Southern Belle Chicken Sando

Directions Print

1. Gather equipment and ingredients. Heat deep fat fryer to 350°F.
2. Using appropriate board and Chefs knife, divide portion of chicken leg meat into 3 equal pieces. Set aside.​

Brine:

1. Heat ¼ cup of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, and 1 quart of water in a small saucepan over medium heat stirring to dissolve sugar until mixture is steaming but not simmering, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add tea bag and let steep for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove tea bag squeezing out excess over pan, discard bag. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and stir to dissolve. Pour in 2 cups of ice, stir, and let brine cool. Once brine has cooled, add chicken leg meat to the brine ensuring it is completely submerged. Let chicken brine for 1 to 3 hours under refrigeration.​

Dredge:

1. In a stainless steel bowl, mix the milk and condensed milk together until smooth. Set aside.

Breading:

1. In a larger stainless steel bowl, whisk together the Western breading and biscuit mix until incorporated. Set aside.

Napa Cabbage Slaw:​

1. Begin by halving the head of cabbage and soaking in ice water for 5 minutes, remove and drain excess moisture with single use towels. While the cabbage dries, using a mandolin or similar tool, carefully julienne the apple and carrot to appropriate portions. Next, julienne the cabbage to ¼" shreds, set aside. Finely dice 1 tablespoon of fresh​ chives. For the slaw dressing, in a medium stainless steel bowl add ¼ cup of mayonnaise (reserve the remainder for building the sandwich), 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, pinch of kosher salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Whisk mixture together until smooth. To the mixture, add the shredded cabbage, julienned apple, julienned carrots and diced chives. Using a gloved hand, gently incorporate all ingredients until coated with mayo mixture. Slaw should be lightly sauced and fresh, not heavy and mayo saturated.​

Cooking Chicken:

1. Using tongs, pull chicken pieces from brine, letting excess drip off and gently place into dry breading. Using gloved hands flip and coat chicken generously in flour mixture. Next, dip dredged chicken pieces into milk mixture coating the pieces entirely then quickly back into the flour mixture coating generously. Do not let excess milk drain off of the chicken. These clumps will create attractive texture to exterior of chicken once fried. Working immediately, gently lower dredged chicken into hot oil, moving to prevent sticking as needed. Fry chicken for 4 to 5 minutes or to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F. Once chicken has reached appropriate internal temperature, drain excess grease and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and set aside.​

Sando Assembly:

1. Melt butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add slices of Texas toast in batches and toast on 1 side until golden and crispy (a flat top griddle would perform as well). Next, lay toasted bread on a work space, spread reserved mayonnaise from coast to coast on each slice of toast. On the bottom slices of bread, evenly distribute pickled jalapenos. Next, add cooked chicken on top of jalapenos. Spread peach pepper jam evenly between chicken applying directly to top of chicken. Top chicken with ½ cup of prepared slaw and finish with top piece of Texas toast. Optional garnish: Grilled peaches would make a great addition to this sandwich.​