Fried Chicken Sandwich with Olive Tapenade and Feta-Dill Sauce

Your cheat day is here and our friend @emmyeatsitall has just the thing to help you live your best life now: a fried chicken sandwich with olive tapenade and feta-dill sauce. I know, your mind is blown. Mine was too at first. I’m speaking from experience here when I tell you that once you’ve wrapped your head around all the rich flavors you get in one easy to make sandwich, you’ll start to understand why this is the only sandwich you’ll want to eat until we can come up with a better one.  But who knows if that will ever happen. So go grab your ingredients and start frying. 

Hot Tip: For the health conscious folks (or if you just don’t feel like frying chicken today) you can easily substitute a grilled or baked chicken breast/cutlet without losing out on the best things this amazing sandwich has to offer.

Follow @emmyeatsitall and @stargazercastiron on Instagram and check the recipes on stargazercastiron.com for more great cast iron skillet recipes.

THE INGREDIENTS

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half to make two chicken breast cutlets
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 tsp paprika 
• 1 cup canola oil (or other high heat frying oil ex: vegetable, avocado, peanut, grapeseed)
• ½ cup green olives
• ½ black olives
• ½ kalamata olives, seedless
• 1 tbsp capers
• 4 cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup roasted red peppers
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise 
• ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper
• 4 kaiser rolls

THE STEPS

1. Crack your eggs in a bowl large enough for dredging your chicken breast cutlets, add the milk and whisk thoroughly. In a separate, larger bowl add your all purpose flour, salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper and 2 tsp of paprika and mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. For each piece of chicken, dip into the egg, coating thoroughly, then dredge in the seasoned flour mixture until fully coated. Repeat this process twice for each piece of chicken. Set the breaded chicken aside.
2. On the stove top, add the canola oil to your large Stargazer Cast Iron skillet and preheat on low heat for 10 minutes before gradually turning the heat up to medium. Use a thermometer to monitor your oil temperature and maintain it around 365°F. 
3. While your oil is preheating, combine the green olives, black olives, kalamata olives, capers, garlic and roasted red peppers in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, add your sour cream, mayonnaise, feta cheese, lemon juice, fresh dill, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, remaining paprika, and remaining black pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.
5. Once your oil temperature reaches 365°F on your thermometer, carefully and gently drop two of the breaded chicken cutlets into the oil. Fry on each side for approximately 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove and put in the oven at 200° F to keep warm. Repeat the process for the other two chicken cutlets. Please Note: Oil temperature is vital for frying food. If the oil is too cool, your chicken won’t cook through. If your oil is too hot, you will burn your breading before the chicken is cooked through. Be sure to let your oil temperature recover to 365°F before adding the second two chicken cutlets to the oil.
6. Slice your 4 kaiser rolls in half (toast if desired) and build your sandwiches. Start with a generous layer of the olive tapenade on the bottom half of your kaiser roll, then add a chicken cutlet on top of that, then another thin layer of olive tapenade before topping it all off with a healthy serving of the feta-dill sauce and, finally, the top half of the kaiser roll. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 4 sandwiches