Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich

Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich

Inspiration comes from a trip to your local artisan bakery. That’s what inspired me to make this Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich.

Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread

The Inspiration

Saturday morning and I just finished watching the Manchester Derby. Now what do I do? I know, let’s run down to the local artisan bakery and grab a loaf of bread to make an awesome sandwich. As I was driving to the bakery I was gearing up for a nice crust loaf of rye. The rye was going to be the platform for a great Pastrami Reuben with homemade 1000 Island Dressing. I arrive at the bakery, and to my dismay they were all out of rye. Mind you, this is the type of bakery that only sells fresh bread. Once they’re out, they’re out.

So what to do now?

Regroup, see what else they have. I peruse the selection of fresh baked breads and decide on a loaf of Garlic Rosemary and a loaf of Artisan Shallot. All that is left now is to figure out what’s going in the bread. I have chicken in the fridge that I can use with the Artisan Shallot. Let’s keep it light and bright. I love Dijon mustard with chicken and also have some wildflower honey. All I need now is a mild flavored cheese and some color.

The cheese? So many to choose from, but like I said, I want to stay mild. Looking at all the selections I come upon cream Havarti. Perfect. Now color? Tomato would take away from the other light flavors, so lets think green. Avocado? No, we need something a bit more leafy. Arugula. Assertive in flavor, but will balance the sweetness from the honey. All the local grocer has is a spinach and arugula mix, it will do.

This is definitely not what I had set out to make, but when life hands you a loaf of Artisan Shallot Bread, you make an awesome sandwich with it.




Let’s Make the Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich

What we will need:

  • Chicken Breast
  • Salt, pepper and seasoning blend
  • Olive Oil
  • Wildflower Honey
  • Dijon Mustard
  • Chicken Broth
  • Shallot Bread
  • Havarti Cheese
  • Spinach and Arugula
  • Butter

Honey Dijon Chicken Ingredients

Preparation

Gotta get that chicken cooked and pulled first. Braising is ideal for the chicken as it will make it nice and tender while keeping the chicken nice and moist. Searing the chicken will also give the flavor some depth.

While your large skillet is warming up over medium high heat, season the chicken with salt, pepper and your favorite seasoning blend. The blend I am using is Giovanni’s Spice.  I discovered this wonderful blend at a quaint little apothecary in Victor, NY while visiting family. Add the olive oil to the warm pan and then add the seasoned chicken. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides, turning as needed. Place the seared chicken in an oven safe baking dish.

Seared Seasoned Chicken

Add the broth to the baking dish with the chicken and braise in a preheated 325° oven for 45 minutes, or until the chicken in fork tender.

baked seasoned chicken

Once the chicken is fork tender, remove from the oven and place in a separate dish from the broth for pulling. Please, save the broth for another application as it will have tons of flavor. Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes and then begin to pull with forks or fingers. I prefer fingers.

pulled chicken

Mix the pulled chicken with the honey and Dijon and get ready to assemble.

The Assembly

sammich ingredients

Gather together all the final ingredients for the sandwich. The sweet mustard chicken, cheese, bread, greens and butter. First, slice the bread into rather thick slices and butter the sides you intend to be the outside of the sandwich.

Buttering bread

Set a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the bread butter side down in the skillet and add a piece of cheese on both sides. On one side set the chicken and cover the pan so the chicken can warm back up.

starting to grill

On the other piece of bread place the spinach and arugula as soon as the bread is nice and brown, the chicken is warm and the cheese is melted. This all happens at a pretty rapid pace so I wasn’t able to get step by step photos, or my final shots would have been darker than I wanted…..know what I mean?

Now that you have the greens on the other side of the sandwich, bring the two sides together, cut and enjoy!




Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs 5 mins
 
Inspiration comes from a trip to your local artisan bakery. That's what inspired me to make this Grilled Honey Dijon Chicken Shallot Bread Sandwich.
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 Sandwiches
Author: Nate
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs Chicken Breast
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • TT Salt, Pepper
  • TT Your Favorite Spice MIx
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1/3 cup Wildflower Honey
  • 3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 2 slices Havarti Cheese per sandwich
  • 1/2 cup Arugula Spinach Mix per sandwich
  • 2 slices Shallot Bread Or another bread of your liking, per sandwich
  • 2 Tbsp butter per sandwich
Instructions
  1. Begin by seasoning your chicken with the salt, pepper and your favorite spice blend while your pan heats.
  2. As soon as the pan is hot, add the olive oil and then the seasoned chicken breasts. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides, turning occasionally.
  3. Then place browned chicken in an oven save dish, add chicken broth, cover and bake in a preheated 325° oven for 45 minutes, or until fork tender.
  4. Remove from oven and place chicken in separate bowl or dish. Let rest for about ten minutes and then begin to pull chicken with forks or hands.
  5. Once chicken is all pulled, mix honey and mustard into the chicken.
  6. Slice the bread. Butter one side of the slices that are to be the outsides of the sandwich and place butter sides together.
  7. Place one slice of cheese on the un-buttered side and then pile about a 1/2 cup of chicken on cheese. Pull slices apart and place in fry pan, buttered sides down. Once cheese is melted place spinach and arugula mix on side without chicken and then sandwich together.
  8. Slice sandwich and Enjoy!