Inspired by and better than the ultra-busy, fast-food chain’s chicken sandwich, this recipe can utilize any upland species
Every Chick-fil-A I drive by—no matter the hour—has cars waiting at the drive-thru stretched around the parking lot.
I have grabbed a biscuit, and perhaps a sandwich, at the Wichita airport, as it’s the only fast-food restaurant available in that terminal. If I’m being honest, I have to agree with my wife when she said, “I don’t understand all the hubbub.”
Maybe it’s because the employees are always so polite?
That said, many folks love Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches, and “Chukar-fil-A” just flows off the tongue. Plus, I had several chukars collecting frost in the freezer. So I went after work the other evening to collect samples to copycat their recipe, but for wild birds. Overall, I may have failed, because this recipe tastes better than the stale, cold, bland sandwiches the company slinging.
There isn’t much a of a secret to the recipe. It’s pickle juice and buttermilk for a marinade. Because Chick-fil-A sandwiches, as I understand, don’t come with sauce unless you ask, the drippings from freshly fried breasts provide the necessary moisture and flavor. You want a thin layer of oil in the skillet so you can lightly salt and pepper the top side of chukar breast when frying. Also, be careful not to the crowd pan—no more than three breasts in a large skillet when frying—as doing so will create too much moisture and soften exterior of fried breasts.
Note: before frying your breasts, coat all in flour (after marinating for a minimum 2 hours), shaking off any heavy excess clumps, and set on a plate, ready to go in the skillet, rather than doing each breast by hand then putting into the oil. I rinse and dry my hands after each breast, as the moisture from my hands would create lumps in flour and we don’t want that.
Finally, you can indeed make this recipe with any upland bird breast. The number of breasts will vary based on size. You ideally want 5-6 ounces of meat per sandwich. For your larger birds like pheasant, you may wish to pound out the breast to flatten it. You could even use quail, but you’d need several per sandwich. And, yes, you can use your red-flesh birds like your prairie grouse and sharptails.
Enjoy the recipe? All I have to say: “My pleasure.” Reach out with any comments on Instagram @wildgamejack
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