Spicy Chicken Sandwich

How do you take a chicken sandwich to the next level? Spice it up! I love this spicy chicken sandwich recipe because it’s juicy, and has a punch along with amazing levels of flavor in every bite. While there are a lot of ingredients here, the recipe doesn’t take as long as you might think. Really, you can prepare all your fillings while the chicken smokes to perfection.

Chicken is the most versatile meat in the world. It accepts flavors readily. From chicken parmesan to Dorito chicken (yes, really!) There’s not much you can’t do with it.

Since your sandwich toppings are tasty, you may want to use a mild smoking wood like apple or oak.

Spicy Chicken Sandwich Ingredients

1 whole chicken (Spatchcock)
Avocado salsa
Fajita rub
Thick toasted bread
Roasted red peppers
Cilantro
Lime
Sliced onions
Salsa
Hot sauce
Cheese (your choice)

Instructions

Set up your smoker to 225 F.
While the smoker comes to heat, inject avocado salsa into every part of the bird.
Use the leftover salsa on the bird’s skin for a binding agent.
Sprinkle the entire surface of the chicken with fajita rub.
Put it on the smoker until it reaches 150 F in the thickest part.
Crank up the heat on the smoker to 500 F so you can get crunchy skin (yum!).
Remove and let cool.
Chop some onions with cilantro, and squeeze the juice of the lime into the mix.
Toast the bread (it holds up better this way).
Using a Chef’s knife, thinly slice the chicken.
Place it on the bread, topping it with the peppers, cilantro, onions, salsa, cheese, and finish with a dash of hot sauce.

Pit Master’s Memo

If you’ve never heard the term spatchcock before, I am going to explain the process to you. When you spatchcock a chicken you remove the bird’s backbone so the chicken can lay flat. Why might you do this? There are a lot of great reasons.

For one, the chicken will cook faster, about ½ the normal time. Secondly, the chicken cooks far more evenly. You won’t have to worry so much about finding underdone spots. Third, and most significant, is you get extra flavor. There is more surface area of the chicken exposed, which allows your seasoning to reach every part.

The process of spatchcocking requires a good pair of kitchen shears. Put the whole chicken on a large cutting board. Pat it dry with some paper towels. Turn the chicken so the neck faces toward you, breast-side down.

Start cutting along the spine of the chicken as close as possible. You want to separate it from the ribs. Do the same thing on the other side. Give the chicken a flip so the breast is upward. Press along the breast bone, and you’ll hear a crack. The chicken should flatten easily.

Tip: Don’t toss out the spine. Use can use it for stock.