Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwiches Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 30, 2018
20130522-253268-sweet-and-spicy-chicken-sandwiches.jpg
Joshua Bousel

I'm usually a chicken breast sandwich naysayer, but I challenge anyone to say a bad word about these grilled chicken sandwiches with a sweet and spicy glaze, salty bacon, and provolone on a buttered and toasted bun.

Adapted from Chris Lilly for Kingsford.

Recipe Details

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken Sandwiches Recipe

Prep 30 mins
Cook 30 mins
Active 75 mins
Rest Time 20 mins
Total 80 mins
Serves 4 servings
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Ingredients

For the Brine:

  • 2 quarts cold water

  • 1/3 cup kosher salt

  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 4 breast boneless chicken breasts

For the Barbecue Glaze:

  • 3/4 cup ketchup

  • 1/4 cup apple juice

  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar

  • 3 tablespoons jalapeño jam

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons molasses

  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Bacon Rub:

  • 1 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder

  • 1/8 teaspoon cumin

  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 6 slices thick-cut bacon

To Assemble:

  • 4 slices provolone cheese

  • 4 potato rolls

  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened

  • 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced

  • 4 leaves red leaf lettuce, washed and dried

Directions

  1. Place one chicken breast in a resealable plastic bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat pounder, rolling pin, or small skillet, pound chicken breast into an even thickness about 3/4-inches in height. Repeat with remaining 3 breasts.

  2. To make the brine: In a medium bowl whisk together water, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar until solids are dissolved. Place chicken breasts in brine and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken back in fridge until ready to grill.

  3. To make the glaze: Whisk together ketchup, apple juice, cider vinegar, jalapeño jam, maple syrup, honey, dark brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

  4. To make the bacon rub: Mix together sugar, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne in a small bowl. Lay bacon out on a plate and sprinkle with rub on both side.

  5. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Lay bacon on cool side of the grill, cover, and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove to a plate and break bacon strips in half.

  6. Place chicken over hot side of grill and cook until well browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until second side is browned. Move chicken to cool side of grill and brush all over with barbecue glaze. Top each chicken breast with one slice of provolone cheese. Cover and continue to cook until cheese has melted and meat register 160°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of breast, about 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

  7. Lightly butter cut sides of potato rolls. Place rolls over hot side of grill, cut side down, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute; transfer to a tray. Top each bun with a chicken breast, tomato, onion, lettuce, and bacon and serve immediately with remaining barbecue glaze.

Special equipment

grill

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
895 Calories
27g Fat
106g Carbs
58g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 895
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g 35%
Saturated Fat 12g 62%
Cholesterol 154mg 51%
Sodium 7094mg 308%
Total Carbohydrate 106g 38%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 65g
Protein 58g
Vitamin C 21mg 103%
Calcium 382mg 29%
Iron 5mg 28%
Potassium 1085mg 23%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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