Wild Rice Salad with Chicken Apple Sausage

I first tasted this unique salad years ago, at a stellar brunch buffet at the Woodstock Inn in Vermont. I was so impressed with its meaty, nutty, complex, and intriguingly delicious textures and flavors, that I went home to recreate it the next day. I’ve been making it regularly for years now, and it has become one of our most requested recipes. Bonus: it’s full of good-for-you nutrients from whole grain, nuts and dried fruits. Because one taste of it always takes me back to the Woodstock Inn (a Rockefeller property!), I feel ritzy whenever I serve it.
Wild Rice Salad with Chicken Apple Sausage 
(Serves 6)

  1. Bring 2-1/4 cups water to a boil, and add the wild rice and cinnamon stick. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add the white rice, stir, cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Drain excess water (if any) and set aside to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, cut the sausages in half length-wise, then slice into 1/2″-thick half-moons. Sauté over medium heat until cooked through.
  3. Make a dressing by combining:
    • 1/4 cup cider vinegar;
    • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard;
    • 1/4 cup chicken broth;
    • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil;
    • 1-2 tablespoons honey;
    • and salt and pepper to taste.
    • Whisk or shake well.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the cooled rice, the sausage, celery, apricots and pecans. Toss with dressing.
  5. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Do you serve a memorable main-course salad? Where were you (or who were you with) the first time you tasted it?

14 thoughts on “Wild Rice Salad with Chicken Apple Sausage”

    1. It’s definitely a Midwestern thing; actually, it’s an Ojibway thing, and they passed it on to the non-native Minnesotans and Wisconsinites. The very best wild rice I ever tasted was at a dinner at the reservation — the truly Wild, Wild Rice. Amazing.

    1. It’s a sausage made with chicken and apples. I’m thinking that no one in Ireland is making such a thing. It’s quite new here, supposed to be healthier than beef or pork, but I don’t buy that. I eat it because nothing else tastes quite like it, and it’s yummy.

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