Truth be told, I have only had chick-fil-a a handful of times. That didn’t stop me from trying to one up their famous chicken sandwich. When Wes suggested the idea it was all hands on deck to make a game plan for how to tackle this dupe. And let me tell you… I think we nailed it.
A sweet buttery bun, crispy yet juicy fried pheasant, the creamy and tangy sauce with dill pickles piled on top. What isn’t to love? For the sake of simplicity, we went straight to the source and used Chick-fil-a sauce but you can certainly make your own if you’re feeling spunky! This can be made with chicken if you don’t have a freezer full of wild game.Â
We would love to have a whole drive thru dupe series, so if you love this recipe and would like to see more let us know in the comments below!Â
Chick-fil-a DUPE, Crispy Fried Pheasant sandwich
A crispy yet buttery and deliciously tangy pheasant sandwich
Ingredients
- Pheasant breasts, cleaned- 4 to 6 dependent on size
- Dry Ranch Mix (we used Hidden Valley)- 5 packets
- All Purpose Flour- 1C
- Granulated Sugar- 1/4C
- Ground Black Pepper- 1tsp
- Kosher Salt- 1 1/2tbs
- Pickle (chips)- 1 jar
- Unsalted Butter- 4 tbs
- Honey- 2tbs
- Brioche Buns- 4
- Water- 2C
- Oil for Frying (we used canola)
Directions
- Step 1 Start by trimming your pheasant breasts. If necessary pound them to be the same thickness throughout (ours were pretty even and thin so we omitted this step. May be necessary if substituting with chicken)
- Step 2 Strain the pickles over a large bowl, set the pickles aside and keep the juice reserved in the bowl (you should have about 1 cup of pickle juice). While whisking, add in 2 cups of water, sugar, salt and 4 packets of ranch mix to the juice.This mixture is your brine for the pheasant. Add in your trimmed pheasant and cover making sure it is fully submerged, or pour mixture over the meat in a large zip top bag. Place in the refrigerator and allow to rest for 1-3 hours but no longer.
- Step 3 Next, set up your fry station. Start to heat your oil in a large cast iron pot or deep fryer to 350 degrees. Get a cooling rack and line underneath with paper towels to absorb any dripping oil.
- Step 4 In a medium bowl, prepare your breading. Whisk together the flour, remaining ranch packet, 1/2 tbs of salt and black pepper.
- Step 5 Remove your brined pheasant from the bowl one at a time and dip into the flour mixture ensuring they are fully coated. Shake off excess flour and place on the cooking rack to give the coating a chance to create a crust on the meat. They will get slightly tacky as they sit (about 5 minutes). Before frying, toss them back in the flour mixture to get rid of the tackiness and shake off the excess once more.
- Step 6 One at a time, carefully place the breasts into your preheated oil. Keeping an eye on the meat and moving quickly, wash your cooling rack and place new paper towels down. We will be double frying, so once you see the crust start to turn a golden brown, remove from the oil and place on your cooling rack to drain.
- Step 7 While meat is draining, warm a large skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Melt the butter and honey together in a microwave safe bowl, and brush on both cut sides of the brioche buns. Toast them cut side down until golden brown. Watch carefully, they can burn quickly!
- Step 8 At this point, throw your meat back in the fryer to finish and get a nice crust. You want an internal temp of 165 degrees. Remove from the oil.
- Step 9 To assemble the sandwich- start with toasted bun, pheasant, Chick-fil-a sauce, pickles and the top of your bun. Enjoy!
