Smoked Chicken with Mushrooms, Bacon and Cheddar

Smoked Chicken Sandwich with Mushrooms, Bacon and Cheddar Cheese

I seriously love Bon Appetit magazine; it’s a dear old friend and I get the same little thrill of excitement each and every time I open the mailbox and my newest issue is there. I’ve mentioned in another post that I just recently got rid of 30 years of issues; Epicurious.com is where I go now to search for a recipe but that will never replace those moments when I can sit with a cup of coffee and peruse the latest issue.

Going through the pages and traveling with them through foreign countries or local haunts for recipes and photos that inspire; that’s what I get from this experience. This month there was an article on some of the best new barbecue restaurants in the country; great info but no recipes and this one sandwich that was pictured, the Yardbird from Slows Bar BQ in Detroit, just looked so good I decided to try and create it very locally…in my kitchen.

I don’t have a smoker so tried roasting on the grill, adding some liquid smoke and other seasonings to the liquid I put in the bottom of a pan under the chicken; it was good but my method didn’t provide quite the level of smokiness I would have hoped; so there is a challenge there when I’ve got an opportunity to try this again…smoked chicken without a smoker…hmm??

Ingredients:

1 chicken, meat removed from bone
You can cook or smoke however it’s convenient for you; my attempt to infuse some smoke flavor amounted to putting a can of beer and some liquid smoke in the bottom of a roasting pan, seasoning the chicken with salt, pepper and barbecue rub, covering with aluminum foil and then cooking on ambient heat on one side of the grill until done; 75-90 minutes. It was good…moist and tender but admit I need to work on a way to develop that smoky flavor without the expense or space requirements of a smoker!

I used a kitchen probe type thermometer to check doneness; internal temp should reach 160 degrees when tested in a thick part of the meat.

Texas Toast or large buns
8 ozs mushrooms, cleaned, sliced and sauteed
6-9 ozs cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 slices bacon (Prefer Applewood Smoked Bacon) per sandwich, cooked til just crisp
Depending on how much chicken you like to put on per sandwich, should make 4-6

Preparation

Toast bread lightly on grill
Pile chicken on bottom piece of bread or roll.
After sauteing mushrooms, add cheese to pan and lightly mix until all cheese is melted with the mushrooms.
Put a good amount of cheese/mushroom mixture on each sandwich
Top with bacon slices

I did slather some mayo and a bit of Dijon mustard on the bun top and it was very good; next time I’m going to try adding a mustard barbecue sauce to the chicken; think that would be even better!