Guest Post: Buffalo Blue Chicken Sandwich

Remember the guy who brought us that amazing bacon jam recipe? Well, he’s back. Back on the blog with a brand-new recipe from his super fresh sandwich truck in Liverpool. I’ve not tried it yet – but it’s pay day this weekend so I will be doing so. Let’s all do it together then compare results 🙂

#StesBuffBlueChick is the hashtag… Let is know if you give it a go! @sophiesscran and @HUSSSSandwichCo on Twitter. Take it away, Ste…

Image source: saveur.com/article/Recipes/Buffalo-Wings

We love buffalo hot wings. Those crispy chunks of deep-fried chicken tossed in a mix of Frank’s hot sauce and butter, dipped in a bucket of blue cheese sauce. They’re an absolute classic, and the inspiration behind our Buffalo Blue Chicken Sarnie.

A few years ago I cooked an American-inspired feast for my cousin and his family who were visiting from Czechoslovakia. His son, Branag, had never had hot wings before. Turns out he liked them. So much so, that unbeknownst to us, he’d eaten ten wings, bones and all. Luckily he didn’t die. He wasn’t even ill. But it did make us try out boneless chicken thighs instead of the wings and soon after we thought of putting them in a sandwich. Thanks Branag!

Recipe Serves 4.

What you need:

For the chicken

• 4 very large boneless (very important), skinless, chicken thighs
• ½ cup flour
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

For the blue cheese sauce

• 100g grated blue cheese
• 100g soured cream
• 100g mayo
• ½ lemon, juice only
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the buffalo hot sauce

• ½ cup Frank’s hot sauce
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

For the sandwich

• 4 ciabatta rolls, split in half
• ¼ iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
• Baby leaf salad
• 1 beef tomato, cut into 8 slices

What to do:

Slice the chicken thighs into even slices about ½ inch thick. Season the chicken with 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp black pepper.

Combine the flour, spices and remaining seasoning in a bowl and whisk to thoroughly combine.

Dredge the chicken in the flour a few pieces at a time and shake off any excess flour.

Spread the chicken out on a rack on a baking tray until all of the pieces are done. Cover the baking tray with clingfilm and pop it in the fridge whilst you make the sauces.

For the blue cheese sauce, add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until it is thoroughly combined. Alternatively, whisk thoroughly in a bowl.

For the buffalo hot sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the hot sauce to the smallest compartment of a food processor with the salt and pepper. Switch the processor on and then very slowly start pouring the butter into the hot sauce to form an emulsification. The slower the better. You should end up with a perfect bright orange hot sauce-butter concoction.

Alternatively, you could just use a bowl, a whisk and your wrists but I find food processors are much more consistent.

Keep the sauce warm in a bowl tightly covered with clingfilm.

Preheat the grill in your oven for the ciabatta.

Preheat a deep fat fryer to 180°C. If you don’t have a deep fat fryer use a heavy bottomed saucepan and a kitchen thermometer. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer get one.

Take the chicken out of the fridge and fry for five minutes until crisp. You may have to fry in batches depending on the size of your fryer/pan.

Meanwhile, toast each side of the ciabattas. Spread a good dollop of blue cheese sauce on the bottom of each ciabatta, followed by two slices of beef tomato and the shredded iceberg lettuce.

Toss the crispy chicken pieces in the buffalo hot sauce then portion them out equally on top of the lettuce. Add a small handful of baby leaf salad then crown with the top piece of ciabatta.

Finally, cut each sandwich in half through the middle and enjoy.