Cobb Salad is one of those ubiquitous, and often dreadful, dishes you find on many mediocre diner menus. To elevate this dish to a level commensurate with a sumptuous dinner party, I did some heavy research. America’s Test Kitchen was most helpful, especially in its assembly process, which requires that each element be dressed separately to create the best effect. My Cobb Salad recipe, however, diverges considerably from theirs.

I have tried this salad in some of New York City’s finest steakhouses, and, quite naturally, they add steak to the usual chicken. This adds heft to the recipe, satisfies those who are not chicken-breast enthusiasts, and makes the dish complete as a full meal, especially when served with a good bread. I do the same here, but you may choose to leave it out.

Cobb Salad was born at the famous Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, a famous eatery frequented by movie stars. Here’s a tale of its origins.

Following are two other salads of mine that can make a full meal: Chicken Caesar Salad, Italian Sausage Salad.

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For Prepping the Meats

In a large bowl, dissolve ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup salt in 2 quarts of cold water. Submerge the chicken-breast halves in the brine, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24, and as many as 48 hours. The brining helps ensure that your broiled breasts will remain juicy.

Dry the steak with paper towels. Rub kosher salt on all sides of the steak. Place on a rack over a plate. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours. Here I used New York Strip Steak, but a boneless rib steak is, perhaps, an even better choice 

For the Hard-Boiled Eggs

I’ve tried dozens of ways to hard boil eggs. Trust me, not one of them is foolproof.  I would say that I have a 90% success rate with the following method. Have the eggs at room temperature. Fill a pot with water. Add some salt and some baking soda. Bring the water to a full boil. Lower the heat, and slowly submerge the eggs in the water. Bring the water back to a boil. Boil the eggs for 12 minutes. Run the pot of water under cold water for a moment, then remove the eggs. Roll the eggs back and forth on a counter top to crack the shells. When they are barely cool enough to handle, peel the eggs. The colder the egg, harder it is to peel.

For the Vegetables

Wash and thoroughly dry the romaine leaves. Tear them into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry the watercress. Cut off the tough bottom stems and discard them. Roughly chop the watercress leaves. Wash and dry the grape tomatoes, then slice them in half.

For the Bacon

If using chunk bacon, cut it into 8 thick slices.  If you can’t find chunk bacon, buy thick-cut bacon.

I use Schaller and Weber Double-Smoked Bacon.

Place the slices in a cold skillet. Starting at a low heat, cook the bacon, turning it at least twice before raising the heat.

Then raise the heat to medium, and continue cooking until the bacon is browned and crisp, again turning it several times. Drain the slices on paper towels.

When they are cooled, crumble them into small pieces. Discard the oil in the pan, and set the pan aside.

For the Vinaigrette

An excellent vinaigrette is a key factor in making Cobb Salad sing. In a bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons of Sherry vinegar, and the fresh thyme.

Then add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Over medium heat, in the pan where you fried the bacon, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of Sherry vinegar. With a wooden spoon, stir and scrape the pan, deglazing it.
Continue cooking until just a teaspoon or so remains, which should have become syrupy.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool. Whisk the syrup into the vinaigrette mixture. 

Press the garlic cloves through a garlic press. (If you don’t have one, mince the garlic as fine as possible.) Whisk it into the vinaigrette mixture.

Drizzle the olive oil slowly into the mixture, whisking constantly until full homogenized.

Cooking the Meats

I like to cook the minutes at the last possible moment so that the are still somewhat warm when I serve my Cobb Salad.

Remove the chicken breasts from the brine, dry them thoroughly on paper towels, lightly salt, and grind some pepper over them.

Adjust the rack to the upper part of the oven. Either brush a broiler pan with a bit of oil or use cooking spray. Here I lined the pan with foil for easy clean up. Brush the breasts lightly with the oil.

Broil the breasts on one side until they develop some brown spots, about 5-10 minutes. Turn the breasts over, and broil them on the other side for several minutes. Cut into the thickest part of the breast to be sure there is no longer any pink (it should register 160° on an instant-read thermometer). Set the chicken breasts aside until ready to serve, then slice them ½-inch thick crosswise.

Heat a fry pan with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil until it just starts smoking. Dry the steak and add it to the pan, pressing down on it with a spatula.

Fry for about 30 seconds, then flip it and fry the other side. Continue frying and flipping every 30 seconds for several minutes.

Remove the steak to a board, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice it ½-inch thick crosswise when you are ready to serve.

Assembling the Cobb Salad

In a large mixing bowl, toss the romaine and the watercress with just enough dressing to thoroughly coat each leaf.  Taste each item as you dress it. You want to avoid either too much or too little dressing on every element. Arrange the greens on a large, flat platter.

Place the chicken slices in the same bowl, and toss with enough dressing to coat.

Arrange the slices in a row over the greens. Do the same with the steak slices, arranging them in another row.

Place the grape tomatoes in the same bowl, and toss with dressing. Scatter them on the platter. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, carefully scoop out the flesh in one whole piece, and rub it with a lemon slice to prevent coloring. Slice the avocados crosswise, toss them very gently in the bowls with the vinaigrette, and arrange them on the platter. Slice the hard-boiled eggs, and carefully drizzle vinaigrette over them. Arrange them attractively on the platter

Crumble the blue cheese and the bacon, and sprinkle them over the salad.  Here I used Stilton cheese, but Roquefort is also an excellent choice. Snip the chives evenly over the top, and serve the Cobb Salad.

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