Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Celery-Roquefort Slaw

Since it was the Super Bowl recently, I've been jonesing for wings something fierce. There's something about fatty chicken wings coated in sticky, spicy hot sauce, chased with the cool, mineral crunch of celery and the cave-y funk of blue cheese. But do any of those flavors - so perfect together - actually require a chicken wing, as delivery system or matchmaker? I think not.

Instead, I put these flavors together in a sandwich. I tossed together some buffalo sauce by melting a few tablespoons of butter with a good 1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot, a couple cloves of minced garlic, and about 2 tbsp of sriracha. I poached about a pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the hot sauce until shreddy-tender (this makes enough for four sandwiches), then pulled them out and reduced the sauce to a sticky goo. I shredded the meat and tossed them back in the sauce to soak it up.

Meanwhile, I slivered a few stalks of celery on a mandoline and mixed a dressing of a few tablespoons of mayonnaise and sour cream, a splash of sherry vinegar and a handful crumbled Roquefort, and a little salt and pepper. Tossed together, this is a delicious, cooling slaw for any spicy meat, I'd hazard. But for these intents and purposes, blob it on a pile of the shredded chicken, rock this mess on a lightly toasted brioche bun, and you're laughin'.

Serve with your preferred fried potato product (we fancied our taters in the tot variety) and a Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale.

19 comments:

Leigh said...

That looks awesome, I know what you mean about jonesin' for something chicken and spice-based!! looks messy though - but then again, the best 'burgs are...

Alicia Foodycat said...

Genius! That is a stunning looking sandwich.

Maggie said...

Brilliant. Looks so tasty.

Nicebroom said...

This looks like everything good in the world. I'm stuck in East Coast Snoverkill, though, and have no hope of getting to market for celery (the rest I have). Think shredded beets would work?

We Are Never Full said...

there is absolutely NOTHIN wrong w/ this meal. i could eat wings twice a day and not get sick of them. love the slaw. LOVE it.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

your first paragraph made me question my sanity. i salivated, my eyes filled with tears and i felt huge envy and desire.

of course, i'm on a fucking diet...

cookiecrumb said...

So good looking. Great idea.

Unknown said...

I agree with Cook Eat Fret. The moment I laid eyes on that sandwich, I knew it was going to be on this week's menu. Diet schmyet...

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I'll have 2 of these delicious burgers with a side of tots please:D

chow bella said...

my first thought on seeing that sandwich: "damn, that looks good!"

The Spiteful Chef said...

When I can eat again, that's the first thing I'm doing. Except ranch instead of roquefort, because I'm not so much about blue cheese.

Tater tots sound like they would rock right now. And it's not even 8:15 in the morning.

Lo said...

Can you hear the gutteral sounds emanating from my face?? Yup, that's me. I hope I don't scare the baby.

I've been completely craving buffalo chicken ever since somebody mentioned that they made my BC dip for their superbowl party. This sammich would definitely fit the bill...

tobiascooks! said...

What a sandwich. This is delicious.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Well, y'know we don't have SuperBowl over here. But I'm sure as hell having this anyway. Looks FABBO!

Lo said...

Hey Heather - totally did these up on Friday night this past weekend (tater tots...er "spud puppies" and all). No brioche rolls, so we used challah... but SO good. Just thought I'd let you know!

Manggy said...

The term "hot sauce" is quite confusing to me - here in the Philippines it refers to sauces made from red peppers in vinegar, like Tabasco. Is it more similar to the Chinese chili sauce? (and of course, I don't know what the proper name is, just not chiu chow.) I hope I'm able to find the appropriate one on the shelves, cos this sandwich just looks perfect. I love the way you made the sauce too - garlic and sriracha? Yum!!

RAHUL said...

brilliant.
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MrOrph said...

cleverly awesome!

burkie said...

i'm going to nominate this for the sammich hall o' fame and i haven't even had one yet. but i will, oh yes. i will.