Famous Fast Food Chicken Sandwiches

  A Family Favorite

We eat A LOT of chicken, so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it.  Several months ago, I came across an interesting chicken sandwich recipe in my favorite magazine, Southern Living.  At the end of the recipe, the author mentioned that they taste remarkable like a “well known fast food chain that’s closed on Sunday“.  Well, I thought that sounded terrific!  I tried them and Southern Living was right.

Our family has always LOVED Chick-fil-a!  It was the only fast food place I liked as a teenager. Fortunately, I lived in Atlanta, so there was no shortage of Chick-fil-a stores.  My husband’s first job was at a Chick-fil-a. Our kids love it.  It’s the only fast food restaurant that always gets a unanimous “yes” when suggested. We all have our favorite thing….for one it’s waffle fries, another the milkshakes, and whether it’s nuggets or a sandwich….it just doesn’t get better than Chick-fil-a when it comes to chicken!   

This recipe requires a little planning because the chicken soaks overnight (or all day) in dill pickle juice.  I keep a quart jar in the back of the refrigerator for juice when we finish a jar of pickles. We must eat a lot of pickles because it doesn’t seem to take long for that jar to fill up.  I do serve these with French fries, I only wish they were waffle fries. 

Click here for a video of our favorite comedian singing about our favorite fast food restaurant.

Here’s the Recipe:

(Printable Recipe at the Bottom)

8 chicken breasts – 4 oz ea.
2 cups dill pickle juice
2 eggs
3 Tbsp water
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup oil

Marinate Chicken in ziploc bag in the refrigerator at least 8 hours or overnight. (Sorry, no picture, it wasn’t very appetizing)

  Mix together dry ingredients in one dish and eggs and water in another

Take chicken out of pickle juice and dip in egg mixture, then dredge in flour mixture.  Coat THOROUGHLY 

Heat one cup of oil in a skillet on high heat.  I use Canola but the original recipe calls for peanut.

 When oil is hot place chicken in skillet and brown on one side.  

Tip: Having the oil hot enough keeps the breading on the meat.

 When brown on first side, turn and brown on the other.  When both sides are browned nicely, turn heat to med-high to finish cooking.

Frying can get MESSY! I have a frying screen, specially made to keep splatters in the pan (Norpro Grip-EZ Nonstick 13 Inch Splatter Screen Strainer). Unlike a lid it allows the steam to escape but not the oil so your breading doesn’t get soggy and your stove top doesn’t get splattered.

  To check chicken for doneness, pierce the thickest piece with a knife.  If juice runs clear, it’s done.

Drain on paper towels or wire rack.  Fry in batches.  Keep warm by placing in a warm oven (about 175 degrees) until ready to serve.

 Serve on butter toasted bun-with PICKLES!

The best part…YOU GET AS MANY PICKLES AS YOU WANT!