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Denny's BBQ Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Denny's BBQ Chicken Sandwich
By Todd Wilbur

Recipe Type: Sandwich
Calories: 1089
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Recipe Rating: 4.7 (3 reviews)
 
Menu Description: "A seasoned, grilled chicken breast topped with Cheddar cheese and a stack of thin crisp onion rings on a sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato and a sweet hickory spread. Served with a side of BBQ sauce."

With 1527 restaurants across the country, Denny's is on top as Americas largest full-service family restaurant chain. Sure, the chains famous for its Grand Slam Breakfasts, but Denny's menu is filled with tasty choices for grub way past breakfast time. One such item is this chicken sandwich built with grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, Cheddar cheese, crispy onion rings, and a secret sweet hickory spread. That hickory spread is one of the ingredients that makes this sandwich special so the clone is here, and it requires an ingredient called hickory salt. You can find this blend of salt and hickory flavoring in the spice section from Spice Islands under the name "Old Hickory Smoked Salt." If you can't find that stuff, just substitute with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke flavoring. For even more flavor, Denny's serves the sandwich with a small dish of barbecue sauce that tastes remarkably similar to Bulls-Eye Original, so that's what well use. While homemade crunchy onion rings are the way to go for a true clone, you can certainly shortcut this step by using the canned French's French Fried Onions found in practically every supermarket.
Sweet Hickory Spread
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/8 teaspoon hickory salt

Crunchy Onion Rings (see Tidbits)
1 cup thinly sliced onion, separated into rings
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups canola oil

2 skinless chicken breast fillets
vegetable oil
salt
ground black pepper

2 sesame seed hamburger buns
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 leaves green leaf lettuce
4 tomato slices
2 slices Cheddar cheese

On the Side
Bull's-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce

1. Prepare sweet hickory spread by melting 3 tablespoons butter over medium/low heat. Add 1 cup minced onion and saute for 7 to 10 minutes or until the onions start to brown. Add 2 teaspoons flour and stir until the flour is mixed in. Let this cook for a minute or two, then add molasses, water, vinegar, and hickory salt. Simmer sauce for 3 to 4 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and cover.

2. Make the crunchy onion rings by pouring milk into a large bowl. Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in another bowl. Dip onions in flour mixture first, then into milk and back into flour. Arrange all of the coated rings to a plate to rest while you heat up 2 cups canola oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat (you can also use a deep fryer for this step, just use the amount of oil required by the fryer manufacturer and set the temperature to 375 degrees F). Test the oil by dropping in a pinch of flour. It should bubble. When the oil is hot, fry a handful of onion rings at a time in the oil until golden brown (3 to 5 minutes). Drain them on paper towels. (See Tidbits.)

3. To cook the chicken, preheat a skillet or griddle pan over medium heat. Pound your chicken with a kitchen mallet so that it has a uniform thickness of about 1/2 inch (it will plump a bit as you cook it), then trim any excess meat away that would hang off the sandwich. Rub each chicken breast with some canola oil, then sprinkle each breast with salt and a pinch of pepper. Grill chicken breast fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side until done. 

4. As your chicken cooks, spread a little melted butter on the faces of your two hamburger buns and toast the faces of the buns on another skillet or griddle set to medium heat until light brown.

5. Build each sandwich by first spreading some of the sweet hickory spread on the face of the bottom bun. 

6. Tear a leaf of green leaf lettuce to fit on the bottom bun.

7. Arrange two tomato slices on the lettuce on each sandwich.

8. Stack the grilled chicken breast on the tomato slices.

9. Place a slice of Cheddar on the chicken breast on each sandwich.

10. Stack a handful of crunchy onion rings on the sandwich, then top the sandwich off with the crown bun. Serve with a small bowl of barbecue sauce on the side.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Tidbits: You can skip this step by using the canned French's French Fried Onions. A small can will be plenty.
        
Leigh Ann  
Submitted on 11/02/08
My husband and I LOVE this recipe!!! It is restaurant quality, like you just sat down to order and it taste amazing!! I bought the book, can't find it, so I had to look online, and this is highly, highly recommended!!!!
JJ  
Submitted on 09/05/06
My best friend made this recipe when we went to her home for a BBQ. Except she used Durkee's french Fried Onions in the can. IT WAS AWESOME. I came right home and printed off the recipe for my family.
X  
Submitted on 03/03/06
I haven't tried this recipe but worked for Denny's for quite a while and have made several of these sandwiches. The only thing I see missing is the seasoning blend kept in a salt shaker used on the chicken breasts & burgers, I believe it contains a bit of paprika and cayenne, along with salt and pepper, it makes a reddish tint to the items.