Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

        
             I'd been having a craving for a good barbecue chicken sandwich.  A tangy yet sweet barbecue sauce, topped with a cool, creamy cole slaw.  I'd recently created a Carolina style barbecue sauce.    There are loads of barbecue sauces out there.  I can buy from so many different brands in the store, but I started really reading ingredients almost a year ago, and won't touch most of them now.  The ones that seem to have better ingredients cost an arm and a leg.  Since I had most ingredients that a barbecue sauce includes, I figured why not make my own?  So I did, and it worked out so well that I haven't bought barbecue sauce all summer.

             What goes better with barbecue food than a good creamy cole slaw?(In the United States anyway, I think.)    I can make a great non-mayo based cole slaw, but I have never perfected a creamy mayonnaise type dressing for cole slaw.  The best one that my family loves, and friends have complimented me on is one from epicurious.com.  I have tried adjusting ingredients this way and that way, but nope can't make it better.  So, if it's not broken, don't try and fix it.



             So we've got yummy sliced chicken dripping with a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, dressed with a creamy cole slaw that is totally complimenting.  I found a brioche recipe on King Arthur Flour.  The slight sweetness of the brioche would go great with the barbecue sauce and cole slaw and it won't crumble and get all soggy.

Ingredients for the barbecue sauce:

1. 1/2 Cup balsamic vinegar
2. 1/2 Cup apple cider vinegar
3. 1/2 Cup ketchup
4. 1 tsp dijon mustard
5. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
6. 1 1/3 Cup of brown sugar
7. 1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook down on medium low heat for about 20 minutes.  It made 1 cup of sauce.

It becomes nice and thick once refrigerated.

I used chicken breasts for the meat.

I seasoned them with salt and pepper, cooked them on my grill pan, and brushed the barbecue sauce on them as they cooked.

Ingredients for the cole slaw from epicurious.com

1. 1 Cup of mayonnaise (I used canola based)
2. 6 Tbl cider vinegar
3. 3 Tbl sugar
4. 3 tsp dijon mustard
5. 1 head of green cabbage
6. 2 large carrots.

Shred the cabbage and cabbage in a food processor.

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl, than add the cabbage and carrots.  Place in a bowl and refrigerate.

Ingredients for brioche from King Arthur Flour
I did make some adjustments due to ingredients that I didn't have such as dry milk and instant yeast.  If you want to try the recipe exactly as it is on King Arthur Flours website, click the above link.

1. 2 3/4 Cups of flour
2. 1/4 Cup warm milk.  (I warmed in the microwave for 20 sec.)
3. 3 Tbl sugar
4. 1 1/4 tsp salt
5. 1 Tbl active dry yeast
6. 3 eggs, beaten
7. 10 Tbl softened butter

I used my bread maker for this.
First I warmed the milk.  Due to the fact I didn't have instant yeast, I mixed the Tbl of yeast in the warm milk with 1/4 tsp sugar and stirred.  This 1/4 tsp of sugar is in addition to the 3 Tbl sugar.  You will see the yeast mixture look all bubbly after about 5 minutes.

While the yeast is proofing, beat your 3 eggs with a fork or whisk and add them to your bread maker or stand mixer with the dough attachment.  Then add the softened butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast/milk mixture.  Start your bread maker on the dough cycle, or turn your stand mixer on.  The bread maker will take care of the kneading and the first rise.  The mixer needs to go for at least 15 minutes.  The dough will come together and will look smooth and shiny when kneaded.  Here is what mine looked like after the knead cycle.

Cover your bowl, or bread maker pan for at least 60 minutes and let the dough rise.

After the first rise, place the covered pan in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.  I let it sit for 2 hours.

Then I used my large muffin pans to shape the rolls.  I divided the dough into 12 rolls.  Then covered them loosely and let them rise for another 2 1/2 hours.

I cooked them in a pre heated 375F oven for 20 minutes.  I had to place foil on the top of them after 10 minutes so the tops wouldn't burn.  Like with anything you bake, keep an eye on them.  They can be done before 20 minutes.

To prepare the sandwich, slice the chicken, and place in a saucepan with some of the barbecue sauce.  You want to coat all the slices.

Then place the chicken on the bottom half of your roll, top with some cole slaw, and then place the top of the roll on top.

This would make a great afternoon lunch or dinner for yourself, or with friends.  Hope you try it!

 Note:  You can of course use any type of roll you want, I just am still experimenting with breads and wanted something different.  Mine are slider sized.  For those not in the U.S., that just means on a small roll.  I think these would also go great with the bun recipe I posted, as well as the dinner rolls made in a larger size.