Well, now that the Chick-Fil-A brouhaha is dying down, you’re left still craving one of those delicious, fried chicken sandwiches. And probably down a couple friends on Facebook. What’s a hungry liberal to do? Well, we can always pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and head into the kitchen and make a sandwich of our own. And when we put our own sweat, tears and love into it, it just tastes better. Luckily, Hilah Cooking is here to help us out!!
The first time I tried this recipe, I didn’t actually read it. I thought that what she said in the video was what she was doing, so I just threw some chicken breasts into some flour and went at it. It was a very boring end result. Then someone informed me that “um, you know, she put the recipe down on the bottom of the web page” and I went “DOH!!” and tried it again. This time, everything came out perfectly, and I had some of the flour left over, so I mixed it with some bread crumbs for baked chicken later on.
And that brings us to today. I had some more chicken lying around, but this time I was using thigh meat. Which isn’t BAD, but I also forgot to flatten the chicken. What does that mean? It didn’t cook right, and I ended up having to bake it for about 10-15 minutes after I fried it. Fortunately it wasn’t a COMPLETE disaster, and based on the earlier attempt, I’d say this really hits the spot when you’re having a Chick-Fil-A craving. It’s not the same taste, but we don’t have access to the same ingredients and machines that a large restaurant has. Plus, while it doesn’t quite taste the same, I almost like it more, since I made it, something which doesn’t always translate into my cooking.
Hilah Cooking Chick-Fil-Gay Chicken Sandwich.
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup pickle juice
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- Oil for frying (about a cup)
First, you’re going to flatten the chicken. You really need to make sure you don’t forget this step, unless you’ve bought some already very flat chicken breasts. It affects cooking time. Marinade the chicken in the pickle juice. If you don’t like pickles, know that the pickle juice won’t affect the flavor of the chicken. You also might not want to make this, though, since the Chick-Fil-A sandwich has pickles on it. Let it sit for about 30 minutes.
While that’s marinating, go ahead and mix up your dry and wet ingredients. Beat the egg and the milk, and in a separate bowl, combine the flour and spices. As it gets close to the chicken being done, start heating your oil. People use different ways to tell if the oil is hot or not. Hilah does a thing where she takes a crumb and drops it in. I take a chopstick or wooden spoon and stick the end in the oil. Bubbles should immediately start forming.
When the oil is ready, dip the chicken in the egg/milk mixture and transfer it to the flour mixture, making sure to coat the entire breast. Don’t let it sit for too long, or else the flour will get damp and soggy and not fun to work with. Set the breast in the oil, and flip it over when golden brown. Rinse and repeat with whatever pieces of chicken you have left.
Finally, heat up your buns. Hilah says to use a broiler, but that always freaks me out, and I hate turning on the oven, so I just plopped it in a sizzling grill of butter and let it get golden brown. Once done, add the chicken breast and a few slices of pickles, and enjoy!!
