The Best Fried Chicken Sandwich
Look at that fried chicken sandwich...LOOK AT IT!!! At the time of making this sandwich I was ticked off, because the Steelers were looking like absolutely garbage and whenever that happens I get angry. Then I took a bite of this incredible chicken sandwich and the Steelers started to absolutely kill it and of course defeated the Denver Broncos....IT WAS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!
I tell you what though, I hate frying food because 1) I don't have an actual deep fryer 2) it's messy and 3) I always seem to screw it up! It's difficult without a reliable deep fryer because you have to be constantly monitoring the temperature and adjusting. So why am I deep frying if I hate it so much? Because once again Sous Vide makes life sooo much easier. Why this recipe works: I cooked the chicken thighs to perfection using sous vide, I also bagged the chicken thighs with some pickle juice which brined the chicken while it cooked. Then after I cooked the chicken, I dredged in buttermilk and flour and fried at a very high temperature for only a minute or two obtaining a perfect crust. What is also fantastic about this method is since it isn't cooking in the oil as much, you get a much healthier fried chicken because it doesn't soak up nearly as much oil.
I understand your trepidation to buying device to cook sous vide, totally get it. Nobody wants another piece of equipment hogging up precious cabinet space. But, I promise you, this is something that needs the space. I use my immersion circulators on a regular basis and are one of my most prized pieces of kitchen gear. Yes they cost money, some more than others, but in my mind they are worth the investment. These three sous vide cooking devices are my favorite, so click on the pictures below which will take you to my amazon associate page.
The Best Fried Chicken Sandwich
Prep time: 30m | Cook time: 3hrs | Total time: 3.5hrs | Yield: 4 sandwiches
Ingredients
-
- 4 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 jar of dill pickle slices
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and cut into circles
- 2.5 cups bread flour
- 1/3 cup My Spice Sage Fried Chicken Seasoning
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot
- 1/2 tsp acho chili powder
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 1 bag Dole Classic Coleslaw
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup dill pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 hamburger buns, of your choice
Cooking Directions
- Heat water bath to 155°F/68°C
- Lightly pound chicken thighs to achieve an even thickness
- Place chicken thighs into a sous vide bag (or freezer ziplock bag) and add in some pickle juice, enough to cover while cooking. Cook thighs for 3 hours
- In a small bowl, mix together the grated garlic clove, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, Frank's Red Hot, and Ancho Chili Powder. Mix to combine
- In a medium mixing bowl toss the onion, jalapeno, and dole classic cole slaw mix. Then in a small bowl mix together the 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup dill pickle juice, onion power, and season with salt and pepper. Add the cole slaw dressing to the cole slaw mix and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to make sandwiches.
- Heat fry oil (I used canola) to about 400°F/205°C
- Remove chicken from the sous vide bag and pat dry with a paper towel. Set up your breading station: Mix together the flour and fried chicken seasoning in a bowl. Add buttermilk to a second bowl and add a healthy spoonful of sriracha (optional) to the buttermilk. Dredge each piece through flour mix, then through sriracha-buttermilk, then a second time through the flour mix. Repeat process with other thighs.
- Working in batches, fry the chicken pieces in the oil until they are golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. After frying is complete, build your sandwich with the Hot Pepper Mayo, Fried Chicken, Coleslaw and pickles.
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