These Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches are crispy, juicy and seasoned to perfection. Sandwiched between toasted brioche buns, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella, crispy bacon and a flavourful spicy aioli — these fried chicken sandwiches are comfort food at its best!
Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches
I've always preferred a fried chicken sandwich to a hamburger. There's just so much more depth of flavour and texture in a chicken sandwich. A hamburger patty is best enjoyed in a bun with a bunch of toppings and condiments, while fried chicken can obviously be enjoyed by itself.
So when you take some (boneless) fried chicken, put it onto a toasted brioche bun that's been slathered with spicy aioli, drench it with buffalo sauce, and top it wish fresh lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella and crispy bacon — you get pure sandwich perfection. It's love at first bite!
Keys to Making Perfect Fried Chicken
For the fried chicken itself, I used my perfect Spicy Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe. That fried chicken was juicy, tender, crunchy, spicy and perfectly seasoned all throughout, so I just had to make a sandwich with it!
Buttermilk Marinade
Just like my spicy fried chicken recipe, we're gonna need to let the chicken sit in a buttermilk marinade. For the chicken, I used 2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts and cut them in half to make 4 thinner breasts. Mine were pretty small because that was all I could afford, but you can use larger chicken breasts, and you can also use 4 full breasts rather than slicing them in half. Just remember the cooking time varies depending on the size and thickness of your chicken.
Alright, back to the marinade.
The buttermilk marinade is 1000000% mandatory, so do NOT skip it. If you do, we can’t be friends. I mean it. Now when I say buttermilk marinade, I don’t mean buttermilk by itself. For the marinade, I added about 2 cups of full-fat buttermilk to a large bowl.
To the buttermilk, I added 1 small, sliced onion, minced garlic cloves, hot sauce (for some heat), kosher salt, and black peppercorns. Mix that together, then add the chicken breasts, making sure they’re completely covered in the brine. Seal the bag and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 12-24 hours. I know it’s a long wait, but it’s crucial for tenderizing the chicken and making it super juicy and flavourful.
Note: you don’t exactly need to rinse the marinade off the chicken, but you can if you want to. I just shake off most of the buttermilk and swipe off any peppercorns or garlic pieces that got stuck on the chicken. You also don’t want the chicken to be dripping with buttermilk, just wet enough so the flour will stick.
Seasonings
This recipe uses a blend of multiple seasonings: kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, white pepper, celery salt, chilli powder, dried oregano and dried basil. 12 spices all blended together to give this chicken the burst of flavour it deserves. These are the spices I chose for my chicken, but feel free to add or leave out whatever you want. You may think all these spices will be too overpowering but the flavour will mellow out while frying.
Note: season the front and back of the chicken with only half of the spice mixture. The remaining half will be added to the flour coating so the flavour will be in every part of the fried chicken.
Seasoned Flour Coating
Once the chicken and flour are both seasoned, add all the flour/spice mixture to an extra-large re-sealable bag, then add all of the chicken breasts to the bag and seal. Then shake it really really good to coat all of the chicken breast. Quick and easy!Shake off the excess flour, then place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Next, we make the the spicy buttermilk egg wash. Start by whisking the eggs until they’re pale yellow all throughout. Then mix in buttermilk and hot sauce (for extra spiciness). Dip all your chicken breasts into the egg wash, one at a time, shake off the excess, then immediately return it back to the bag of flour. Once all your chicken is back in the bag, repeat the shaking method. A double coating is what gives us that extra crispy skin that we all love!
I deep-fried my chicken breasts, but since we're not frying a lot of chicken, you may not want to use so much oil. Instead, feel free to add about an inch or two of oil to a large skillet and fry the chicken breasts one side at a time. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, it may take anywhere between 4-7 minutes per side. Remember to check the internal temperature to see if it's fully cooked through, it should be 160°F.
Assembly
To assemble the sandwiches, I started by spreading a thick layer of my creamy and spicy aioli sauce onto some toasted Brioche buns. To make the sauce, simply mix together mayonnaise, minced garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard and cayenne pepper. That’s it! It doesn’t get any easier than that.
The chicken looked a bit plain to me, so I made a last minute decision to drench it with buffalo sauce. To make it, I just melted some butter and mixed it with hot sauce. I had quite a bit of sauce left, so while eating my sandwich, I dipped it in both the spicy aioli and the buffalo sauce. This sandwich is just bursting with flavour!
From here, you can top the sandwiches with whatever you like. I decided to top mine with slices of mozzarella (which I decided to melt on my second sandwich, and holy God it's so much better!) fresh lettuce, tomatoes and a few strips of salty and crispy bacon which pairs perfectly with the crispy chicken beneath!
Woo! And there you have it! I'm not ashamed to say I ate all four of these sandwiches. They're crunchy, spicy and packed with a ton of flavour! This will make the perfect lunch or weeknight dinner. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
>>PIN ME FOR LATER<<
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Let's get frying!
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
These Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwiches are crispy, juicy and seasoned to perfection. Sandwiched between toasted brioche buns, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella, crispy bacon and a flavourful spicy aioli — these fried chicken sandwiches are comfort food at its best!
Ingredients
Buttermilk Marinade:
- 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise to make 4
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Seasoning Blend:
- 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
Flour Coating:
- 1 and ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 and ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ of the seasoning blend (above)
Buttermilk Egg Wash:
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 2 quarts cooking oil, for frying
Buffalo Sauce:
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
To Assemble:
- 1 recipe of my Spicy Aioli
- 4 brioche buns, toasted
- 4 slices mozzarella cheese
- Romaine lettuce leaves
- Tomato slices
- Crispy bacon
Instructions
For the Buttermilk Marinade:
- Slice 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make 4 cutlets. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or resealable bag, combine the buttermilk, sliced onions, sliced garlic, hot sauce, salt and black peppercorns.
- Add the chicken breasts and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or seal the bag while pressing the air out and rub the marinade into the chicken making sure all the chicken is submerged. Transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for 6 hours or overnight.
For the Seasoning Blend:
- In a small bowl add the kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, white pepper, celery salt, chilli powder, dried oregano and dried basil. Mix everything together until well combined.
- Remove chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade, shake off (or rinse) the excess and place onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle half of the seasoning blend on both sides of the chicken breasts.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder and the remaining half of seasoning blend and mix until well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into an extra-large resealable bag and place all the chicken breasts inside. Seal the bag and shake well to coat all the chicken. Remove chicken from bag and place back onto the baking sheet.
For the Buttermilk Egg Wash:
- In a medium bowl, beat the eggs together until completely pale yellow. Add the buttermilk and hot sauce and beat until well combined.
- Dip each chicken breast into the egg mixture, shake off the excess then place back into the flour bag.
- Seal the bag and once again shake until all the chicken is well coated. Remove chicken from the bag and place onto a plate.
For Frying:
- Pour your oil into a deep dutch oven pot, clipping a frying/candy thermometer to the side of your pot (making sure it's not touching the bottom) and heat until the oil reaches 350°F. If you don't have a thermometer, test a piece of the flour and if it begins to fry gently, the oil is ready.
- Line a large baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack on top. Set aside.
- Add the chicken to the oil, frying 2 at a time, for 8-10 minutes (see notes). The internal temperature should read 160°F. If it's not, do not return to oil, just preheat your oven to 350°F and bake the chicken until it reaches the correct internal temperature.
- When the chicken breasts are done frying, place onto the cooling rack and let the chicken drain. Heat the oil back to 350°F and repeat until all chicken is cooked.
For the Buffalo Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a heat safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. Add hot sauce and stir to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the sauce over both sides of the chicken
Assembly:
- Spread the spicy aioli onto the toasted brioche buns. Place a chicken breast on the bottom of each bun and top with a slice of mozzarella, lettuce, tomatoes and bacon slices. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use 4 full breasts rather than slicing them in half. My chicken breasts were pretty small and thin so my cooking time was shorter. Just remember the cooking time varies depending on the size and thickness of your chicken.
- I deep-fried my chicken breasts, but since we're not frying a lot of chicken, you may not want to use so much oil. Instead, feel free to add about an inch or two of oil to a large skillet and fry the chicken breasts one side at a time. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, it may take anywhere between 4-7 minutes per side. Remember to check the internal temperature to see if it's fully cooked through, it should be 160°F.
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Bon Appétit!
Love, Dedra ❤
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