The first is inspired by the Sunset Grille.
Sunset Grille is on the water at Florida's western state line. They are located at the marina from where we used to leave for fishing trips. When the boat got back to Holiday Harbor, we'd always get lunch at Sunset Grille. The food is typical grill fare with some seafood items thrown in. Its name comes from the spectacular view that it gets at sunset.
Trevor always gets the 1/2 lb Sunset burger and one of my favorites is their blackened chicken sandwich with slaw.
My version of their blackened chicken sandwich is done on the grill and I made a Cajun style slaw. I threw in a side of sweet potato fries and a cilantro lime mayo.
Blackened Chicken Sandwich with Cajun Slaw
by
Ingredients (4 sandwiches)
- 4 chicken cutlets
- 4 kaiser rolls
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
- 1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/4 green or red bell pepper, thin julienne sliced
- 1/4 sweet onion, thin julienne sliced
- 1/4 c mayonnaise
- 1 T cider vinegar
- 1 tsp blackening seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
Instructions
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together.
- Make the slaw. Put the cabbage, bell pepper, and onion in a bowl. Whisk the remaining ingredients together, pour over the veggies and toss to coat. I like to add a little of the dressing at a time until I get the consistency that I want. This works best if you can make ahead and refrigerate it for 2-3 hours before eating.
- Preheat a charcoal grill with a cast iron skillet or griddle plate to 450f.
- Brush buns lightly with butter and toast until browned, about 15-30 seconds. Set aside.
- Drizzle just enough of the melted butter (about 1 Tbsp) over the chicken breasts to lightly coat. Season with 1/2 of the dry rub.
- Ladle a few tablespoons of the butter onto the hot griddle and place the cutlets onto the griddle seasoned side down. (Note: The butter may smoke a LOT. Don't worry, that's why we do it outside, just don't spill butter on the flames or it will flame up.) Cook until the edges of the cutlets start to turn white, about 3-5 minutes.
- Ladle the remaining butter over the chicken and season with the remaining dry rub. Flip and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 155-160f, about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove and serve on toasted buns with the slaw.
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You have options on the chicken. You can buy split boneless, skinless breasts, cut them in half lengthwise and pound them with a mallet.
Or for just $.50 more a pound, you can just buy chicken cutlets. For me it just depends if I am feeling lazy or not.
Stupid Bun Tricks
When I'm using a chimney starter to fire up Kingsford briquets for my Smoke Hollow grill, after the smoke is cleared, I'll put a GrillGrate over the chimney and "power toast" my buns, just 10 seconds or so each.
Another thing I like to do sometimes is mince cilantro and red pepper and add it to olive oil for brushing the buns. It gives a pop of color and adds flavor.
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| Season heavily, the seasoning, butter, and hot cast iron will form a "crust" that is the blackening. |
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| Set up for a standard grill - cast iron griddle or skillet will work. |
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| On my Big Green Egg, I used the griddle insert for my Craycort grate system. |
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| Visual cues - I know it's time to flip when I can see "white" creeping up the sides of the sizzling breasts. |
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| This cook can be smoky and messy. That's why we do it on the grill instead of in the kitchen. |
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| It may be a "side dish" but for me, slaw is more of a condiment. |
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| My blackened chicken is better than theirs...but I can't beat their view! |
Do you have a favorite "vacation restaurant" and if so, what is it?
