Copycat Chick-Fil-A Spicy Deluxe Chicken Sandwich

Submitted by EmKenBken

"If you love the spicy fried chicken this is your new go-to sandwich; it spares no expense. The heat factor is high. If you want to tone it down, just take the cayenne pepper down a bit."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 20mins
• Ingredients: 21
• Yields: 4 sandwiches
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Ingredients

• Wet

• 1⁄2 cup pickle juice, measured from 1 (16 oz)
• 1⁄2 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from one lemon)
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 skinless chicken thighs, about 2 1/2 lbs
• 6 cups peanut oil
• 1 large egg

• Dry

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 head green leaf lettuce, shredded
• 1 tomatoes, thinly slices
• 4 slices monterey jack pepper cheese

directions

1. Directions:

2. In a medium bowl whisk together wet ingredients, add chicken, making sure to coat evenly. Allow chicken to marinate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium sized pot, over medium-high, heat oil to 350°F While oil heats, in a medium bowl, whisk togethers dry ingredients.
3. Reserving the marinade, remove the chicken to a plate. Whisk the egg into the marinade. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, one piece at a time, shaking off excess egg mixture. Dredge chicken piece in flour mix, making sure to coat evenly on both sides. Repeat the breading process (egg mixture to flour mix) one more time, set chicken aside. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
4. Once oil is heated, cook chicken until golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes a side. Chicken should be opaque in the center. Place cooked chicken on prepared baking sheet to drain.
5. Brush toasted buns with butter. Divide pickle slices, lettuce, tomatoes, and chicken and cheese, on each bun. Top with remaining bun halves.

Reviews

[this.hannah.sarai]

First, I’d like to say that replacing the milk for buttermilk makes all the difference and of course mixing most of the wet ingredients except the egg until the marinade sits for 1 hour at least is best. After the marinade is down , remove the chicken to a separate container ( I use just a plate ) and whisking the egg into the mixture. I dredge it twice , although this is unpopular to some, it works best when shaking off most of the egg wash / flour mixture. Although if using think slices , only dredge it once. I altered the finished product to sprinkle paprika, lemon pepper, dill and Tony’s seasoning mixed. 10/10 , I’d recommend trying to remake the chick fil a sauce as well for extra pizzaz lol!

 

[levieismann]

Good food, but not very straightforward, you can be easily misled when reading the steps one at a time

 

[melkatte]

Thank you for posting this recipe. My daughter was craving a Chick-fil-a sandwich and with the quarantine I was hesitant to go out to buy it. I made some small modifications of my own, but nonetheless it turned out to be a success! Everyone in my home LOVED it. Thank you again for sharing this recipe.

 

[Terry K.]

As written, this recipe doesn't taste anything like Chik-fil-a spicy chicken sandwich. I had several issues with it that can be easily resolved I think. The good: The marinade makes the chicken tender and taste pretty good. I'd marinate it longer than 20 minutes next time, though. The bad: First, it wasn't hot at all, I'd add much more cayenne to this. Maybe twice as much. Second, three cups of flour is way too much. I used 1.5 cups and had left over even with dredging twice. And that brings me to the third issue, don't dredge twice. The coating is too thick, it doesn't cook all the way through no matter how long you cook it so it's pasty just under the crispy outer shell. Next time I'll only dredge it once. Finally, I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, because that's what Chik-fil-a uses. The ones I had were too thick, so if you have chicken breasts, consider slicing them in half or pounding them a litter flatter. Otherwise they won't cook before the outer breading burns.

 

[Knightcraft]

Shouldn't there be some dry ingredients listed here?