Sandwiches · American
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Lemony brined chicken thighs seared in a grill pan, with a green herb sauce, crisp bacon and a mayo-toasted bun.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 25 min
- Makes
- 4 sandwiches
- Serves
- 4
About 1 h 25 min. Passive time is 10 min cooling the brine, 30 min brining in the fridge and about 20 min in the oven. Make the herb sauce and cook the bacon while the chicken brines. Oven preheat overlaps the brining, so it isn't added.
Oven 180 °C · 160 °C fan (350 °F)
- easy
- weekend
- summer
- lunch
- bacon
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Brine, sauce and toppings scale in a straight line. The grill pan doesn't: leave space between the pieces (crowded chicken steams instead of searing), so sear in batches if needed and check every piece with a thermometer. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: ovenproof cast-iron grill pan (ridged) · small saucepan and whisk · shallow baking dish · blender · large skillet · paper towels · instant-read thermometer · tongs (one pair for raw chicken, a clean pair for cooked food) · pastry brush · oven mitts · cutting board kept for raw chicken
Contains: egg · wheat
Method
Make the brine
In a small saucepan, combine 60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice, 3 tbsp sugar, 3 smashed garlic cloves, 3 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp pepper flakes and 180 ml (3/4 cup) water. Warm gently, whisking, for 2 to 3 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Ready when: When you pinch a little between your fingers, you can't feel any grains of sugar or salt.
Brine the chicken
Lay the 4 chicken thighs in a shallow baking dish, pour the cooled brine over them and refrigerate, uncovered, for 30 minutes, turning them once halfway.
Ready when: Every piece is covered in brine; after 30 minutes in the fridge, turned once halfway, it's ready.
Otto tried this firstOtto leaves the dish on the counter 'so it soaks in faster'. Brining happens in the fridge only.Heat the oven and make the herb sauce
Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Blend 1/2 cup cilantro, 1/2 cup parsley, 1/2 avocado, 1/4 cup chives, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 garlic clove and 1 tsp kosher salt until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Spoon into a small bowl.
Ready when: The oven has fully reached temperature before the chicken goes in, and the sauce is smooth with no whole leaves left.
Cook the bacon
Put the 4 halved bacon slices in a large skillet over medium-low heat and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, turning now and then. Drain on paper towels.
Ready when: Browned and crisp all over.
Heat the grill pan
Turn on the extractor fan. Heat the grill pan over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
Ready when: A few drops of water sizzle and vanish right away.
Sear the chicken
Lift the thighs out of the brine and throw the brine away. Pat them dry. Brush the hot pan with a little oil and lay the thighs in it with space between them. Sear for about 2 minutes, flip, and sear 2 minutes more.
Ready when: Grill marks underneath, and each piece lets go of the ridges easily before you flip it. If it sticks, give it another minute. The middle isn't cooked yet.
Otto tried this firstOtto tries to pour the used brine over the chicken as a sauce. It has held raw chicken: it goes straight down the drain.Finish in the oven
With oven mitts, move the grill pan to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Ready when: A thermometer in the thickest part of each thigh reads 74°C (165°F). If not, give it a few more minutes and check again.
Toast the buns
Spread 1 tbsp mayonnaise on the cut side of each of the 4 buns. Put the grill pan back on the stove over medium heat (keep a mitt on the hot handle) and toast the buns cut side down for 1 to 3 minutes.
Ready when: Lightly golden. Watch closely: this happens fast.
Build the sandwiches
Spread the herb sauce over the cut sides of the buns. On each bottom bun, layer a chicken thigh, a tomato slice, 2 pieces of bacon and a lettuce leaf. Add the tops and serve.
Swaps
- Instead of chicken thighs: boneless, skinless chicken breasts, same number Breasts dry out more easily than thighs. Cook to the same 74°C (165°F) and take them out as soon as they get there.
- Instead of crushed red pepper flakes: cayenne pepper For more heat.
- Instead of cilantro, parsley and chives in the sauce: all parsley or all cilantro, and leave out the chives Add an extra garlic clove if you want it stronger.
Don’t swap
- used brine as a sauce: it has held raw chicken, so throw it away
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Storage
- Refrigerate leftover chicken within 2 hours and eat it within 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for 3 to 4 months. Store it separately from the buns and lettuce.
- Reheat
- Reheat leftover chicken until it reaches 74°C (165°F) in the middle, then build a fresh sandwich.
If something goes wrong
- Chicken sticks to the grill pan Why: It's not ready to flip yet, or the pan wasn't hot enough.
Wait another minute: it lets go of the ridges once it's seared. Next time, preheat the pan until a drop of water sizzles away instantly. - Pale, steamed chicken with no grill marks Why: Too many pieces in the pan.
Leave space between the pieces and sear in batches. - Dry chicken Why: Cooked well past done, or breasts used instead of thighs.
Use thighs, which have more moisture, and take the chicken out as soon as the thickest part reads 74°C (165°F).
Good to know
- Potato or brioche buns hold up best.
- For extra crunch, tuck a handful of potato chips into each sandwich.
Safety
- Cook chicken to 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part, measured with a thermometer.
- Brine in the fridge, never on the counter, and throw away the used brine.
- Keep raw chicken on its own board, use separate tongs for raw and cooked pieces, and wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after touching raw chicken. Don't put cooked chicken back on a plate that held raw chicken unless it has been washed in hot, soapy water.
- A cast-iron grill pan stays dangerously hot long after it leaves the oven, handle included. Use oven mitts, keep the handle turned inward, and keep kids away from the stove and oven.
- Mayonnaise contains egg; buns often contain wheat, milk, egg or sesame. Check the labels.