Mexican Fried Chicken Sandwiches with my buddy Aaron Alterman

Mexican Fried Chicken Sandwich

To make the sauce, toast the Chile guajillo & Arbol Chile in a dry skillet on medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Make sure not to burn them. Add to a large bowl once toasted & soak in boiling water for 15-20 minutes.

Add the onion and garlic to a skillet with 1 tablespoon oil, cook until onion is softened, almost translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, cook it for 1 minute, then add in the two tomatoes and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white vinegar.

To blend the sauce, remove the stems from the rehydrated dried Chiles, add to blender along with all the cooked veggies. Add 1 cup of the Chile water, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano & blend until smooth.

To marinate the chicken thighs, add them to a large bowl with the butter milk, 1/4 cup of the Chile guajillo sauce, mix to combine well and marinade at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 8 hours in the fridge.

To assemble the chicken, get one bowl with flour and one bowl with the masa, season the masa with garlic powder, onion powder & paprika.

Pass the chicken thighs through the flour, then the buttermilk mixture then the masa mixture. Repeat with all the chicken.

To fry the chicken, you can use two methods: Deep Frying at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. OR you can get a large frying pan with oil and shallow fry the chicken until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes per side.

To assemble the chicken sandwiches, add the Chile Sauce to a saucepan to warm up on medium heat, then reduce the heat to low, add the cold butter in chunks to emulsify the sauce and give it that slight Buffalo sauce feel.

Toast up the buns, slather the bottom with bun with mayo, coat each chicken piece in the sauce and place it on the bottom bun, top with the jalapeño cole slaw, pickled red onions, top of off with the other bun & enjoy! 

Add all the ingredients (except the cabbage) to a food processor or blender, pulse/blend to combine.

Thinly slice/shred the cabbage, add it to a large bowl & mix with about 1/2 cup of the cream cheese jalapeño mixture(use more if you want a creamier/saucier consistency)