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THE Popeyes Chicken Sandwich is officially back at Popeyes TODAY!! To celebrate, I am re-making the sandwich for all of us that don’t really feel like dealing with the mosh pit of people just to get one.
You eat a lot of chicken sandwiches in your life. But this is truly one that stops you in your tracks and lingers in your mind long after you eat it. It’s amazing. It’s brilliant. It makes me so happy and this version is just as amazing if not better than the original.
The first time I tried this sandwich was in May of this year. I don’t go to Popeye’s often, but there is one literally two blocks from our new house we are renovating. It’s so close you can literally smell the fried chicken when you are standing in front of my home. Dear lord, how will I ever survive this new life? So I accidentally stumbled upon the sandwich while I was waiting to meet our contractor and had 30 minutes to kill (naturally I went to grab some nugs.) I decided to veer from the norm and try this instead after seeing the juicy photo plastered on the window *insert screeching brake sound*. (Months later when this went viral, I realized this was being tested at select Popeye’s in Atlanta.)
I was seriously shocked at how delicious it was. It easily beat out the Po’ Boy by a long shot. I think the craze behind this is insane, and I am not one to stand in a 45 minute line to get this sandwich again. However, I do think this actually commands the respect it has been receiving. As much as I love Chick-Fil-A, this beats it without question. You cannot argue that! So if you would prefer to make your own version at home until the buzz goes dies down, I’ve created a great recipe to try!
There are a few key things you may want to know in advance of making this recipe:
- A candy thermometer is extremely important so you can monitor and adjust the oil temperature as you go. You may be a master at frying chicken, but if you are like me, the thermometer will come sooo much in handy
- Keep a spider/skimmer on hand as well to skim out all the fallen breading before it burns in your grease
- It’s ideal if you marinate the chicken at least the night before, but the full 24 hours is so ideal
- Let’s talk spices – the better quality, the better this dish (and all dishes) will turn out. I love Penzey’s spices and I am starting to buy those slowly when my cheaper versions run out. They aren’t even more expensive, they are just less accessible as they aren’t at grocery stores.
If you are remaking this recipe, please feel free to share your photos on IG and tag @badbatchbaking or use hashtag #badbatchbaking
Looking for other copycat recipes?
McDonald’s Chicken McGriddle Copycat Recipe
Chicken Alfredo Pizza Fritta Olive Garden Copycat Recipe
Nashville Hot Chicken Nuggets Cheesecake Factory Recipe
KFC Chicken Littles Copycat Recipe
Popeyes Famous Chicken Sandwich Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
- 2 chicken breasts pounded and cut in half to sandwich size
- 1 cup full-fat buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon paprika cayenne, sea salt, pepper
- 1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
Chicken Breading & Frying
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- 1.5 tablespoons paprika
- 1.5 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1.5 tablespoons onion powder
- 1.5 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 1.5 tablespoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground pepper
Spicy Mayo & Assembly
- 3/4 cup mayo Duke's preferred
- 2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 Brioche buns
- Kosher dill pickle slices
Instructions
- 4-24 hours before serving, marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, add the buttermilk and all marinade ingredients. Mix well. Place the prepared pounded chicken breasts into the marinade, be sure it's fully submerged. Cover tightly and refrigerate.
- Prepare the spicy mayo by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl; mayo, hot sauce, paprika, Cajun, cayenne and garlic powder. Cover and set aside in the fridge to allow time for the flavors to meld together while frying.
Breading & Frying:
- In a heavy duty pot, heat oil to 350 degrees. While the oil is heating, prepare a landing destination for the finished chicken. I use a wire cooling rack with paper towels lined below it to catch any drippings.
- Prepare the dry flour mixture by combining all the breading ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove the chicken marinade from fridge, scoop 1/3 cup of the marinade liquid and add it into the flour mixture. Use a fork to mix the liquid into the flour mixture.
- Remove the chicken one at a time from the marinade and pat excess moisture with paper towels before placing in the flour mixture. Coat chicken thoroughly with flour mixture, adding more marinade liquid as needed. Place the chicken into the oil, frying for 4-6 minutes. Remove the chicken and place onto lined baking sheet. Let the chicken rest for a few moments, then return to the fry oil for another minute. (Double dipping in the oil creates extra crispiness!)
Prepare the sandwich:
- In a pan or cast iron skillet, heat to medium. Once hot, add the butter and place both sides of the buns face down into the buttered surface. Toast until edges of the buns are buttery crisp.
- Assemble the sandwich: generously add spicy mayo to both sides of the buns. Add 4 pickle slices to bottom bun, add chicken breast and place top bun. Enjoy!
Where did the recipe go? I’ve been making this recipe for years, and it’s delicious. However, I pulled up my pin a few weeks ago & the recipe has disappeared. Can you repost it? Thanks.
Hi Valerie – thankfully it has been restored. I had an issue with my recipe plugin that deleted several of my recipes but thankfully we fixed it!
Thanks for reposting. You made my entire family’s day!
I keep looking and can’t find your recipe on here just that you recommend using a candy thermometer maybe I’m blind lol
Hi Amy – thankfully this was just a plugin bug and we were able to get all these restored! It’s back up there now.
Actually 4.5 stars. I’m mainly looking for the sauce copycat. I’ve tried a few and this is by the closest. In fact, it is close enough to where I think I can improve on it and do better than the original. Thanks much.
Thank you for your feedback!! So glad you enjoyed it
Love this amazing and delicious chicken sandwich recipe. This is totally new thing for me. Thank you for sharing it.
Made it last night and it was fantastic. Chicken was tender and juicy. Sauce was tasty but I had to kick up the heat a little more with more hot sauce. Can’t wait to make it again.
I have a deep fryer and I find I have to keep it in for more like 15 minutes than 5 minutes, otherwise the chicken doesn’t cook.
This sounds amazing! I’ve heard so much about the popeyes chicken sandwich and I love po’ boys. The bun can make all the difference, do you have a favorite or suggestion? Thanks for sharing!
Can you use thin sliced chicken breast for this
Hi Lora, you certainly can, I would just make sure they aren’t too thin. Some brands like Perdue make them paper thin and that won’t work. If it’s the thickness of a halved chicken breast, that’s perfect! Enjoy 🙂
Spot on.
Is there such thing as full fat buttermilk? Can’t seem to find it. Only 2% or low-fat 😭
Haha there is such a thing lol they have it at the Kroger in my neighborhood. But it may be hard to find. As I mention to you in my IG message, it’s perfectly fine to use whatever you can find and it’ll still turn out fantastic. It’s just my preference, the richer the better. I’m excited you’re making this, I can’t wait to see the results.