Recipe: Pickle Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich with H-Sauce Brussels Sprout Coleslaw
Spice up your life (or, at least, your chicken sandwich) with KC’s newest local hot sauce: H Sauce.
Photos by Tyler Shane
Don’t you dare throw away that jar of pickle juice! When it comes to this recipe, your leftover pickle juice is liquid gold and a key ingredient for making tender and tangy fried chicken. After you’ve finished off the pickles, you can throw chicken in the remaining juice overnight, using it as a brine for your meat. Not only does the pickle juice add incredible flavor but it also helps your chicken retain moisture during the cooking process.
To give this sandwich a kick, I’ve added H Sauce. H Sauce is a minimalist hot sauce made of fermented peppers, but the flavor is mouthwatering with the perfect amount of tang and heat. Its simplicity makes the sauce wonderfully versatile. In this recipe, it is used in the brussels sprout coleslaw as well as a condiment to top your golden, crispy chicken sandwich. Let’s get cookin’!
Pickle Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich with H-Sauce Brussels Sprout Coleslaw
Yields: 2 chicken sandwiches
Ingredients:
Sandwich
1 jar of pickle juice
2 skinless boneless chicken thighs
2 qt. vegetable/peanut/canola oil
2 c. AP flour
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
1 tbsp. salt
2 brioche buns
1 tbsp. butter
Sliced pickles, mayonnaise, and H Sauce to top off your sandwich!
Coleslaw
1 cup brussels sprouts
1 carrot, peeled
½ red onion
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. H Sauce
½ tsp. celery seed
Pinch of onion and garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
¼ c. mayonnaise
Preparation:
Toss the chicken thighs in pickle juice and make sure the thighs are completely submerged. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
To shred the veggies for the coleslaw, it’s your choice to use a food processor, mandoline, or cut by hand. Take this opportunity to sharpen your knife skills or indulge in a new kitchen gadget. Whichever process you choose, shred the brussels sprouts, carrot, and onion, combine in a bowl, and toss to mix. Set aside.
Mix the remaining coleslaw ingredients in a small bowl to create a sauce. Pour the sauce over your shredded veggies and stir until completely incorporated. Place coleslaw in the fridge.
In a large bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper and salt. Whisk and set aside.
In a medium size pot, begin heating your choice of oil to 375F over medium heat.
While the oil is heating, coat each pickle brined chicken thigh generously with the flour mixture, making sure flour is covering all the nooks and crannies of the thigh. Once coated, place the chicken on a plate and place in the fridge for 10 minutes. *Placing your chicken in the fridge helps bind the flour to the surface of the chicken allowing for a crispier and even coating during the frying process.
After 10 minutes, grab the chicken out of the fridge and coat each piece in the flour mixture once more. Checking again to make sure every bit is covered in flour. Place the chicken back in the fridge.
Once the oil has heated to 375F, remove the chicken from the fridge. With your hands or tongs, slowly submerge the first piece of chicken into the oil. Watch out for oil splatter! Then, slowly add the second piece of chicken.
You can check the internal temperature of the chicken with a thermometer. Once the chicken is at 165F, or after 10-12 minutes, use tongs to remove the fried chicken from the oil and place onto a napkin-lined plate.
While the chicken is resting, heat a small pan over medium heat. Lightly butter the insides of the brioche buns and place them butter-side down in the pan. Toast until golden.
Remove the coleslaw from the fridge and begin building your sandwich.
Top the fried chicken with coleslaw, mayonnaise, pickles and don’t forget the true star of the show, H Sauce!
*Hot tip: you may notice some height to this sandwich. Use a toothpick to hold it all in place.
