Spicy Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

I grew up eating a lot of chicken parm sandwiches from family-owned Italian spots
in New England. This non-traditional version includes a spicy tomato Buffalo
sauce with extra melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

The following recipe makes four large sandwiches.

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Spicy Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

I grew up eating a lot of chicken parm sandwiches from family-owned Italian spots

in New England. This non-traditional version includes a spicy tomato Buffalo

sauce with extra melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

• 8 boneless (skinless chicken thighs)
• 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt (to mix with the all-purpose flour)
• ¼ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
• 3 whole eggs (whisked together)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 4 cups 1 quart of vegetable oil, for deep frying chicken thighs
• 8 Tbsp 1 stick unsalted butter
• ¾ cup Franks Red Hot sauce
• ½ cup tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 4 soft Hoagie rolls
• 4 Tbsp 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1 cup parmesan cheese (finely shredded)

Instructions 

• The day before you intend to start cooking, salt both sides of the boneless, skinless chicken thighs with Kosher salt.
• Arrange the salted chicken on a wire rack on a sheet tray, and store in the fridge for 24 hours.
• *Resting the salted chicken in the fridge overnight will give the salt time to penetrate the meat.
• The next day, when you are ready to start cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature for roughly 45 minutes.
• While the chicken is coming back up to room temperature, prepare your work station with three different bowls containing the ingredients for the standard breading procedure.
• In the first bowl, arrange your ½ cups of all-purpose flour mixed with Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
• In the next bowl, add your whisked whole eggs.
• In the final bowl, add the panko bread crumbs.
• Heat four cups (one quart) of vegetable oil to roughly 340˚F in a large Dutch Oven or deep-frying pan with high sides.
• Coat the chicken thighs in the flour mixture, and dust off the excess flour.
• Dip the floured chicken thighs in the egg mixture, and allow the excess egg to drip off.
• Finally, coat the chicken thighs in the panko bread crumbs and deep-fry in batches until golden brown.
• Make sure the thickest part of the chicken thighs registers 162-165˚F with a meat thermometer, or you can cut into the thickest part of each one and double check that the meat is fully cooked.
• When the chicken thighs are golden brown and fully cooked, allow them to drain on a wire rack on paper towels.
• In a small sauce pot, combine the stick of butter with the Franks Red Hot sauce, tomato puree, white granulated sugar, and dried oregano.
• Whisk until the sugar is dissolved, and remove the sauce from the heat.
• Preheat your oven to 500˚F.
• Cut into the side of each Hoagie roll, and add mayonnaise to the inside of each roll.
• Add some mozzarella and parmesan cheese to the bottom of each roll.
• Dunk the deep-fried chicken thighs in the tomato Buffalo sauce, and add two deep-fried and sauced chicken thighs on top of the first layer of finely shredded cheese in each Hoagie roll.
• Top the chicken in each hoagie roll with the remaining shredded cheese, and broil in the oven at 500˚F until the cheese is just melted, or about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove the sandwiches from the oven.
• If desired, add a bit more spicy tomato Buffalo sauce on top of the melted cheese, and wrap each sandwich in aluminum foil to help contain the madness while you are eating it.
• Serve with extra napkins.

Notes

These sandwiches are best eaten right away, although you can try reheating them in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil if you have leftovers.