A “BLT” with a twist
If you love chicken BLT’s but that dry piece of breaded chicken turns you off. The tomato and heaps of mayonnaise still can’t quite fix it. Try this recipe by my dear friend Evelyn. The chicken salad “BLT” is moist and tender. The mayonnaise mixed with all those veggies adds everything you need for a great sandwich.
We like to butter and heat the buns. Build the sandwich and melt the cheese on top. To quote Evelyn, “cheese makes everything better.”
Poach the chicken
The first thing you have to do is get some chicken! If you want to make it from scratch, I highly recommend poaching the chicken breast. It doesn’t dry out from the cook, and there is no grease. You’ll be using mayonnaise and bacon, so cooking the chicken in this healthy way makes it all ok.
If you have some rotisserie or leftover chicken, that will work too. There’s nothing wrong with making a rockin’ sandwich out of leftovers.
You will also need
- lettuce
- tomato
- 2 slices of cooked bacon for each sandwich
- sliced cheddar cheese
- enough kaiser buns to suit your needs
Prepare the Chicken Salad
Once the chicken is cooked and allowed to cool, shred it and chop it up into ¼” – ½” pieces. The following recipe makes a tasty chicken salad with the olives adding a brininess that blends right in.
One chicken breast will be enough meat for three kaiser buns depending how generous you are with the chicken salad.
Chicken Salad
Ingredients :
- 1 poached chicken breast chopped into pieces
- 3 tbsp chopped red onion
- 1 celery stalk chopped (approx. 6 tbsp)
- 3½ tbsp chopped red pepper
- 2 tsp finely chopped green olives
- salt and pepper to taste
Mix the following ingredients together for the mayonnaise mixture.
- ¼ cup of mayonnaise
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp sriracha
- 1 tsp fresh parsley
- ⅛ tsp onion powder
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
Combine the chicken with the chopped red onion, celery, red pepper, green olives and mayonnaise mixture. Salt and pepper to taste and you have chicken salad.
Building an amazing sandwich
Kaiser rolls are ideal for making a delicious sandwich. They’re soft, they warm and toast well, and they have a good mouth feel without being excessively chewy. Pick a roll of your choice, butter it and warm it (or them) in foil.
Add a generous amount of chicken salad to the bottom half of the bun. Top with cooked bacon and cheddar cheese. Place the prepared buns back into the oven and warm until the cheese is melted.
Remove from heat and top with tomato and lettuce.
Serve on its own, with a side salad or even homestyle oven-fries
Poached Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 skinless boneless chicken breast
- 6 peppercorns
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
- ½ tsp fresh thyme pinch of dry thyme (if fresh isn't available)
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into a large pot of water, bring to a near boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.The simmering water should be approximately 180℉. Skim any foam off the surface of the water. The chicken should have an internal temperature of 160℉ at the thickest part when fully cooked.
Notes
In Conclusion
A great sandwich doesn’t have to be time consuming. It should be easy to throw together and easy to enjoy. The chicken salad BLT is just that. Maybe you have leftover chicken from dinner last night or maybe your cooking chicken tonight. Simply plan ahead and cook an extra chicken breast or two. That way you’re half way there. All that’s left is chopping a few veggies and build some sandwiches. One average size chicken breast makes more than enough chicken salad for three sandwiches on kaiser buns. Who says economical can’t be delicious?
Amazing!