Chicken Sliders Sandwich with spicy Lake Sauce

Spicy Lake Sauce and Chicken Sliders Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon capers, smashed

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1/4 cup chili sauce

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• 5-6 heavy dashes Tabasco sauce

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 scallion finely chopped

• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients, refrigerate. Keeps well in refrigerator. 

Pickle Brined, Fried Chicken Thigh Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 jar sliced pickles, with brine

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed to be slightly larger than bun, not too thick

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

• vegetable or canola oil for frying

• 6-8 soft fresh hamburger buns or potato rolls, lightly warmed or toasted

• Dill pickles for topping (we like Vlasic Zesty Dill spears, sliced diagonally)

Directions

Pour 3/4 cup pickle juice out of pickle jar into a cup.

Trim the chicken to remove any extra fat and cut up to be slightly larger than your buns. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a zip-lock bag. Pour in pickle juice. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Work the brine into the chicken turning a couple of times. Refrigerate and let chicken soak in pickle juice at least 1 hour, better if overnight. Turn again, at least once.

When ready to fry, remove chicken from bag and discard pickle juice. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.

Pour buttermilk into a medium bowl. Add flour and 1 tablespoon pepper to a second bowl. Drizzle about  2 or 3 tablespoons of buttermilk to the second bowl and work it into the flour with your fingertips. This creates different textures in the flour and lends itself to a craggy looking, crunchy crust. 

Working with one piece at a time, add the chicken to the buttermilk tossing to coat, remove chicken from buttermilk, allowing the excess to drip off. Add chicken to bowl with flour and flip, pressing it down firmly until a thick, layer of flour has stuck to the chicken. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

Heat oil in a deep cast iron skillet, or Dutch oven to 425°F. Carefully lower chicken pieces into the hot oil; temperature will drop. Adjust flame to maintain a temperature of between 300 and 350°F. Cook without moving until well browned on first side, about 2-4 minutes. Flip chicken carefully using tongs and cook until second side is browned and chicken is fully cooked, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate. With dark meat, an internal temperature of 170 deg. f is done without being overcooked. 

Heat buns and slather both insides with generous amount of lake sauce then add lots of pickles to the bottom. Top with fried chicken. Serve immediately.

 Urban Cowgill 2019 (Updated 2025)