Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
My brothers have been on a spicy chicken kick lately. I don't know why, but they've been going crazy for it. Everything from buffalo wings to buffalo fried chicken. Recently, they've discovered a local restaurant that sold wait for it...spicy chicken sandwiches. Needless to say, once they took a bite of these sandwiches, they were in heaven. After that experience, they wanted to try to recreate it at home. This sandwich consists of a toasted brioche bun, semi-homemade coleslaw, Thousand Island sauce, and homemade buffalo sauce. It takes a bit of work, just because there are multiple components, but it's well worth it. It's incredibly delicious. The flavors and different textures just make this sandwich so on point. We're going to show you our version of a spicy buffalo chicken sandwich.
REASONS YOU SHOULD TRY THIS RECIPE:
- No need to go to your local chicken spot, when you can make great sandwiches at home
- Your family will love these
- Juicy and crisp chicken topped with a garlic-lemon coleslaw to cut the richness
How to Make My Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches:
Coleslaw
- Let's start with the coleslaw. It gets better as it sits, so we'll get it done first. Start by mincing the garlic. Dump the pre-packaged coleslaw into a large bowl. I use Dole's Classic Coleslaw. Add in the minced garlic, mayo, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and sugar.
- Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until ready for use.
Sauce
- Next, we can prep the sauce. It's essentially a very simple thousand-island sauce. I am not a fan of Thousand Island, but my brothers love it. If you want a more authentic sandwich, be sure to include it.
- Mix the mayo, ketchup, horseradish, salt, hot sauce, and paprika in a bowl thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap in place in the fridge until ready for use.
Chicken Prep
- Next, let's prep the chicken. This is best done the day before, but of course, it can be done the same day if you don't have time.
- Start by placing the chicken breasts in a large bowl with our water, vinegar, salt, and lemon juice solution. Allow the chicken to soak for at least an hour, but not more than three hours. This is the first step to cleaning the chicken.
- Next, begin to cut the chicken into the size of a bun, about 4" in diameter. There's no reason to bring out the ruler, just eye-ball it. The thicker side of the breast can be cut in half and those halves can have the "tail" cut off so they fit to size. The smaller pieces will befriend off later as "nuggets." As you're cutting them down to size, also remove any excess fat. Place the newly cleaned and cut pieces back into the water solution. Pick up the chicken pieces one by one and thoroughly wash each piece with cold water. Place the newly washed pieces back into the same very large bowl they're already in. Drain any excess water drippings from the bowl and set the bowl aside.
- Pour the buttermilk and smashed garlic cloves into the bowl with the chicken. Make sure your hands are very clean or you can wear gloves, give this a mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. It's best to allow this to marinate overnight, but if you can do it for at least four hours, that's fine too.
- After the chicken has been marinated, we can prep the dredging station once you're ready to eat. This will just consist of our flour and egg wash mixture. In one container, mix the milk and eggs until combined and set aside. In another container, mix the flour, potato starch, salt and other seasonings until combined and set aside.
- Take the bowl of chicken out of the fridge. Place one chicken out of the buttermilk mixture into the flour making sure to allow the excess to be patted off, then using your other hand, place into the egg wash mixture making sure to allow the excess to drip and then place back into the flour mixture, again allowing the excess to be patted off. Place that piece into a container and set aside while you prep the rest of your chicken. This recipe makes a lot of sandwiches, so feel free only to prep as many as you'll be eating that day and save the rest for the next day or the day after.
Buffalo Sauce
- Next, prepare the buffalo sauce and set it aside. I like to place the bowl over a pan of hot water and mix it now and then to prevent the butter from solidifying again.
Frying
- Prep your frying oil to 375°F. The temp will drop slightly once you put a piece of chicken in. The ideal frying temperature will be 350°F and we'll cook each piece for around 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the piece, making sure to flip the chicken a few times to ensure even cooking. Once the piece of chicken is cooked, move it into the buffalo sauce to coat, making sure to move it around enough so it doesn't soak up the sauce. Move the chicken to a sheet pan with a wire rack. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the sheet pan is lined with aluminum foil underneath the rack for easy cleanup. Allow the chicken to cool for just a couple of minutes, while you prep your toasted bun and other ingredients.
Assembly
- Take the Thousand Island sauce and coleslaw out of the fridge. Toast your bun. On the bottom half of your toasted bun, place the Thousand Island sauce. Place the piece of chicken on top of the sauced bun. Place the coleslaw on the top bun. Place the top bun onto the chicken half and enjoy! Best enjoyed warm!
SOME MORE GREAT CHICKEN RECIPES:
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Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Ingredients
Coleslaw
- 14 oz Dole Classic Coleslaw
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ tablespoon + ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¾ cup lemon juice
- pinch of sugar
Buffalo Sauce
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup your favorite hot sauce We mixed it up. Everything from Frank's to Valentina to Ghost Pepper Sauce.
- salt and black pepper to taste
Thousand Island Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
- 2 dashes of hot sauce
- salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Chicken Water Solution:
- Enough cold water to cover chicken
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon salt
Chicken Marinade:
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
Chicken Dredging:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup potato starch
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon kickin' chicken seasoning
- 3 whole eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
MISC:
- We used a total of about 10 chicken breasts. We used a brioche bun but feel free to switch it up.
Instructions
- Let's start with the coleslaw. It gets better as it sits, so we'll get it done first. Start by mincing the garlic. Dump in the pre-packaged coleslaw into a large bowl. I use Dole's Classic Coleslaw. Add in the minced garlic, mayo, olive oil, salt, lemon juice and sugar.
- Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge until ready for use.
- Next, we can prep the sauce. It's essentially a very simple thousand island sauce. I personally am not a fan of thousand island, but my brothers love it. If you want the more authentic sandwich, be sure to include it.
- Mix the mayo, ketchup, paprika, horseradish, salt, hot sauce in a bowl thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap in place in the fridge until ready for use.
- Next, let's prep the chicken. This is best done the day before, but of course it can be done the same day if you don't have time.
- Start by placing the chicken breasts in a very large bowl with our water, vinegar, salt, lemon juice solution. Allow the chicken to soak for at least an hour, but not more then three hours. This is the first step to cleaning the chicken.
- Next, begin to cut the chicken into the size of a bun, about 4" in diameter. There's no reason to bring out the ruler, just eye-ball it. The thicker side of the breast can be cut in half and those halves can have the "tail" cut off so they fit to size. The smaller pieces will be friend off later as "nuggets." As you're cutting them down to size, also remove any excess fat. Place the newly cleaned and cut pieces back into the water solution. Pick up the chicken pieces one by one and thoroughly wash each piece with cold water. Place the newly washed pieces back into the same very large bowl they're already in. Drain any excess water drippings from the bowl and set the bowl aside.
- Pour in the buttermilk and smashed garlic cloves into the bowl with the chicken. Make sure your hands are very clean or you can wear gloves, give this a mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. It's best to allow this to marinate overnight, but if you can do it for at least four hours, that's fine too.
- After the chicken has marinated and once you're ready to eat, we can prep the dredging station. This will just consist of our flour and egg wash mixture. In one container, mix the milk and eggs until combined and set aside. In another container, mix the flour, potato starch, salt and other seasonings until combined and set aside.
- Take the bowl of chicken out of the fridge. Place one chicken out of the buttermilk mixture into the flour making sure to allow the excess to be patted off, then using your other hand, place into the egg wash mixture making sure to allow the excess to drip and then place back into the flour mixture, again allowing the excess to be patted off. Place that piece into a container and set aside while you prep the rest of your chicken. This recipe makes a lot of sandwiches, so feel free to only prep as many as you'll be eating that day and save the rest for the next day or the day after.
- Next, prepare the buffalo sauce and set it aside. I like to place the bowl over a pan of hot water and like to mix it every now and then to prevent the butter from solidifying again.
- Prep your frying oil to 375°F. The temp will drop slightly once you put a piece of chicken in. The ideal frying temperature will be 350°F and we'll cook each piece for around 5-8 minutes depending on the size of the piece, making sure to flip the chicken a few times to ensure even cooking. Once the piece of chicken is cooked, move it into the buffalo sauce to coat, making sure to move it around enough so it doesn't soak up the sauce. Move the chicken to a sheet pan with a wire rack. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the sheet pan is lined with aluminum foil underneath the rack for easy clean up. Allow the chicken to cool for just a couple of minutes, while you prep your toasted bun and other ingredients.
- Take the thousand island sauce and coleslaw out of the fridge. Toast your bun. On the bottom half of your toasted bun, place the thousand island sauce. Place the piece of chicken on top of the sauced bun. Place the coleslaw on the top bun. Place the top bun onto the chicken half and enjoy! Best enjoyed warm!