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In our ongoing effort to eat a more healthy, whole, unprocessed diet, there are certain things we really miss. One of them is deli meat. My family absolutely loves cold cuts and occasionally we buy them, but really… The nitrates, the over abundance of sodium, the fillers… yuck. So, when I had a craving for a chicken sandwich from the deli, I tried to recreate it at home. Here’s what I did:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- dried herbs and spices: I used basil, parsley, oregano, chile powder and paprika
- condiment of your choice: I used the sriracha mayo from the other day
- thinly sliced tomato
- cheese: I used sliced swiss
- lettuce: I used mixed baby greens
- bread: Publix had 100% whole wheat bagel flats BOGO, so that’s what we used. Yes, they’re processed, but they have no HFCS and they’re 100% whole wheat, so we used them
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat a non stick pan to med high heat.
Open the chicken and while it’s still in the package, uncovered, sprinkle the herbs and spices on top.
Add the chicken to the pan, seasoned side down and let it sear for about 3-4 minutes. Season the other side, flip and again, let it sear for 3-4 minutes.
Transfer to a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
When the chicken is done, allow it to cool before attempting to slice it. We’re going to slice it as thin as possible to resemble deli meat.
Using a fork, a very sharp knife and being very patient – slice your chicken breasts as thin as possible. If there is any fat on your slices, trim it off. There’s nothing worse than biting into a sandwich and getting unexpected pieces of fat.
I only slice off what I’m going to use immediately and put the rest in a sealed container and refrigerate. That helps to keep the moisture in.
I don’t own a toaster because I threw it out ofter the hundredth time that my family didn’t clean it after using it. Fortunately, you don’t need a toaster, just a pan. I used a non stick pan on high heat. The bread will toast beautifully. Toast to your liking.
Start building your sandwich, put the condiment, meat, tomato (I always salt the tomato at this point),
cheese and lettuce. Slice the sandwich in half just so you can see all the yummy goodness inside.
The dried herbs that we seared onto the meat in the beginning give it to much flavor, I promise you will not miss the deli. Especially the deli price.
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