The other day on another blog, someone mentioned making chicken patties. There were some questions about the recipe, so I went and took a look. It sounded great and I thought, I should make that. But when I went to make it, remembered it called for ground, cooked chicken and thought, eh, too much work. I prefer a chicken breast cutlet with a crisp, spicy crust, anyway. So I decided to play with ingredients to come  up with something that made me feel guilty eating it. All spicy and crispy. This what I came up with:

Crispy Chicken Breast Sandwiches

• 4 large boneless-skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup dill pickle juice
• 1 egg (if you’re going to bake, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to egg)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup panko
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Olive oil

Spice Mix

• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 2 tsp dry basil
• 2 tsp of celery seeds
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp of paprika

Sandwich Fixin’s

• 8 crusty sesame sandwich rolls
• Mayonnaise
• Tomato slices
• Lettuce
• Dill pickle (or for extra spice, jalapenos – my choice)

skillet

Fillet breasts to make two thin fillets from each breast and then soak in pickle juice for 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to buttermilk and let marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together panko, bread crumbs and spice mix. Beat egg.

Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture, dip in egg and then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well. Fry in skillet with 1-2 tbsp of oil, turning until golden brown on both sides. Or alternately, bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. (I covered it for the first 10-15 minutes to keep it moist, then uncovered to get it crispy).

Serve with sandwich fixin’s.

Cooked fillets can be frozen and reheated in the oven at 450 degrees until heated through.