Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

During college, I spent some time waitressing, bartending, and short-order cooking at a local bar and restaurant. Hands down, the most popular item on the menu was the Buffalo Chicken Wings. By my hundredth order, I was quite the expert. I don’t make wings at home very often, because I can’t stand the clean-up. But, on occasion, I’ll make Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, as I’m doing tonight. Great taste, without the chicken wing bones or the mess!

At the restaurant, which was located just a short distance from Buffalo, we used Frank’s Red Hot, which is purportedly the hot sauce used in the original Buffalo wings. Like your wings hot? Use straight hot sauce. Like them medium-spicy? Use half Frank’s and half melted butter. For mild wings, increase the butter. Good, good stuff!

Since I had all of the ingredients on hand, I made my own bleu cheese dressing for tonight’s sandwich. Sans mayonnaise, of course. A prepared dressing would work great too. (FYI, my preferred bleu cheese dressing is Marie’s. You can usually find it refrigerated in the produce section.) Adjust the butter and hot sauce ratio according to your tastes. Following my recipe as written will give you a medium-hot sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 pound Thin-Cut Chicken Breasts or Chicken Tenderloins
• 1/2 cup Flour
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• 4 Tbsp Butter, melted

For the Dressing

• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1/2 cup Crumbled Bleu Cheese (such as Roquefort or Gorgonzola)
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper

For the Sandwich

• 4 Rolls
• Lettuce
• Tomato Slices

Directions

For the dressing, combine sour cream, crumbled bleu cheese, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, if possible. Stir before using.

For the chicken, season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken breast or tenderloin in flour, so they are lightly coated. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium/medium-high heat. Cook chicken for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and fully cooked. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the middle should read 165 degrees.

Combine melted butter with the Frank’s Red Hot. Toss the cooked chicken in the sauce. Spread bleu cheese dressing onto the rolls. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and the sauce-coated chicken.

Makes 4 Sandwiches