First and most importantly it was essential to make some form of chicken sandwich from the leftovers. As Jubilee fever is gripping the nation at the moment I thought the most appropriate sandwich would be Coronation chicken. Possibly my favourite sandwich filler but one I’ve never made myself and I wanted to do it properly, do it justice and so I set about making some mayonnaise.
My mixer would be the perfect thing to make glorious, fresh, silky mayonnaise, at least that’s what I thought. As far as I was aware 1 egg yolk can emulsify 100ml of oil but none of the recipes I found followed this rule so I trusted both my instincts (which are apparently useless) and a few recipes and went for 2 egg yolks and 250ml oil.
Three egg yolks down and no mayonnaise I wasn’t going to let it get the better of me. Into the mixer again and with a great improvement on my patience it was all going well. There was definite emulsification and sweat on the brow. I was dripping the oil in like a pro and then all of a sudden it split again. Brilliant. Instead of trying to whisk the curdled mess into more egg yolks I decided that power would be my friend.
I tried the electric hand whisk and the immersion blender, none of these improved the emulsification situation but they did redecorate some of the kitchen. Good job I wanted raw egg and oil over the tiles really. It had been almost an hour and a half since I started this adventure and by this point I was very hungry. One final attempt with the simple hand whisk achieved more than anything else I had tried. I thought I’d managed the impossible, it looked much improved. I went to find my other half to show my achievement and revel in praise and recognition but when I returned it was to a bowl of misery.
Mayonnaise was not my friend that day but I will attempt it again, by hand next time. I resorted to jarred mayonnaise to complete the Coronation chicken. A few spoonfuls of mayonnaise, a sprinkling of curry powder and a dollop of mango chutney mixed into the chicken and put in some bread with whatever you like. You can add as little or as much curry powder and mango chutney as you like; I was surprised how much mango was needed to get the flavour.
Coronation chicken with spring onions just makes it even nicer, especially with soft springy rolls. Marvellous. Well, pretty good if you weren’t around for all the washing up, cleaning and disposal of curdled egg and oil. Not only did I use up some of the leftover chicken I also made one of my favourite things and had a mini pre-Jubilee culinary celebration. There won’t be another chicken that isn’t made into Coronation chicken; I’ll keep some mayonnaise in the cupboard just in case.
Well bless you, because you tried and you entertained me too with your account – I have never tried to make it myself, but it always looks so easy on TV.
Sounds wonderful! Sounds like it worked…and spring onions are perfect for this.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Jane makes mayonnaise with whole eggs, not just the yolks, and never has a problem.That might be worth a try.
Oooh you’ve reminded me of something I’d almost forgotten!Coronation Chicken!I’ve enjoyed many lunches in UK eating away my Coronation chicken and its also something I’ve never tried making.Thanks for reminding me and a great recipe 🙂
Mayo – it’s the latest in home decor. 🙂 Did you use room temperature eggs? I once had the same issues as you did and finally achieved success with room temperature yolks and oil (and a whole lot of patience and sore arms).
This looks fabulous! 🙂
Great use of leftover chicken and what a lovely mayo you made. My mum always used to do it and goodness me, it tastes wonderful homemade.
I love leftover chicken! I have never made mayo either, what a treat! Have a great weekend!
Maybe Kitchen Boudoir has something? I got mayo to work okay first time, hand-whisking and using room temperature eggs. I don’t keep eggs in the fridge – they last for 3 weeks easily on the counter and I always get through a box of eggs in less than 3 weeks!
My mayo had a different problem. I used some really good olive oil, my default oil for pretty much everything. Well, I’ve found one thing my beloved olive oil isn’t good for – the mayo was really quite harsh in the throat!
What a delicious way to use up leftover chicken, great idea!
I have not yet had breakfast and my mouth is literally watering now after reading your post. I have some leftover chicken downstairs and am going to do my best to recreate this sandwich NOW!
Reading your blog when hungry is like the old adage about grocery shopping when one is hungry; don’t do it (unless one has all the ingredients for whatever you’ve posted at the ready)!
Use yogurt instead of mayo as a binder: problem solved. Plus, it tastes better and is less fatty (I’ve always hated mayo).
Hilarious story of the failed mayo! Makes me want to give it a go by I know I’ll live to regret it…
I have tried to prepare a mayonnaise a couple of weeks ago…I was frustrated too. I did not have “curdling” problems, but my mayo did not achieve the right consistency. I have to try again! I am a mayo lover!!!