Ex-Employee Recreates Chick-Fil-A Fried Chicken Sandwich With A Secret Ingredient

Chick-fil-A once claimed (erroneously) that it invented the chicken sandwich. In fact, it might just have been the first chicken sandwich offered at a fast food restaurant. That doesn't mean, however, that a CFA chicken sandwich isn't incredibly special. There's good reason why these restaurants enjoy near-universal long lines and cult-like devotion ... the chicken is pretty flippin' tasty. On TikTok, a self-professed former Chick-fil-A employee) assembled a DIY Spicy Chicken Sandwich à la the famous drive-thru, and we were dazzled by how easy it was — and how it included baking powder, a pantry staple. Note that the employee was putting together a Spicy Chicken sammie, not the vaunted Original Chicken Sandwich, but we're pretty sure we could backwards-engineer the latter from this technique.

@dishwithdrew

I worked at Chick-fil-A for over a decade, and today I'm showing you how to make their spicy chicken sandwich at home, including all the tips and tricks we used in the restaurant ☺️❤️ As always, the full recipe is below! 🧾 Ingredients 🧾 4–6 chicken breasts Notes: Chick-fil-A filets are smaller than most grocery store chicken breasts, typically weighing between 3.4–4.2 ounces. Most store-bought chicken breasts weigh 6–8 ounces. To better replicate the restaurant version, trim or portion larger breasts into smaller filets that fit comfortably on your buns. Organic or locally raised chicken breasts are often smaller and closer to the correct size. For the Brine: 1 1/2 cups dill pickle juice (this is the juice of one 16-ounce jar of dill pickles) 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon ground white pepper 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder For the Spicy Coater: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon white sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons MSG 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon white pepper 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper For the Milk & Egg Wash: 1 cup whole milk 2 large eggs For Frying: 6–8 cups peanut oil, heated to 325°F 👨‍🍳 Instructions 👨‍🍳 1) Trim the chicken breasts, removing any excess fat. Run your finger along the natural seam in the center of the breast, then gently use your palms to spread the chicken into a wider, even filet. Do not fully butterfly or cut the chicken apart. This increases surface area and helps the chicken cook evenly. 2) In a large bowl, whisk together the pickle juice, cayenne pepper, white pepper, paprika, mustard powder, and garlic powder. 3) Add the chicken filets to the brine, ensuring they are fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. 4) In a large bowl, prepare the spicy coater by combining the flour, sugar, salt, MSG, baking powder, paprika, white pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard powder, and coarse ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly. 5) In another bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs until fully combined. 6) Preheat the peanut oil to 325°F over medium to medium-high heat. A digital frying thermometer is strongly recommended. 7) Remove one filet from the brine and allow excess liquid to drip off briefly. Transfer to the milk and egg wash, ensuring the entire filet is coated. Lift the filet and allow excess liquid to drip off before placing into the flour mixture. 8) Generously coat the filet in the spicy coater. Using the palm of your hand, firmly press down across the entire surface of the filet. This step compresses the chicken slightly, increases surface area, and helps create the signature textured coating. 9) Carefully place the coated filet into the 325°F oil. Fry for 5–8 minutes, depending on thickness, until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Carryover cooking will bring the chicken to 165°F. 10) Remove the filets and allow them to drain on a wire rack or paper towels. #DishwithDrew #Chickfila #SpicySandwich #FastFoodDupe #RestaurantDupe

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There are only so many ways to make fried chicken, and most of the "expert" versions are slight variations from the same playbook. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay par-bakes his poultry in a buttermilk bath, for example. Most people agree that Chick-fil-A brines its chicken in a pickle juice mixture and incorporates several spicy ingredients in the breading — multiple types of pepper are used — but catch us getting heart-eyes from the unexpected inclusion of baking powder in the flour dredge. Baking powder isn't just for making homemade cakes and breads rise; it also imparts a lovely airiness to the crispy exterior of the chicken filet that may come from a chemical reaction with the hot (peanut) oil in which it's fried.

Here's what is known about the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich: S. Truett Cathy created it in 1964 as a means of using up excess chicken breast filets. The chicken is hand-breaded and fried in peanut oil. The buns are buttered, and the sandwich is crowned with two dill pickle slices (as per Chick-fil-A's own website). That's it, though. The actual complete recipe for the Original Chicken Sandwich currently resides in a secure vault at CFA headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Therefore, no online recipe or employee account can guarantee that you are eating an "authentic" Chick-fil-A sandwich. With that said, these online recipes abound, and we have employee accounts like the aforementioned TikTok. Will they ever be so successful on your table that you can ignore the time that Chick-fil-A breakfast ends and the fact that the drive-thru is closed on Sunday? Well, that's between you and your taste buds.

Baking powder may be just the key that many copycat recipes are missing. Many rely on confectioner's sugar in the flour coating, and quite a few agree on paprika. Other than that, much of the "famous" Chick-fil-A sandwich appears to follow the same assembly instructions as any other fried chicken sandwich. Will we ever know the magic spell that delivers a true-to-life chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A style? Unless the Atlanta vault unexpectedly opens, we're guessing not ... but we're definitely including baking powder in all our continued attempts to crack the mystery.