A Grilled Chicken Sandwich Doesn’t Have to Be Boring and Floppy
This grilled chicken sandwich recipe (thighs only!) gets the BA treatment from senior associate food editor Molly Baz. The goal was to dispel any associations you might have with the sandwich: the sort of floppy, slightly rubbery fast food versions with a single, soggy leaf of lettuce. It's inspired by Caesar salad, inspired by mayonnaise, inspired by the idea of special sauce, inspired by grill marks, and the words “charred buns.” Here are the components that make this the best grilled chicken sandwich you’ll ever make (probably!?):
Respect paid to the special sauce
It begins with a marinade of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, lemon, and pepper, whisked and emulsified into a tangy-creamy Caesar-mayo dressing with a slow pour of olive oil. The chicken marinates in some of that while you doctor up the rest for your special sauce (add cornichons and mayo for best results).
Chicken notes
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are close to impossible to overcook, and the marinade makes them even juicier than normal. Grilled over medium-high heat, they’ll be done in 8-10 minutes. However: please let them rest for five minutes to account for carryover cooking and allow all of the juices to recirculate within the meat. While they rest, make the fennel slaw.
What, fennel?
Yes! A fennel-basil slaw adds an unexpected but very welcome fresh crunch to all the char and acidity. (“And don’t forget that I originally had castelvetranos in that slaw, which Adam Rapoport immediately squashed. Was worth a shot,” noted Molly.) Lemon juice tones down the licorice-ness of the fennel—the fennel instead functions like a crunchy pickle would (and is something that blew our minds the first time we had this lamb burger at Hart’s.) The chopped-up fennel fronds (look like dill) are the final garnish. I like the way the photo shows them scattered casually, like a wind blew in and the fennel fronds found their place in the chicken sandwich universe.
Don’t forget
To grill the bun. 30 seconds, done.
Other toppings include
Lettuce. Tomato.
Some assembly required
There’s a method to Molly’s madness, which is to build from the ground up in the following order on mayo-dressed buns: lettuce (she pronounces this “le-toose” which you don’t need to know but now know), tomato, chicken, and then fennel slaw. The order keeps balance in the chicken sandwich universe. And finally, the recipe concludes with my favorite final line in any recipe: “Close sandwiches with top buns.” Everything in its place.
Get the recipe:
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Caesar-ish Dressing
