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Tea Room Chicken Salad Sandwiches Made Simple

Tea Room Chicken Salad Sandwiches

A classic Southern tea-room chicken salad made with finely chopped chicken, a lightly seasoned mayonnaise dressing, sweet pickle relish, and crisp vegetables. Serve it as neat crustless finger sandwiches for parties, teas, or luncheons.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken Salad
  • 3 cups Finely chopped cooked chicken
  • 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Finely chopped celery
  • 1/4 cup Finely chopped sweet onion
  • 1/4 cup Sweet pickle relish
  • 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
Sandwiches
  • 24 slices Thin white sandwich bread
  • as needed Softened butter or mayonnaise for spreading
  • optional Lettuce leaves

Method
 

Step-by-Step
  1. If cooking the chicken, gently poach boneless, skinless chicken breasts in lightly salted water until the center reaches 165°F, about 15–20 minutes. Cool the chicken completely before chopping.
  2. Chop the cooled chicken quite finely. The small pieces create the traditional tea-room texture, but leave enough definition that the chicken does not become a paste.
  3. In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, celery, sweet onion, sweet pickle relish, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.
  4. Fold the chopped chicken into the dressing until evenly coated. Mix gently and stop as soon as the ingredients are combined.
  5. Cover the chicken salad and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Several hours of chilling gives the flavors more time to blend.
  6. Lightly spread the bread with softened butter or mayonnaise, add the chilled chicken salad, and include lettuce if desired. Top with a second slice, remove the crusts, and cut into triangles, rectangles, or small squares.

Notes

Use fully cooled chicken before mixing and chill the finished salad before assembling. For a traditional Southern variation, fold in 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans. For a less-sweet flavor, replace the sweet relish with finely chopped dill pickle. Keep assembled sandwiches covered and chilled until serving.