Cilantro Grilled Chicken Sandwich

If perfection had a flavor...

It's the herb you either love or hate, the great cilantro. This recipe is very long overdue. I finally had a bunch of cilantro in my fridge. I managed to use it for this recipe before it all went bad. I have mentioned on this blog about the best-grilled chicken sandwich ever that I had on Prince street in New York. It was our spot after we did our nails at Marie Nails. I finally recreated it, and it is epic. If you don't like cilantro, I'm shocked that you are still reading, no need to continue. 

The sandwich has a few components, the marinated chicken, the Texas toast, a sweet cilantro garlic mayo, a light salad made from fresh cilantro and romaine, and the smoked white cheddar. One would think it would be a cilantro overkill, but I tell you it was not. Cilantro pretty much behaves differently in each application, and the intensity of flavor varies between the mayo, having it fresh, and grilled on the chicken.

 The Texas toast using brioche is on a whole level of yummy all on its own. God bless the day Price Smart started carrying brioche bread.  I highly recommend using smoked cheese with a strong flavor for this recipe. I smoked my own extra sharp white cheddar for this. If all you can get is smoked gouda then mix cheeses. Buy a smoked gouda and mix it with the extra sharp white cheddar. That way, you get both strong cheese flavor along with smokiness. The sweet, garlicky mayo, with the brioche's sweetness and the sharp smoked cheese, the juicy chicken? I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this sandwich. Like I said if perfection had a flavor, this would be it.

 The recipe makes one sandwich with leftover chicken. My cousin and I had this sandwich together. We stood over it and marveled with each bite at all the flavors just hitting left and right. This recipe is so good. If you don't like cilantro, I don't know what to tell you; there is no substitution for cilantro; it was made for this sandwich.

 

Ingredients (printable recipe)

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast butterflied
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin ground 
1 teaspoon Coriander ground

Cilantro oil
1 bunch cilantro stems
¼ cup oil
Sweet Cilantro garlic mayo
¼ cup mayo
1 glove garlic shredded
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon honey
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Texas toast
2 slices brioche or other thick bread
2 tablespoon garlic butter
2 teaspoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oil
additions
½ cup shredded Smoked white cheddar
½ cup shredded romaine lettuce
¼ cup cilantro leaves

 

Instructions

For the chicken

• Wash pat dry and butterfly the chicken breasts
• season with salt sugar, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and cumin set aside to marinate for at least an hour, overnight best
• Blend cilantro and oil, pour over marinated chicken and set aside to come to room temperature before grilling
• in a bowl mix the mayo, garlic, cilantro honey, and black pepper set aside in the refrigerator
• Heat the grill to smoking hot, grill the chicken apx 3-4 minutes per side, remove from the grill and set aside to rest

For Texas Toast

• In another bowl, mix the garlic butter, oil, and parmesan cheese
• preheat oven to 375 and heat up the sheet pan
• butter the bread with the garlic butter parmesan mixture, place on the hot sheet pan and put in the oven to bake for 5 minutes
• after 5 minutes, flip the bread so the toasted side faces up, add cheese to both slices and return to the oven for another 5 minutes for the bread to toast and the cheese to melt

To assemble to sandwich

• assemble by first placing chicken onto a slice of toast, then cilantro mayo, and the fresh cilantro sala. finish with the cheesy Texas toast

Greedy tips:

• To butterfly the chicken breast, you need a sharp knife. Lay the chicken breast flat on the cutting board. Using one hand, hold the chicken breast firm against the cutting board and slide the blade halfway through, stopping just before cutting it in half. Open the chicken breast flat, the two halves should still be connected. You can also pound out the chicken breast, but I prefer a butterflied chicken breast to a breast pounded thin.
• For the best garlic herb butter recipe, click here. If you don't have garlic butter use regular butter with a little fresh garlic shredded into it.

Xoxo Greedygirl