Recipe #186: Imitation Chick-fil-a

Chick-fil-a has been in the news a lot lately, and no matter what you think about it, one good thing that came of it was the emergence of recipes for imitation chicken sandwiches!  I've been meaning to try this for awhile.  I love just the plain chicken with the pickles on it, no sauce, no other toppings.  Reminds me of college!  This did not dissapoint- in fact, I ate two entire sandwiches.  DELICIOUS and I'd say about as close to the real thing as I could ask for!  The meat was super juicy.

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup pickle juice (I just dumped some from the jar)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (I used less than a tablespoon of regular 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
• Optional: up to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a spicy sandwich
• Oil for frying (about 1/2" in the pan- I used a pot)
• For serving: Buns and pickle slices

Instructions

1. Wrap the chicken loosely between plastic wrap and pound gently with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until about 1/2 inch thick all around.
2. Cut into two pieces, as even as possible.
3. Marinate in the pickle juice for 30 minutes to one hour (add a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce now for a spicy sandwich).
4. Beat the egg with the milk in a bowl.
5. Combine the flour, sugar, and spices in another bowl.
6. Dip the chicken pieces each into the egg on both sides, then coat in flour on both sides.
7. Heat the oil in a skillet (1/2 inch deep) to about 345-350.
8. Fry each cutlet for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through.
9. Blot on paper and serve on toasted buns with pickle slices.  (I didn't bother toasting the buns)