Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

It's no secret that most of my family loves a good sandwich and this one definitely hit the spot with my oldest son asking for me to make sure it made it into his mission luggage somehow.  I found this over on Jam Jar Kitchen.  Needless to say, it's being added to this personal blog so that I can keep track of it for later as I know it will be requested.

Ingredients (Chicken)*
4 medium chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. pickle juice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper 

Ingredients (Seasoned Mayo)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
pinch of salt & pepper
1 tsp. pickle juice 

Sandwich Assembly
8 slices bacon
4 Brioche buns
4-6 slices provolone cheese
iceberg lettuce
thinly sliced red onion
pickle slices
sliced tomato 

Directions

Marinate the chicken

• Lay the chicken breast inside a freezer bag or between two sheets of parchment paper. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to gently pound the chicken to an even thickness. *Note* You don’t need the chicken to be super thin, you just want a consistent thickness so it will cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts and place in a large freezer bag. Set aside. In a small mixing bowl combine olive oil, pickle juice, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt & pepper. Stir to combine.  Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts and allow to marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.  

Grill the chicken

• Take your marinated chicken breasts out of the fridge and allow them to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes.  Preheat your grill on medium high heat until very hot (5-10minutes).  Place chicken breasts on the grill and cook over medium high heat with the lid closed for 4-5 minutes. Flip chicken to the other side and continue to grill over medium high heat for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature between 160 and 165 degrees F.  Layer slices of provolone cheese over the chicken breasts and close the lid for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the cheese is melted.  Remove chicken from the grill and place in a foil lined pan.Loosely cover with foil and allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Cook the Bacon & Toast the Buns

• While the chicken is grilling cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy.  Remove bacon from the skillet and place on paper towel lined plate. Do not throw away the bacon grease! Pour all but a thin layer of bacon grease in the pan and place it back on medium high heat.  Place both halves the buns, cut side down, into the pan and toast in the bacon grease for about 30 seconds. Watch closely to make sure they don’t burn! Remove and set aside.

Assemble the sandwiches

• Add 1/3 cup mayonnaise into a small bowl. Add ¼th teaspoon paprika, ¼th teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon pickle juice and a pinch of salt & pepper. Stir to combine.Spread the seasoned mayo on cut sides of the buns.  On the bottom bun layer on onion slices, pickle slices and as lice of tomato. Add chicken then top with iceberg lettuce. Top with the bun and serve. Enjoy!