You’ve probably been brown-bagging sandwiches since kindergarten. But eventually you reach a point when PB&J doesn’t cut it anymore. We asked Todd Ginsberg of Fred’s Meat & Bread and the General Muir to come up with five easy recipes that will have your coworkers drooling.
Grocery list
2 large chicken breasts
4 5-ounce tuna fillets
Wickles pickles (spicy bread and butter)
Duke’s Mayonnaise
1 package Martin’s Potato Rolls
1 loaf Martin’s Potato Bread
Bacon
1 bag Lay’s Potato Chips
Sliced Swiss cheese
Arugula
Avocado
Lemon
Lime
Tomato
Red onion
Romaine hearts
Fresh tarragon
Dijon mustard
Sriracha
Sour cream
Paul Prudhomme Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning
Monday
Fried chicken sandwich
Ingredients:
1 fried chicken breast (recipe below)
Wickles pickles
Duke’s Mayonnaise
1 Martin’s potato roll
Fry your chicken the night before, so it’s cold when you wrap it and won’t get soggy. Lightly butter roll, and toast. Spread mayonnaise on both slices of the roll. Place fried chicken on bottom slice and top with pickles and remaining half of the roll. Wrap in foil.
Fried Chicken
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, deboned but with skin on
1 pint buttermilk
2 Tbsp Sriracha
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Mix buttermilk and Sriracha. Halve chicken breasts. Take the triangular-shaped halves (known as “points”), and if needed, pound flat to ensure even cooking. (You can use the rest of the breasts to make Todd Ginsberg’s chicken salad.) Place chicken points into buttermilk mixture and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Remove chicken from refrigerator, but leave it in the buttermilk. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature, which will ensure that the meat cooks thoroughly before the crust has a chance to burn.
Pour canola oil into a cast-iron pan until the pan is slightly less than half full. Heat oil to 350ºF. Remove chicken from buttermilk and quickly dredge in flour mixture. Place floured chicken on a plate and let sit 3 to 5 minutes. Before adding chicken to pan, turn off heat, then immediately place breasts in oil. Once the oil has stopped bubbling somewhat, turn the flame back on and reheat to 350ºF. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then carefully flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove breasts to a wire rack to cool.
Tuesday
Blackened tuna, avocado, and bacon sandwich with spicy mayo
Ingredients:
1 tuna fillet
Paul Prudhomme Blackened Redfish Magic Seasoning
1 Martin’s potato roll
Handful of arugula
¼ avocado
3 slices bacon, cooked crispy
Spicy mayo (recipe below)
Cook tuna: Place a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. While pan is heating, dredge both sides of tuna in blackening seasoning mix. Firmly press fish into the hot pan, and cook two minutes on each side. Remove from pan, and let rest on a plate.
Assemble sandwich: Lightly butter roll, and toast. Spread spicy mayo on both slices of the bun. Place tuna on the bottom half of bun, then gently smear the fillet with avocado. Add bacon, arugula, and top half of bun. Wrap in foil.
Spicy Mayo
Ingredients:
½ Tbsp Sriracha
Juice and zest of ½ lime
¼ cup Duke’s Mayonnaise
Salt to taste
Mix together all ingredients, adjusting seasoning if needed.
Wednesday
Chicken salad with potato chips and Swiss
Ingredients:
Chicken salad (recipe below)
Handful of Lay’s Potato Chips
Duke’s Mayonnaise
1 leaf romaine
1 slice red onion
2 to 3 slices tomato
2 slices Martin’s Potato Bread
1 to 2 slices Swiss cheese
Spread mayo on each slice of bread. Add cheese to the bottom slice, then spread with a large scoop of chicken salad. Top with onion, tomato, chips, and lettuce. Lightly press sandwich together. Seal in a plastic baggie.
Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 to 2 stalks celery, diced into small chunks
¼ red onion, diced into small chunks
¼ cup parsley, chopped
¼ cup Duke’s Mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook chicken: Halve chicken breasts. Place the larger halves in a pot of cold water, and bring to a slow simmer. Add a little salt to the water. Cook until chicken is cooked through (cut into the breast to check, or wait until a meat thermometer shows the internal temperature has reached 160ºF) then remove from pot, let cool, and refrigerate until chilled.
Dice cooked chicken into medium-sized chunks, and place in a mixing bowl. Add celery, red onion, and parsley. In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and mayo. Combine mayo mixture with other ingredients. Mix well, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Thursday
Confit tuna salad, arugula, and tarragon sandwich
Ingredients:
Tuna confit (recipe below)
Evenly proportioned mix of mayo and sour cream
1 Tbsp sliced tarragon leaves
¼ Tbsp Dijon mustard
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Fresh cracked pepper
1 handful arugula
2 to 3 whole tarragon leaves
2 slices Martin’s Potato Bread
Prepare tuna: In a mixing bowl, combine confit tuna, sliced tarragon, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and zest, and a couple spoonfuls of mayo mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble sandwich: Place arugula on the bottom slice of bread, then evenly spread with a large scoop of tuna mixture. Crack a little fresh pepper over the mixture, then top with some of the whole tarragon leaves and the second slice of bread. Seal in a plastic baggie.
Tuna Confit
Ingredients:
2 5-ounce tuna fillets
Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
Fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme
Season tuna with salt and pepper. Place tuna in a pot filled with just enough water to cover the fish. Cook over low heat until tuna flakes. Remove from water, and place in a bowl. Add enough olive oil to cover fish, plus 1 clove garlic and other herbs (rosemary or thyme work nicely, but you can use whatever you have in your garden). Refrigerate overnight or up to five days. When ready to make your sandwich, remove tuna from the oil and strain for a few minutes.
Friday
Bacon club
Ingredients:
2 slices Martin’s Potato Bread
For the rest, just add as much as you want (or have leftover):
Bacon
Lay’s Potato Chips
Lettuce
Onion
Tomato
Swiss cheese
Mayo or spicy mayo
Avocado
Chicken or tuna salad
Pile it all on.
This article originally appeared in our November 2016 issue.
