Crispy, lime and hot honey glazed chicken sandwich
Makes 4 sandwiches
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts – sliced lengthways and bashed out to 5mm thin
1.5 cups neutral oil for frying
Citrus marinade (optional):
¼ cup Lemon juice
¼ cup orange juice
¼ Lime juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
To coat:
2 eggs - beaten
½ cup plain flour
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
1 cup panko
Sweet glaze:
½ cup lime juice ( from about 4-5 juicy limes)
4 tbsp hot honey (Quinby’s is my preferred brand in Australia)
1 tsp salt
8 cracks of pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
½ cup water
4 tbsp Frank’s red hot or your preferred brand of buffalo style hot sauce
A lazy “Ranch”
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup Greek yoghurt
Chopped herbs – I used coriander but feel free to use up whatever you have hanging around in the fridge (some dill or even chopped chives would be delicious)
To assemble:
½ head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
Pickled jalapeno slices (if you want extra heat)
4 soft buns
Method:
Slice the chicken breast length ways evenly through the middle, this will leave you with two thin breast pieces. Lay each piece between two sheets of baking paper and gently bash with a rolling pin until about 5mm thick.
Place the chicken into a bowl or tupperware large enough to fit them all. If marinating (not necessary but adds lovely flavour) pour over the citrus juice and crushed garlic marinade and then leave for at least 15 minutes, no more than 30 or the acidity will start to cook the chicken.
To make the lazy “Ranch”:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside until ready to assemble.
To crumb:
While your chicken is marinating, set up your crumbing station. You will need three shallow bowls or trays, one for your eggs, one for your breadcrumbs and one for the flour.
Remove the chicken from the marinade, and working with one at a time, dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off the excess. Transfer to egg, then turn chicken to coat both sides. Lift and allow excess egg to drain off, then transfer to bread crumb mixture. Scoop breadcrumbs on top of chicken, then gently press, turning chicken to ensure a good layer of crumbs on both sides, leaving no bald spots. Transfer to a clean plate or tray and repeat with the remaining chicken. These can also be frozen at this stage and fried off at a later time.
For the glaze:
Combine all glaze ingredients (except the hot sauce) in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer to reduce this mixture until it is the consistency of maple syrup, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the hot sauce and mix to combine.
To fry the chicken:
Add the fry oil to your saucepan and turn to medium high heat. You’ll know it’s hot enough when you add a few breadcrumbs to the pan and they immediately start sizzling. If they sizzle but turn immediately dark brown, your oil is too hot. Turn it down and wait for it to cool down or add a bit more cold oil to bring the temperature down quickly. Carefully lower your crumbed chicken into the oil, laying it away from you so that any splatters don’t splash back at you. Fry for 3 minutes then flip and fry for another 3 minutes or until both sides are deeply golden brown. Adjust the heat on your stove as needed to be able to cook it for 3 minutes per side without burning or being too pale.
Remove the chicken from the hot oil and set aside on a rack to cool a bit while you cook the others. Immediately season with salt when it comes out of the oil.
To assemble:
Lay the fried chicken pieces flat and then pour over the sticky, spicy glaze dividing it evenly between the 4 pieces.
Cut your buns open, add a generous amount of the “ranch” to the base and the top of the bun, then place your glazed fried chicken down on the base, top with sliced iceberg lettuce and then some pickled jalapenos (if using). Place the top bun on top of everything and serve.
