DENNY’S BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICH

Denny’s menu is filled with tasty choices for grub way past breakfast time. One such item is this chicken sandwich built with grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, Cheddar cheese, crispy onion rings, and a secret sweet hickory spread. That hickory spread is one of the ingredients that makes this sandwich special. So the clone is here, and it requires an ingredient called hickory salt. You can find this blend of salt and hickory flavoring in the spice section from Spice Islands under the name “Old Hickory Smoked Salt.” If you can’t find that stuff, just substitute with ⅛ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon liquid hickory smoke. For even more flavor, Denny’s serves the sandwich with a small dish of barbecue sauce that tastes remarkably similar to Bull’s-Eye Original, so that’s what we’ll use. While homemade crunchy onion rings are the way to go for a true clone, you can certainly shortcut this step by using the canned French’s French Fried Onions found in practically every supermarket.

MAKES 2 SANDWICHES

INGREDIENTS:

SWEET HICKORY SPREAD:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup molasses
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• ⅛ teaspoon hickory salt

CRUNCHY ONION RINGS:

• 1 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups canola oil

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets
• Vegetable oil
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2 sesame seed hamburger buns
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 leaves green leaf lettuce
• 4 tomato slices
• 2 slices Cheddar cheese

ON THE SIDE:

• Bull’s-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare sweet hickory spread by melting 3 tablespoons butter over medium/low heat. Add 1 cup minced onion and saute for 7 to 10 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Add 2 teaspoons flour and stir until the flour is mixed in. Let this cook for a minute or two, then add molasses, water, vinegar, and hickory salt. Simmer sauce for 3 to 4 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and cover.
2. Make the crunchy onion rings by pouring milk into a large bowl. Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in another bowl. Dip onions in flour mixture first, then into milk and back into flour. Arrange all of the coated rings to a plate to rest while you heat up 2 cups canola oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat (you can also use a deep fryer for this step, just use the amount of oil required by the fryer manufacturer and set the temperature to 375 degrees). Test the oil by dropping in a pinch of flour. It should bubble. When the oil is hot, fry a handful of onion rings at a time in the oil until golden brown (3 to 5 minutes). Drain them on paper towels. (See Tidbits.)
3. To cook the chicken, preheat a skillet or griddle pan over medium heat. Pound your chicken with a kitchen mallet so that it has a uniform thickness of about ½ inch (it will plump a bit as you cook it), then trim any excess meat away that would hang off the sandwich. Rub each chicken breast with some canola oil, then sprinkle each breast with salt and a pinch of pepper Grill chicken breast fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side until done.
4. As your chicken cooks, spread a little melted butter on the faces of your two hamburger buns and toast the faces of the buns on another skillet or griddle set to medium heat until light brown.
5. Build each sandwich by first spreading some of the sweet hickory spread on the face of the bottom bun.
6. Tear a leaf of green leaf lettuce to fit on the bottom bun.
7. Arrange two tomato slices on the lettuce on each sandwich.
8. Stack the grilled chicken breast on the tomato slices.
9. Place a slice of Cheddar on the chicken breast on each sandwich.
10. Stack a handful of crunchy onion rings on the sandwich, then top the sandwich off with the crown bun. Serve with a small bowl of barbecue sauce on the side.