Bon Appetit Cook the Cover: Fried Chicken Sandwich with Jalapeno Slaw and Spicy Mayo

Bon Appetit's April issue reminded me how much I love a good sandwich, even for dinner! April's Cook the Cover sandwich is simple, tasty, and open to variations. I know because I made it three times, three different ways.

Fried Pork Cutlet Sandwich
with Slaw and Spicy Mayo

The original features a skinless, boneless chicken breast dredged in flour, dipped in buttermilk, dredged in flour a second time, and fried in oil. The crunch comes from thinly sliced cabbage, red onion and jalapeno tossed with bread-and-butter pickle slices and a trickle of pickle juice. The mayo gets its kick from Louisiana-style hot sauce and finely grated garlic.

Jalapeno Coleslaw with Bread-and-Butter Pickles
(I used a serrano chile)

The sidebar note, Why the Bread Matters, says: "Saucy sandwiches demand a roll with a hearty crust that won't fall to pieces..." For my first sandwich, I used a nice sesame seed Kaiser roll, but it was too soft and fell apart half way through. I don't think this was due to the sauce, but due to the size of the chicken breast. I felt the chicken breast could have used some pounding to make it more like a cutlet and then the roll would have held together and it would have been easier to eat. I also felt the full-size Kaiser Roll was too big for the halved chicken breast (again, with pounding it thinner, it would have fit perfectly).

Fried Chicken (Breast) Sandwich
with Jalapeno Slaw and Spicy Mayo

Spicy Mayo

For round two, I tried chicken thighs, and I also used a smaller slider roll. Again, it was a little hard to eat because the chicken was still too thick and there was too much chicken for the roll.

Fried Chicken (Thigh) Sandwich
with Jalapeno Slaw and Spicy Mayo

The ciabatta roll I used for my third sandwich of the week (first photo with the pork cutlet) was the right thickness, but the roll was a tad too firm. I flavored that mayo with chipotle Tabasco in lieu of the Louisiana-style hot sauce and it paired perfectly with the pork. I also added some Panko to the flour.

You can find Bon Appetit's Fried Chicken Sandwich recipe here, or you can join me in trying the Pressed Coppa Sandwich with Broccoli Rabe Pesto next, which also looks and sounds amazing.

Trapper and Lucy Play-Date