Fried Chicken Sandwich

I cannot believe one of the first recipes I am posting on my blog is a Fried Chicken Sandwich!  We do not normally eat this indulgently on a week night and we never deep fry anything!  (Although we did go through a deep fried Oreo stage at one point, but that's a totally different post.)  You guys loved this when I posted it on Instagram so here we are with a delicious fried chicken sandwich recipe.

Confession: I have been majorly slacking on cooking dinner during this pregnancy.  Between work and chasing a toddler around I've just been too tired by the end of the day to stand over the stove for an hour to cook a meal, not to mention the clean up!  We basically survived the entire summer by Chris grilling everything- thanks for picking up my slack, Babe.  Unless I have meal-prepped or craved something I HAD TO HAVE, dinners haven't been up to parr around here lately which totally sucks for the hubby and definitely makes me sad since I love cooking so much.  Which is why this dish is surprising to me.  The baby (not me, it was totally the baby!) must have really been craving a fried chicken sandwich because, not only have I never made fried chicken before, but you know I was committed when Chris got home from the grocery store and had forgotten the oil to fry the chicken in!!!! (I actually forgot to add it to the shopping list, oops!) AND THEN I went back out for it!  I feel like that's commitment considering my recent laziness.  That second trip to the grocery store was so worth it, this chicken sandwich was super juicy and had so much flavor in every bite.  Fried chicken has always seemed like too much work and mess to even attempt it at home.  News Flash- it's not! This chicken is simple to prepare and so worth some splatters on the cooktop!  The most annoying part about this recipe is finding a jar to pour the oil in after you're done with it.  Hot Tip:  serve dill pickles along with your sandwiches, drink the juice out of the jar and voila! Empty jar for your oil! Not that that's what I did or anything... #pregnant

INGREDIENTS

YOU'LL NEED:

COLE SLAW

MAKE THE SLAW FIRST & STICK IT IN THE FRIG FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES SO THE FLAVORS CAN COME TOGETHER.

YOU'LL NEED:

1/2 HEAD RED CABBAGE, THINLY SLICED

1/2 CUP CHERRY TOMATOES, THINLY SLICED

1/2 JALAPENO, DICED

1 GREEN ONION, CHOPPED

1/3 CUP MAYO

1 TEASPOON MILK- REALLY JUST A SPLASH

1 TABLESPOON APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

2.5 TABLESPOONS GRANULATED SUGAR

SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

YOU'LL NEED:

FRIED CHICKEN

YOU DON'T NEED A DEEP FRYER FOR GOOD & EASY FRIED CHICKEN AT HOME! JUST USE A HEAVY BOTTOM POT & A THERMOMETER TO CHECK YOUR OIL TEMP.

YOU'LL NEED:

1 LB BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST

2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 CUP BUTTERMILK

PEANUT OIL, FOR FRYING

SALT, PEPPER, PAPRIKA, ONION POWDER & GARLIC POWDER

YOU'LL NEED:

TOPPINGS

THESE REALLY SEND THE SANDWICH OVER THE EDGE!

YOU'LL NEED:

4 PRETZEL BUNS, toasted

SRIRACHA MAYO- Just add your favorite hot sauce to mayo to taste

SLICED DILL PICKLES- I used 4 slices per sandwich

1/4 RED ONION, thinly sliced

4 BUTTER LETTUCE LEAVES

DIRECTIONS

MAKE THE SLAW

Place the cabbage, tomatoes, jalapeno and green onion in a serving bowl. In a small bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, milk, sugar, salt and pepper together, pour enough over to coat the slaw (there will probably be extra dressing) and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

FRY THE CHICKEN

Pound the chicken breasts into an even layer and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Pour the peanut oil 1/2 inch deep into a large heavy skillet. Heat over medium heat until the thermometer registers 350°. Whisk flour with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Pour buttermilk into another shallow bowl. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Dip in buttermilk, allowing excess to drip back into bowl then dredge again in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through (internal temp of 165 degrees), about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set inside a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken.

ASSEMBLY

Spread the sriracha mayo on the bottom pretzel buns then layer the red onion, butter lettuce and pickles. Add the chicken and top with slaw and top bun.

I served these with jalapeno potato chips and a dill pickle, the slaw could also double as a side dish.  These would also be great to serve as sliders during Sunday football!  You could set out all the toppings and have your guests build their own.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  Since so many people asked for the recipe, I wanted to get it up on the blog ASAP.  In the future, I would like to be able to spend more time developing and photographing my recipes for you guys.  This is definitely a trial and error thing as I start out so please bare with me as I work out the kinks!  It means so much to me that you even care (lol) and I want to provide you with quality content that you find successful.  Please comment below to let me know what you think of the recipe, what fun twists you put on it and any suggestions you have for me as far as recipe layout and content! 

Thank you for stopping by creme de la klemm.