Chicken Sandwiches Gatherings Picnics Lunches

Chicken sandwich

If you’ve ever wondered why those chicken sandwiches from “that gourmet deli” are so coveted and command such high prices, the answer lies not just in the secret mix of ingredients for the filling but also in the texture of the chicken. “It’s so soft and just melts in your mouth!“, friends have observed. The secret? Shredding the chicken super, super finely, until it’s basically crumbly, using a stand-mixer. This makes the chicken sandwich filling soft and creamy because you don’t have chewy chunks of chicken in it. No stand-mixer? No worries! Use a hand-held beater or a little patience and your hands. 🙂

Mayonnaise plus sour cream

And the second secret of course is the sauce! You want it to have plenty of creamy sauce but not be too oily and weighed down with mayonnaise. My trick is to use both mayonnaise (for flavour and richness) and sour cream (for creamy goodness with less oil).

Ingredients in Chicken Sandwich Filling

Here’s what goes in my chicken sandwiches. And before you say it, let me acknowledge that I left out the most obvious ingredient for sandwiches – BREAD! 😂

How to make deli-style chicken sandwiches

Nothing ground-breaking here. The only trick is shredding the chicken as finely as you can. The finer it’s shredded, the creamier the chicken filling which is what sets deli-style chicken sandwiches apart from the rest! Homemade roast chicken – If you’re a better person than me, make your own brined roast chicken (the brine will infuse the flesh with salt like store bought rotisserie chicken). Chicken breast – I prefer to use a whole chicken so you get a good blend of white meat (breast, lean) and dark meat (thigh, leg, wings – juicier and more flavour). But if you prefer to use just chicken breast, use my Foolproof Poached Chicken Breast (guarantees juicy breast) and toss the shredded chicken with 1 teaspoon of salt before mixing the sauce through. And of course, the bread of choice is not set in stone so feel free to use whatever bread you want! My favourite mayonnaise brand is S&W, followed by Kewpie. Hellman’s is good too albeit a little sweeter. I find other brands (especially non whole-egg mayonnaise) too sweet and/or too vinegary and/or lacking in (good) flavour. I live in Sydney, Australia, and you can get all these brands at everyday large grocery stores. Best substitute – cashews, macadamia nuts or pecans. Else, leave it out. As I mentioned earlier, a stand-mixer will make short work of this. Hand-held beater also works. Else, your hands and some patience!

At this stage, you should sneak in a taste test and marvel at how soft and creamy the chicken sandwich filling is! PS You know full well the crusts get eaten right? Plenty of chicken filling makes its way to the crust! TIP: If you want really neat edges, refrigerate the assembled sandwiches for at least 2 hours before slicing. This will make the filling firm up and makes it easier to cut neatly. I did not do this for the sandwiches pictured in this post. You know that patience is not my greatest virtue! I love a good sandwich, and these Chicken Sandwiches rate very, very highly in my books. As a bonus, the filling keeps well for 3 days and the assembled sandwiches, while best made fresh, are still 90% as good the next day (the bread softens with time). In fact, the sandwiches in this post were my dinner and breakfast for 2 consecutive days – and I was very happy about it! And as I mentioned in the opening, I’m sharing this recipe with holiday gatherings in mind. Take it to your office Christmas party. A picnic with friends. A day out at the beach. Or, you could go really crazy and have them for lunch! 😱 Live life on the edge! – Nagi x PS If you do make these for a gathering, tell me below if they were the first food to go! #NotCommpetitiveAtAll 🤭