This week on Throwdown Kitchen we show you how to make the best Copycat Chick Fil A sandwich at home. Beautifully seasoned chicken breast , fried in peanut oil just the right amount of seasonings and coating. We also feature a bonus copycat recipe for Chic Fil A sauce. With just 5 ingredients found in most every pantry you can have this fantastic dipping sauce with out having to line up in the drive through and ask for extra sauce packs!
Table of contents
Watch How To Make Chick Fil A
It was a sunny Sunday morning . Most Sundays, a breakfast of scrambled eggs, creamed chip beef on toasted English muffins is the the order of the day. But this Sunday, for whatever reason, I was craving a Chick Fil A Chicken Sandwich. Because the restaurants are closed on Sundays, the only possible choice I had to get my fix was to make my own Chick Fil A copycat at home.
The Chick Fil A Sandwich is really a pretty simple sandwich. It is a fried chicken breast on a bun with pickles. But how they get there is another story altogether. The combination of brine, seasoned dredge and the breast pressure cooked perfectly in a peanut oil is just brilliant. Caring enough to top the sandwich with pickles, priceless. However, the real key to the sandwich is the heart and soul that each employee of Chick Fil A brings to the customer experience.
Brine The Chicken Breast
Start your Sunday sandwich journey by making a quick brine for the chicken breasts. A lot has been written on the internet about adding pickle juice to your brine. I am adamant in my opinion that this is not at all necessary. In fact a quick brine of water, salt and sugar is all that is needed to insure a perfectly juicy bird. Put your 4 ounce chicken breasts into the brine and refrigerate for 2 hours. Any more time than that and you will end up with salty chicken.
The Dredge
Fried chicken is really the heart and soul of this sandwich and Southern Fried Chicken is the basis for this Chick Fil A CopyCat. To get ready for the fryer we first have to dip our brined chicken breast in an egg wash and then coat our chicken breast is a mixture of flour and spices.
To make the dredge you’ll need flour, pepper, paprika, confection sugar, and accent seasoning. Just mix this all up in a bowl that is large enough to hold a few pieces of chicken breast. Many people make the dredge in a gallon size plastic bag so that cleanup is easier. I wish I had thought of that before shooting the video recipe.
Chick Fil A Sauce
Sauce is not served on the The Chick Fil A sandwich. How could that be? It seems that every fast food sandwich is adorned with condiments like ketchup, mustard, special sauce or secret sauce. Perhaps that again is one of the reasons that this sandwich is spectacular in it’s simplicity. Of course, the sauce is terrific and the reason it is served separately from the sandwich is to keep the sandwich as fresh and crispy as possible after it has been made. Consequently, a sandwich will get soggy and wet when sauce is applied early. What better way to keep the chicken breast as crisp as possible than by allowing patrons to put sauce on, when they are ready to eat?
To make your own Chick Fil A copycat sauce at home you’ll need just a few condiments. Combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, honey and barbecue sauce. Next, mix that and set aside so that the flavors get happy together. Finally, make extra sauce because it is also a great dipping sauce for french fries.
How To Make Chick Fil A At Home
We’ve got our chicken brined, our flour dredge ready, the egg wash too. The sauce has been made and is in the fridge setting up. We even sliced some dill pickles. Now it’s time to get cooking.
Pour peanut oil into a heavy bottomed pot and bring the temperature of the oil to 325 degrees. We like to use a cast iron ceramic pot that has a lid. The lid cuts down on splatter but also emulates the efficiency of a pressure cooker so that our oil maintains a steady temperature and the chicken cooks evenly.
Pat dry the chicken breast and dip them into the egg wash and then into the flour dredge. Press firmly so that all sides of the breast are coated evenly. The original Chick Fil A sandwich is not an extra crispy and double coated sandwich. Chick Fil A doesn’t double dip, they just make sure that they press the chicken very firmly into the dredge. If you want to mash up the recipe a bit, and go for extra crispy, then back into the egg wash for a second dip and a second flour dredging.
Cook the chicken breasts for eight minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees.
Assembly Instruction Included
We have waxed on about how simple this sandwich is. Delicious but simple. We never discussed the importance of the roll to this sandwich and that is because it really isn’t very important. Like the pickle though, it is not an after thought. Lightly griddle plain white hamburger style buns in a little butter before assembling your copycat chicken sandwich. Place two pickles on the bottom bun and top the pickles with your fried chicken breast. I love the Chick Fil A sauce, so I’m adding sauce right now!
Chick Fil A Copy Cat Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy Pot, deep cast iron pan or fryer
Ingredients
Brine
- 1 quart cold water
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
Flour Seasoning
- 1 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp Accent
Dredge
- 3/4 cup All purpose flour
- 2 tbsp confection sugar powdered
- 1/4 cup self rising flour
- 2 tsp flour seasoning from above recipe
Chic Fil A Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp barbecue sauce prepared "hickory"
Chicken
- 2 each boneless chicken breast 4 ounces each
- 2 each white hamburger buns
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 quart peanut oil
- 2 each dill pickle
Instructions
- Make a cold brine by combining the brine ingredients and stirring until dissolved. Place the chicken breast into the brine and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
- Make the flour dredge by first making the seasonings mix, and then adding 2 teaspoons of the mix to the flour, sugar and self rising flour.
- Heat 3 to 4 inches of peanut oil in a heavy bottom pan to 325 degrees.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Dip the chicken into the egg wash and then dip the chicken into the flour mixture. Pressing hard enough to coat both sides.
- Lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and cover the pot with a heavy lid. Fry the chicken for about 8 minutes until the temperature reaches 165 degrees internally. If the chicken does not float freely in the oil, then turn over after 4 minutes.
- Heat a griddle to 350 degrees and butter and toast the buns until golden brown.
- Place two dill pickle slices on the bottom bun and top with the fried chicken breast and then the top bum.
Notes
Nutrition
The food in Europe is pretty disappointing. I like fried chicken. But other than that Europe is pretty great
Donnie Wahlberg
This has now become our favorite Sunday brunch sandwich. The juicy chicken breast that has been fried perfectly in peanut oil with just the right amount of pepper. You can make this Southern Fried Chicken for a lot of different recipes. We are ready to try it next Sunday on waffles!
Frequently Asked Questions
It may be possible to fix chicken that has brined too long. Soak the chicken breast in plain cold water for an hour. This will help draw out some of the salt.
Cut down a large chicken breast to size and weight by slicing along the length of the chicken. Some chicken breasts in the super market are extremely large. Smaller pieces may be used for nuggets or breakfast sized chicken and biscuits.
We feel it adds a lighter texture to the fried chicken, but all purpose flour would be fine by itself.
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