Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

Grilled chicken breast sandwiches are excellent if you have little time to put together a weekend meal and don’t feel like stuffing yourself with more unhealthy foods on a weekend but just enough to satisfy the feeling of being full. This is a recipe that allows you to make a big batch of chicken breasts and store them for use throughout the week if you are on the go or a busy professional like myself.

If you want to try out another hot and fast smoked chicken half recipes on the Weber Kettle, I have one that has served me well over the years here: https://crumbsandchaos.com/smoked-chicken-on-weber-kettle/

One of the things I pondered over time is why most chicken breasts are not exciting and dry out and the key I have learned is to get high quality meat using organic designation or pasture raises and slicing the chicken breasts before marinating so that they are well seasoned through.

Most big mart bought chicken has been sometimes rubbery while cooking or completely devoid of flavor because of the fast growth and slaughter times of mass produced chickens in the good ol’ USA.

Not only that, but the meat then goes through several freezing and re freezing cycles, which changes the texture of already poor quality meat and you end up with food that you wish you didn’t make in the first place!

The recipe below is anything but that and definitely try it out if you want a solid chicken breast recipe you can honestly use in anything and even the kids will love it.

You can even substitute making a sandwich for one that uses rice, beans, sauteed vegetables, and some sauce to make go ahead meals if you want a high quality meal for the week ahead.

Ingredients

5 lbs Chicken Breast (sliced thinly horizontally)

1 tbp. Kosher Salt (Diamond Crystal is my preferred choice and can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/43Riry8)

1 tbsp. Mayonnaise

2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1 tsp. Black Pepper Powder

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 tsp. Paprika Powder

1 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (Tony’s works great and can be purchased here https://amzn.to/4kL3Dah)

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

Sandwich Assembly:

Onion Rolls (or ciabatta rolls)

Sauteed onions and bell peppers

Sliced Colby jack cheese

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Sliced tomatoes

Pickles

Directions

Preparation & Seasoning:

1. Cut the chicken breasts by using a fillet knife to cut along the breast horizontally. A normal sized breast should give you approximately 3 equal portions. This is done so that the seasonings are evenly distributed later whereas leaving the breast whole will have a much more thicker end which ends up getting almost no seasoning. Also, it will be easier to grill the chicken to perfection without worrying about undercooking.
2. Wash the chicken and pat dry if needed. All blood should run clear when it’s thoroughly washed. Drying the chicken is needed to get the best possible skin texture and prevents excess moisture buildup during the marination process.
3. Apply the mayo to the chicken which will help the rest of the seasonings stick. You won’t get any flavor of mayo in during the cook so don’t worry about that part. You can also substitute mustard here if you have that on hand instead and it will function the same. The goal is to create a method that allows a glue which will hold the ingredients against the chicken.
4. Season the chicken with the rest of the ingredients and combine them well. The mixture should stick to the chicken and be slightly glossy from the oil and the mayo.
5. Refrigerate the breasts over night or covered on the counter for a minimum of 2-4hrs.

BBQ:

1. Prep charcoals until they are white and fully lit using a chimney starter with a fully packed amount of coals. Here is the chimney I use and recommend: https://amzn.to/3IcDcvS
2. Open all the vents on the kettle and get the temperature to 400F or higher. We want to go for a direct sear on these chicken breasts so lay the coals even across the kettle.
3. Optional: Add 1-2 chunks of a smoke wood of choice directly on the coals, close the lid, and let the smoke billow out clear. The dirty burn off from first adding the wood chunks will give an acrid flavor to your chicken so don’t do that.
4. Oil the cooking surface by using a basting brush and some high heat oil like canola and place the chicken breasts directly over the coals.
5. Turn the chicken over every 2 minutes, until char marks appear on the chicken and it starts to turn brown.
6. Check the chicken and the internal temperature of the breasts should reach 165F. This should happen quickly since the breasts were sliced thinly and recommend checking within a total of 4 minutes cooking time.  This is the thermometer I use: (https://amzn.to/40fLBEG)
7. Remove from the grill, baste with BBQ sauce (if you want) before removing from grill.

Assembly:

1. Butter the insides of 2 onion rolls and toast on a pan until a golden brown crust forms.
2. Sautee onions and bell peppers with salt and pepper to season until they become slightly transparent and remove from heat.
3. Apply mustard and mayo to the onion rolls and layer on the chicken breast, Colby jack cheese, sauteed vegetables, and sliced pickles.

Tips

• For best results marinate overnight in refrigerator. Can refrigerate breasts for a maximum of 2 days before they start becoming over seasoned.
• Smaller and organic type chicken breasts from a reputable seller will give you tender chicken if you ever have wondered how you end up with rubbery chicken its likely due to poor handling and storage of chicken at the marts.
• Coals should be white and ashed over, not on fire or unlit.
• We went with whatever our local HEB carrier but you can also use ciabatta rolls or anything else you like to eat as sandwich bread like sourdough bread. Key is to have something that will hold its structure and not fall apart.
• Make this chicken as a go ahead recipe on Friday and grill over the weekend in large batches to have meal prep amount of chicken for the week ahead.