Chicken Club Sandwich w/ Chipotle Mayo

I love to look at food blogs, but I don't necessarily want to be seeing a new gourmet recipe every time I log onto my computer and see my blog roll.  Sometimes it is nice to see something simple that inspires me to use the things I already have in my refrigerator.  That was the case with this recipe.  There aren't a lot of measurements, hello, it's just a sandwich.  But let me tell you, this was one ah-ma-zing sandwich.  A little bit of spice, the cool avocados to help that out, and a healthy balance of lean chicken with fatty bacon!  My only complaint was that the sandwich was too tall to fit in my mouth!  It was a pretty messy dinner, so if I make this in the future, I will definitely be pounding out and flattening my chicken breasts to make for easier eating! 

Start by making the chipotle mayo that will go on top of the sandwich.  If you haven't used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce before, give them a try.  They are a smoky, barbeque-like jalapeno pepper.  I use them in a great beef roast for tacos (I'll post that someday...)  The only problem is that I rarely use the whole can.  I either cover the can and put the extras in the fridge or you can freeze them in a Ziploc bag and just break off the amount you need in the future.  If only I had that much freezer space! 

Place 1-2 chipotle peppers with 1/2 cup of mayonaisse in a small food processor.  Add an extra spoonful of the great sauce from the can.  You cannot mess this up I promise!  Run the processor until there aren't any large chunks of chipotle left.  Set aside.

At this point I cooked the bacon and the chicken at the same time.  I cooked the bacon on medium-low on the stove top and grilled the chicken on the trusty Foreman.  While both of these were cooking I put together a tray of the toppings!

After the bacon is cooked place it on a paper towel lined plate and keep some of the drippings in the pan to toast the bread.  Add a little butter or olive oil to the pan and melt to combine.  Place the Ciabatta rolls cut side down into the pan and toast.  If you want to cut fat or calories you can always toast the buns in a toaster oven or don't do it at all.  It really won't change the structure of the sandwich, I just thought it felt more diner-esque.  And yes I just made up that word. 

Next, assemble by spreading some of the chipotle mayo on the bottom of the roll.  Then layer with lettuce, chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, onion, and top of bun spread with chipotle mayo.

Yes that's Timothy's sandwich in the front.  I only put about 2-3 of the smallest pieces of bacon on mine in the back.  That man can flat out eat a huge meal, it's really insane!  Insane in the membrane I tell ya!

We've got a runaway onion here...and you'll notice that now the lettuce is under the chicken.  Minor misstep!  It really doesn't matter how you stack it, this is one awesome sandwich!  Side note: I peeled off the filmy onion skin that you see there after I took the picture.  But I was so hungry I didn't have enough energy to take more pictures after that!

Notice the sandwich in the front versus the one in the back.  I love me some veggies.  Timothy only gets along with lettuce, cucumber and apparently avocado.  You should see us at restaurants when the salads come before the meal.  It's like a thirty second swap meet.  Serious business. 

And this is what you see when you cut into this bad boy.  Now can you see why it may have been a little too tall to eat?

Chicken Club Sandwich w/ Chipotle Mayo

Printable Recipe

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 pieces of bacon
1 avocado, sliced
red onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
romaine lettuce
4 slices pepper jack cheese
chipotle mayo (recipe below)
salt & pepper
4 ciabatta rolls

Directions:
1.  Slice all of the vegetables and set up an assembly line to put together the sandwiches.  While doing this. cook the bacon (low and slow) on medium to low heat until brown.  Place on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.  Save some of the bacon grease to toast the rolls. 
2.  Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Grill, bake, or saute the chicken breasts until juices run clear and chicken is done.  Top with the cheese and melt. 
3.  Toast the ciabatta rolls by adding butter to the skillet you cooked the bacon in.  You can skip this step or use extra virgin olive oil to cut calories and/or fat.  Place the rolls, cut side down, into the skillet and toast. 
4.  Assemble by spreading some of the chipotle mayo on the bottom of the roll, layer with lettuce, chicken, bacon, avocado, tomato, onion, and top of bun spread with chipotle mayo. 

Note: In order to make the sandwich thinner, pound out the chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness before cooking.

Chipotle Mayo
Yield: 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo (I like the mayonnaise with olive oil)
1-2 chipotle pepper in adobo
spoonful of adobo sauce

Directions:
1.  Run all ingredients through a food processor until mayo is smooth.  Save for use on these sandwiches or any others you can think of!