Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·Leave a Review

Juicy crispy fried chicken thigh, sweet & spicy mayo with huge garlic punch, crisp fluffy shreds of iceberg lettuce, and a thick pile of dill pickle rounds sandwiched between a soft pub bun. Can it get much better than this?

Everyone has their go-to favorite order. Mine is the fried chicken sandwich. If it's on the menu, that's what I'm getting. Hands down. I grew up eating my chicken strips with honey, but when I got older, I fell in love with hot buffalo sauce. I marry these two components in my spicy garlic honey mayonnaise spread. This one has got an in-your-face garlic punch. I hope you can keep up!

Read on for all the loving details, or jump right down to the recipe card. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Featured Ingredients

Read below for some important information about a few of the ingredients used to make this delicious fried chicken sandwich.

All the ingredients to make fried chicken sandwiches.

Chicken - This recipe will use thighs instead of breasts. I love using the thigh because the darker meat stays so tender and all the nooks and crannies left from removing the bones are perfect for holding extra crunchy bits! Don't ignore any of the folds when you bread the chicken.
Oil - You will probably use a quart of oil, maybe a bit more. You'll need enough to fully submerge the chicken. It may not look like enough when you are warming it up, but after adding the chicken it will bubble and disperse around them. New USDA standards now recommend olive oil for deep frying as well. I like to stick by this option to, at least, have a tiny hold on a healthier choice even though we're talking fried chicken here!
Buttermilk - Buttermilk and chicken are a classic pairing. The enzymes in the milk tenderize the chicken without breaking it down into a mushy texture. The rich buttery flavor in combination with the seasonings creates a mouthwatering effect.
Lettuce - I prefer super crunchy iceberg lettuce that compliments the crispiness of the fried chicken as well as adds moisture to the sandwich overall. For this sandwich, I go with shredded instead of whole leaves. And while I don't like to promote bagged lettuce or salads, the pre-shredded bags of iceberg are hard to beat for the thinnest fluffiest lettuce shreds you can get.

Tools for the job

Cutting board
Knife or kitchen shears
Paper towels
Mallet or rolling pin (optional)
Plastic bag or plastic wrap (optional)
Measuring cups and spoons
Non-reactive medium bowl, small bowl
Shallow pan or pie pan
Tongs, whisk, spatula
Large pot (4+ quarts) or deep fryer
Thermometer

In detail – how to make this dish

First, start with the chicken because it will need to marinate for a while. In a non-reactive container add the buttermilk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and set aside to prepare the chicken.
On a cutting board, lay out some paper towels, and then place the chicken thighs on top. With more paper towels soak up any moisture on the chicken. Dispose of the paper towels.
Using a sharp knife or my favorite tool, kitchen shears, trim off any excess fat. Also, look and feel for bone fragments that can sometimes be left from deboning the thighs. I like to pull open any extra folds within the thigh so the marinade and flour dredge have lots of real estate to hold on to. It creates so much crunch!
(Optional step) When all the thighs have been trimmed up, it's time to pound them out thinner. One by one lay them on the cutting board with plastic wrap over (or inside a large Ziploc bag) the top and hit them with a meat mallet or rolling pin until they are a bit thinner and more even. You can skip this step if you like, and just have a thicker sandwich. That's what I prefer!
When the chicken is prepared, add it to the buttermilk marinade and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
Next prepare the spicy garlic honey mayonnaise. Mince the garlic and drag the knife over the top of the mince until the garlic starts to look translucent. In a small bowl add the garlic, mayonnaise, honey, and hot sauce. Use any brands you like, but I cannot say enough good things about Duke's mayonnaise and Cholula hot sauce. The longer this sits, the better. Assemble the mayo sauce at least 30 minutes before serving, but it's best to do it when the chicken goes into the marinade.
When it's time to fry the chicken, prepare the flour dredge. In a shallow dish or pie pan add the flour and seasonings and stir well to combine.
Pick each thigh out of the marinade with tongs, and without scraping off any marinade, dredge each thigh individually in the seasoned flour. Push it around and sprinkle more of the flour all over to make sure it gets into every nook and cranny. Set aside while you bread the rest of the chicken.
In a deep fryer or large pot, add the cooking oil and warm to 350°. Test the readiness of the oil by dropping a pinch of flour into the oil. If it sizzles and bubbles immediately, the oil is probably ready. Using tongs, slowly drop 1-3 thighs, depending on the size of the pot, one by one into the hot oil until they are fully submerged. Stir a bit to make sure they are not stuck together. Fry until the chicken thighs temp at 175° to 190°. In my deep fryer, this took about 6-7 minutes. Drain the chicken on paper towels. If you do not have a thermometer, poke the chicken in a place you can see the flesh and look for the juices that come out. They should be yellowish-clear; no pink at all. Fry a few more minutes if you need to.
While the chicken is frying, get out the spicy garlic honey mayonnaise, plain mayonnaise, pickles, and lettuce. Spread a thin layer of plain mayonnaise (or butter) on each side of the bun and toast. This layer helps to keep the moisture from seeping into the bun and making it soggy.
(I forgot to do this for the pictures and I can tell you, it really makes a difference when you do!)
To assemble the sandwiches, spread a thick layer of spicy garlic honey mayonnaise on the top bun. Pile a large handful of shredded lettuce onto the bottom bun and lay the chicken on the lettuce. Top with pickle slices and the top bun.
Serve the fried chicken sandwich with a side of potato salad or crunchy potato chips.

fried chicken sandwich cut in half and stacked on top of itself.

See the recipe below to make this amazing fried chicken sandwich and leave a comment about what you think!