Brined Chicken Ciabatta

Easy, delicious, family food that no one can ever complain about; this sandwich is simple and delicious.

ciabatta

The ciabatta is an extremely good option for a meat sandwich with sweet and sour elements. Unlike bread slices, it gives a brilliant crispy crust with a generous amount of bread; counteracting on the generous filling. It's dry in caomparision to most breads, highlighting the juicy nature of the chicken, cheese and pickles. Despite being the least glamorous, it's one of the most important element of this dish, in my opinion.

Chicken

The brined chicken is juicy, salty, sweet, charred and refreshing. Surprising, yet, not really. The fact that the chicken was allowed to be brined for over 12 hours and cooked on a high heat with a generous amount of palate cleansers in the brine, all those adjectives seem appropriately used; and believe me, they are.

The Recipe:

Ingredients

300 ml water

2 tbsp cloves

4 tbsp black peppercorns

3 tbsp fennel seeds

9 cardamom pods

6 tbsp salt

6 tbsp sugar

150 ml apple juice

150 ml orange juice

30 ml lemon/lime juice

Oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, lemon leaves

400 gm boneless chicken thighs

50 gm of gherkins, sliced lengthwise

4 tbsp of jalapenos

200 gm of Monterrey jack cheese

100 gm of hung yoghurt

2 tbsp English mustard

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 lemon

3 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli powder

2 Ciabatta

Method

In a large saucepan, combine the water, juices (except lemon juice), salt and sugar. Let the mixture simmer on medium heat till it reduces by half. Blend up the spices and add into the mixture. Add in the herbs and stir for another minute. Let the brine come to room temperature and then add in your lemon juice. Drop in your cleaned chicken thighs. Let sit outside for 2-3 hours and transfer to the fridge overnight.

To make the dressing, combine sour cream, yogurt, mustard, ketchup, juice of half a lemon, cumin powder, chili powder and seasonings. Combine and set aside.

Cook the chicken thighs on a skillet on high heat with a splash of oil till charred on both sides. Continue to cook on low heat for 3 minutes. Once it's cooked, remove and slice into rough lengthwise pieces.

To assemble the sandwich, slice across the ciabatta's height with a bread knife. Spread the dressing evenly on the bottom. Top with gherkins, jalapenos and chicken. Top with shredded cheese and sandwich everything with the other slice of the ciabatta. Fix together with toothpicks and toast on a pan/press with some butter till the crust gets golden and the cheese melts. Remove from heat, slice and serve hot!