Italian Chicken Sandwiches

Every region and/or large city has its own unique cuisine, and I love exploring them. When I lived in Illinois, I learned about Italian Beef Sandwiches. The sub roll is piled high with seasoned and well roasted, shaved roast beef, and perhaps some cheese, and garnished with peppers. Then, pour a ladle of juice over it all. If you want it really wet, some places will even dip the entire sandwich into the juice before wrapping it up. Pure heaven on a roll!

But not all people like beef; some prefer chicken. And it is for those people that I created my version of an Italian chicken sandwich. This is an extremely easy recipe that requires very little in the way of prep time. All you do is put the ingredients in a slow cooker and turn it on. Many hours later, you pull the chicken apart, return it to the juice, and start building scrumptious sandwiches.

Watch the video to see how easy this is, then check the instructions below.

Ingredients:

olive oil
chicken broth
beer (optional)
garlic
Italian seasoning
basil (optional)
chicken

For sandwiches:

sub rolls (or alternative)
shredded Mozzarella cheese (optional)
Pepperocini peppers (optional)

Instructions:

Coat inside of slow cooker with olive oil. This not only makes clean-up a bit easier, it adds flavor to the dish.

Add broth and beer (if using), then add spices. Stir to wet spices and let the broth sit for a few minutes so the ingredients make friends.

Add chicken (I use skinless boneless breasts) to broth.

Cover slow cooker and set to high. Cook at high for three hours, then set to low for another 3 hours or more.

When ready to serve, remove chicken from cooker and place on cutting board. Using two forks, pull the chicken apart. You’ll notice in the video that the meat is so tender that it will literally fall apart with the slightest pressure.

Return chicken to the broth and stir. This reheats the chicken and allows it to absorb some of the broth.

To serve, put chicken on both sides of sub roll. Add peppers and cheese if desired.

And that’s it!

Notes:

1. You can add more chicken broth if you don’t want to use beer. However, a good, robust beer will add a lot of flavor. For those worried about alcohol, remember that all the alcohol is going to cook off well before you serve.

2. You’ll notice I gave no amounts in the instructions above. That’s because amounts will vary according to how much chicken you are preparing and according to your own personal taste. I recommend you start “light” and see how it turns out. If it seems a bit bland to you, add more spices the next time around. Don’t let the spices overpower the meat. It’s not an Italian spice sandwich, after all… it’s chicken!

3. Make sure you put a lot of juice on the sandwich. That’s part of the appeal – all that tasty juice just makes everything so much better!

4. If you are preparing this in the morning, then leaving for work, cook on low for the entire day.

5. The night I did the video, I served the sandwiches with Easy Cheesy Fries, which you’ll find here.

Try this one out, then let me know how it worked for you. And, as always,

Play with your food!

Lane

For a great side dish, check out Easy Cheesy Fries.

Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.

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