Chick Fil A is not really a thing in most of Canada so the “chicken sandwich wars” which amused the small minds of American bloggers in 2017 and 2019 were not a thing here. Wendy’s puts out a sandwich with tasty chicken and bland toppings, which could be so much better - if they added bacon, spicy pickles, a habanero or ghost pepper sauce, some onions, but what else?.. McDonald’s has a mediocre sandwich but used spicy sauces for a limited time here - wasn’t really tempted. Harvey’s has a great buffalo chicken sandwich and the best choice of toppings, so is the best I’ve had in Canada. In fairness, not tried Popeye’s or the new Burger King Nashville one.
That aside, what toppings in your chicken sandwich - homemade or restaurant grade - elevate your sandwich to new heights?
Cilantro and cumin, powdered mustard, lemon juice, raw shallots, radicchio, pickled cubano peppers. Sear the chicken to the point it has crumbly black carbonated grill stripes before slicing it.
For me, it’s all about the flavor (and heat) of the chicken. A good quality bread/roll (chiabatta, challah, or baguette), a few slicked onions (pickled or otherwise) as an accent, and that’s it. My personal favorite are joints that serve Nashville-style.
Which is basically fried chicken (in a sandwich, it would probably be boneless, skinless breast meat), marinated, fried, and then quickly brushed with a searing hot (spice-wise) oil.
I prefer a Chicken Parmesan sandwich myself—a piece of chicken breast breaded with breadcrunbs and parmesan cheese served on a bun with a rich tomato sauce and topped with a slice of melted mozarella cheese.
Burger King had a decent version as The Italian Chicken Sandwich a few years ago.
Wow, just salt and pepper for seasoning. It looks way easy…maybe air fry it. My mouth waters just thinking of those things. Talk about slap yo mama!
If any of you haven’t seen this, I recommend it. It’s included with Amazon Prime. The original Supersize Me was about eating all the McD’s and tracking health changes to his body. This has to do with the poultry industry, how they squeeze the little farmer, how advertisers make you think you’re eating healthier than you really are, etc. He opens a restaurant with a chicken sandwich that’s supposed to be great. At the end people eat it and he tells them how bad it is for them.
Tidbit: Spurlock raises chickens and one morning, finds some have died. He learns that if they aren’t dying (of heart attacks), that means he isn’t feeding them enough.
Trailer:
IIRC Spurlock got tagged in the me metoo movement, which is why you may not have heard of this.
Club sandwich is hard to beat, if you like those ingredients. I have kind of a weird obsession with them: it’s gotta be triple-decker, toasted crustless white bread, cut diagonally into four triangles and speared with toothpicks. Sounds childish, but I don’t care. I think it’s about the only thing I’m fussy about like that.
Having said that, I’m thinking something could be done with butter and sage and other ingredients to make a pretty good chicken sandwich.
Dill relish has really become a player in my kitchen in the last few years. A cheap burger bun, Aldi red bag chicken fillet, a smear each of mayo and dill relish makes a fine sandwich.
