Today as part of the DIY Convenience Foods series, we’re going to tackle something that fast food restaurants have battled over for years: the fried chicken sandwich.
I did not grow up in the South. My mother never made friend chicken — unless it was from a box. But, I do loved fried chicken.
However, it’s intimidating. I don’t know why. It shouldn’t be. Folks have been making fried chicken for hundreds of years.
My people love to order fried chicken sandwiches when we are at fast food places, so I decided that it was the perfect thing to try to make myself.
Making it yourself
I took boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut each one into three portions. Chicken breasts these days are so huge, you don’t need a whole piece. I cut off the triangle end and then sliced the other half in half again horizontally. That means that each breast made three pieces.
I dipped the chicken in buttermilk and then a flour-panko breadcrumb mixture. Then I fried some of the chicken in sunflower oil. The others I baked in the oven. Both were yummy.
Making it cheaper
The chicken breast I bought was on sale for $1.99/pound. I used about 1/3 a pound for each sandwich, making the cost per serving about $0.66. The hamburger buns were white whole wheat buns that I bought on sale at the health food store; 8 buns for $2, or $0.50 $0.25/bun. I’m estimating the costs for the flour, spices, panko, oil, and buttermilk to be about $1.60 for the batch, or $0.20/serving.
Each sandwich cost about $1.11, at least half the price it would cost at a fast food restaurant.
Sure, it was more work that heading toward the drive-thru, but I know that we got better quality food for less. For the deluxe experience serve it with home-baked french fries and a fun drink.
- 2.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 8 cutlets
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 hamburger buns
- Optional toppings: sliced pickles, mayo, BBQ sauce
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small dish, soak the chicken pieces in buttermilk.
- In a shallow dish, combine the flour, panko, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Dip the chicken in the flour mixture and place on the baking sheet. Spray the surface of the chicken well with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. An instant read thermometer should register 165°.
- Alternatively, you can fry the chicken pieces in hot oil in a skillet, until golden and cooked through.
- Serve the chicken on hamburger patties with toppings.
Nutritional values are approximate and are based on 8 chicken sandwiches and no optional toppings. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 4 days.
This is part of the DIY Convenience Foods series.
Don’t want to miss a post in this series? Subscribe to 31 Days of DIY Convenience food here. Get updates via email here.
Convenience Foods You Can Make Better & Cheaper Yourself
Easy Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup for Cooking
How to Make Homemade Breadcrumbs in the Food Processor
Instant Oatmeal Packets: How to Make Your Own
How To Make Cultured Buttermilk At Home
When it comes to fast food I’d rather have a chicken sandwich than a burger. I really need to make these again soon.
Do you have Chick Fil A in CA? As a native Southerner, I figured out how to make fried chicken early in our marriage. My hubby wishes I’d make it more often. But there is a learning curve, I admit. 🙂
We do. We have two, actually. 🙂 But, I really don’t like their ingredients list, thus, learning to make my own.
Yum! Thanks for the idea. I’d like to try this in the morning with biscuits. I have to admit that although I love fried food, I’m not a fan of frying. It’s so messy, stinky, uses a lot of oil, and I don’t do it enough to be good at it. So I love the baking option. Do you have to have the nonstick spray to get the texture right? I’m sure it’s just a personal bias, but I dislike them. Maybe I could try one of those air pump oil misters…
The spray is what makes it “fried”. If you do all bread crumbs instead of flour, you should be okay without the spray. Let me know how it goes.
Thanks!
Do you think you could freeze the cooked chicken? What would be the best way to reheat it–thaw in fridge and then pop it in the oven for 10 or 15 minutes? Maybe on a wire rack so the undersides didn’t get soggy? Hmmm…
I have done this once and it was delicious! I should try it again with the buttermilk dip first.
I think it would be soggy to freeze it. 🙁
Looks yummy. They’re even cheaper than you figured, though, because the buns at 8 for $2.00 were only 25 cents each.
Thanks for the catch!
Yum!!!!!
I made these tonight with some sweet potato fries for me and the hubby, and he LOVED it! My only complaint (and it’s minor) is that when the chicken was done baking, there were still bits of flour on it like it didn’t look done when it was. Thanks for a quick and easy meal in a pinch, will gladly use this again 🙂
That can happen if you don’t thoroughly spray it with the oil. I often add more spray halfway through just to make sure that they are coated.