes dressings. I used plenty of. This recipe has been adapted from the original to maximize efficiency and make smaller quantities. To serve like a Brown Derby, place on a chilled plate and toss with French Derby dressing just before serving.
Get ahead: Chicken, bacon, and eggs can be cooked separately and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Dressing can be made up to 1 week in advance.
storage: Salad ingredients can be refrigerated separately for up to 4 days.
material
Quantity: Four (Makes about 12 cups of salad and 1 cup of dressing)
for salad
- 1 bone-in, skin-on, split chicken breast (14 oz.)
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt, more if needed
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
- 8 strips of bacon (8 ounces)
- 1 ripe avocado, halved, seeded and diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 medium-ripe tomatoes (10 ounces total), diced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (7 oz.) romaine lettuce head, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium iceberg lettuce (7 ounces total), finely chopped
- 1/2 small head chicory (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
- 4 ounces Roquefort or other blue cheese, crumbled
direction
Active: 30 minutes
|Total: 1 hour
step 1
Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine water, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil until a loose emulsion forms. Taste and adjust seasonings and oil to taste. If the dressing separates, stir it just before serving.
Step 2
Make the salad: Place oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
Step 3
If desired, line 2 small sheet pans with foil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet. Arrange bacon slices evenly spaced on the other baking sheet.
Step 4
Roast bacon on one rack for 20 to 25 minutes or until crispy or to desired doneness. Roast the chicken on the other rack for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the skin is lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees, avoiding the bones.
Step 5
Let the bacon and chicken rest until cool enough to handle.
Step 6
Meanwhile, sprinkle the avocado with lemon juice to keep it from browning and season with a pinch of salt. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
Step 7
Bring water to a boil in a small pot over high heat. Slowly add the eggs to the water and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Cook for 6 minutes for soft, jammy yolks or 10 minutes for hard-cooked eggs. Drain the eggs, cover with cold water, and when warm enough to handle, peel and chop.
Step 8
Once the bacon and chicken are cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bones. (Save the skin and bones for the soup, if desired.) Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Chop or cut the bacon into strips.
Step 9
In a large bowl, combine chopped lettuce, chicory, and chives. Divide vegetables among 4 plates or shallow bowls. Arrange the chicken, bacon, eggs, avocado, tomatoes and cheese in a row on top of the greens. Drizzle dressing over each salad just before serving. (You can also serve this home-style. Serve in a large bowl and drizzle or toss with the dressing just before serving.)
replacement
To make it meatless >> Omit the chicken. Add more eggs if needed.
Don’t like blue cheese? >> Try it with grated cheddar or crumbled feta cheese.
If you only want to use one type of lettuce, use iceberg or romaine.