EXTRA-CRUNCHY FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICHES Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain started in Atlanta, GA, has a well-deserved near-cult-like following The classic Chick-fil-A sandwich is a thing of simple beauty: A juicy, salty, crisply fried chicken breast A buttered and toasted soft, sweet bun Two dill pickle chips That’s all there is to it What makes it great is the perfection of each of the elements: That crisp golden brown crust, spiced just right with a perfect sweet-salty-savory-hot balance The way it coats that breast underneath, a chicken breast that defies all we know about chicken This is no dry, stringy, bland chicken bosom; it is a breast of unparalleled juiciness, with a dense, meaty texture and deeply seasoned flavor Bring all of the elements together, and you’ve got a sandwich that is nearly impossible to improve upon Of course, nearly impossible means slightly possible We’ll take that chance How are we going to improve it? By using our own fried chicken recipe, of course Luckily, modifying our existing recipe into one that works well in a sandwich is a relatively painless procedure All we need to is start with smaller pieces of chicken—a single breast half, split horizontally to yield two 3- to 4-ounce portions, is the ideal size for a sandwich—and pair it with just the right type of butter-toasted soft bun and pickle The bun is your typical hamburger bun Soft and slightly sweet, with a fluffy Wonder Bread–like texture It measures in at around ½ inches in diameter, which puts it right in the range of Arnold Hamburger Rolls (sold under the name Oroweat west of the Rockies) Toasted in a skillet in just a bit of melted butter, it’s a perfect tastealike to the Chick-fil-A buns As for the pickles, I tried a few different brands of crinkle-cut dill chips Heinz had the right flavor, but the chips were too small—I could’ve added a few extras, I suppose, but I feel like the two-pickle-per-sandwich rule that Chik-fil-A has laid out is a wise and unbreakable law Instead, I turned to Vlasic Ovals Hamburger Dill Chips, which have a larger surface area and the same saltyvinegary-garlicky flavor ... it right in the range of Arnold Hamburger Rolls (sold under the name Oroweat west of the Rockies) Toasted in a skillet in just a bit of melted butter, it’s a perfect tastealike to the Chick-fil-A buns... for the pickles, I tried a few different brands of crinkle-cut dill chips Heinz had the right flavor, but the chips were too small—I could’ve added a few extras, I suppose, but I feel like the. .. horizontally to yield two 3- to 4-ounce portions, is the ideal size for a sandwich—and pair it with just the right type of butter-toasted soft bun and pickle The bun is your typical hamburger bun Soft