The ultimate chicken sandwich needs tender, moist chicken coated with a crispy crunchy, non-greasy coating. Our succulent pickle brine with crackling batter creates an unparalleled chicken sandwich experience that we’ll bet the house on against any other chicken sandwich.
Ingredients
- Chicken Brine
- 908g (2lbs) Chicken Breast
- 200g (¾ cup) Pickle Brine
- 200g (¾ cup) Buttermilk
- 4g (1 tsp) MSG
- 10g (2 tsp)Â Salt
- 2g (1 tsp) White Pepper
- 0.5g (¼ tsp) Cayenne
- 15g (2 tbsp) Batter Bind S
- Breading
- 300g (2 cup) AP Flour
- 2g (½ tsp) Baking Soda
- 8g (2 tsp) MSG
- 10g (2 tsp) Salt
- 60g (8 tbsp) Evercrisp
- 1g (½ tsp) Cayenne Pepper
- 2g (1 tsp) White Pepper
- 28g (4 tbsp Paprika
- 60g (4 tbsp) Milk Powder
- Chicken Sandwich Sauce
- 170g (one 6 oz cans) Tomato Paste
- 170g (1½ cups) Sugar
- 170g (1 ½ cups) White Vinegar
- 75g (5 tbsp) BBQ Spice Rub
- Mayonnaise
- Additional Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Impeccable Pickles
- 1 Recipe Soft as a Cloud Potato Rolls
- 1 Gallon Peanut Oil, for Frying
Equipment
- Large Heavy Bottom Pot
- Mixing Bowls
- Instant Read Thermometer
- Blender
Timing
Active time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 24 Hours
Yield
8 Servings
-
Prepare Chicken
Remove any excess fat and sinew from each chicken breast.
Cut the Chicken into 8 equal sized 4 oz portions.
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Create Brine
In a bowl whisk together buttermilk, pickle brine, MSG, salt, white pepper, cayenne, and Batter Bind S.
The pickle brine can be a home-made naturally fermented pickles or store bought vinegar brined pickle. We find for this recipe we find a store bought vinegar brine works great.
Pour the brine into a zip top bag or a vacuum seal bag. Add chicken to the bag and allow it to brine for 24 hours.
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Create Sauce
In a Blender, combine the tomato paste, sugar, vinegar, and BBQ spice rub.
Blend until smooth before adding the mayonnaise.
This can be used immediately but we suggest refrigerating this for one day to let the flavors develop. Once all the flavors in the spice rub hydrate the sauce takes on a new life!
-
Create Breading
Preheat a large heavy bottom pot of peanut oil to 315°F.
In a large bowl mix together AP flour, baking soda, MSG, salt, evercrisp, cayenne, white pepper. paprika, and milk powder.
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Bread the Chicken
Remove the chicken from the remaining brine. Reserve brine for the breading process.
Add ¼ cup of the brine from the chicken to the dry mix. Rub the brine into the dry mixture until it creates little flaky bits. They should be no larger than a fingernail. Make sure these are well distributed throughout the breading.
The breading station will consist of the dry breading and the remaining brine. Place the wet chicken breasts in the dry breading. If you prefer a thinner crust on your Fillet. Just skip the next step.
Remove any excess breading then place it back in the brine. Once soaked in brine allow it to drip for a few seconds before placing it back in the breading a second time. This is called double dipping and it makes the chicken extra crispy. Think of it like giving Popeye his spinach…. Wink wink nudge nudge.
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Fry the Chicken
Fry the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. Remove it from the hot oil and allow it to rest on a cooling rack.
Note: We can’t stress how important taking the temperature of the chicken is. No matter how well the chicken is brined, cooking it to 195°F will yield sawdust like textures.
Place the crispy chicken sandwich on a potato roll toasted in butter. Top with pickle chips and serve immediately. Good accompaniments include biscuits and french fries either cajun or waffle.
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