Okay, I am going to come clean. I enjoy fast food. There I said it. Fortunately, I have enough self-control to where I only indulge in fast food twice a month at the most. Sometimes less.
That is probably too much for some of you but hey, I like to live life a little dangerously. I don’t bring any of this up to brag, but to share with you how this happens.
During the week you won’t catch me eating kale chips, acai bowls, and pounding green smoothies like a college co-ed pounds shots on her 21st birthday. My “diet” if you can even call it that. Consists of eating real food. One night pasta is on the menu, other nights it’s a steak, other nights it’s a hardy stew or roast.
It’s all about eating a variety of meals that keep you from craving fast food. What happens when you really crave fast food? Simple, instead of driving over to the nearest fast food chain and picking up your food without leaving your car. Make your favorite fast food meals at home.
Since you are the one in control of the ingredients, you become more aware of what goes into the food. How much salt you use, how much of a condiment you use, etc. When you purchase fast food, the people making it don’t have to debate whether they should use 1 teaspoon of mayo or 2 tablespoons on the next burger to fly out the window.
One meal that I often turn to is this crunchy fried chicken BLT. It tastes like something you find on a fast food menu so your brain goes ‘oh cool, we’re getting fast food. Reset the craving clock to 0’. The sandwich can be eaten as is and it’s amazing or you can tweak it a little and turn it into a different sandwich.
Mix 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing and 1 tablespoon of Frank’s Red Hot, skip the bacon and you have an instance buffalo chicken sandwich. If you are a fan of Mickey D’s chicken sandwiches omit the Frank’s Re Hot sauce replace the mayo with ranch dressing and you have a Bacon Ranch BLT similar to the one on Mickey D’s menu.
So many options to choose from. Get the recipe below for this crunchy fried chicken BLT and go nuts.
Ingredients
Yields 2 Sandwiches
Chicken Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon regular or smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry sage
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix all spice ingredients together in a small bowl. Divide in half.
Ingredients
Preparing The Chicken
- 2 (10 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 4 Tablespoons water
- 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- peanut oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag. Remove as much air as possible from bag and seal. Pound to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat pounder OR the side of a hammer head. Once flat, remove from bag and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub both sides of each breast with half of the seasoning mixture.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine: flour, baking powder, water and the other half of the seasoning mixture. Use your fingers to work the ingredients together. It will be raggedy.
- Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip chicken breast into the egg whites and then dredge with the flour mixture, pressing it onto the breast so it sticks to the chicken. Transfer each breast to a plate and refrigerate for one hour.
- Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Once the hour is up, add some peanut oil to a heavy 10 to 12 inch skillet. The oil should be approximately 3/4 inch deep. Heat over medium-high flame until the oil reaches 375 degrees F. Remove chicken from refrigerator and fry each breast individually, 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until deep golden brown and interior temperature reaches 170 degrees F. and is no longer pink.
- Transfer fried chicken to the rack on the baking sheet to rest while you prepare your sammy accoutrements.
Head over to the next page for the ingredients and instructions to the sauce that goes with these sandwiches as well as the final assembly.
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