Gordon Ramsay’s Cornflake Chicken Sandwich

Winner winner chicken dinner! That’s the tune my growing teenager sings when he hears the low sizzle of chicken frying a the pan. Gordon Ramsay’s cornflake chicken sandwiches are a quick meal you can put together using a combination of homemade and store-bought items, which really puts this recipe on the quick weeknight to do more list.

There is room for improvisation. I really loved that I could get away with using another cereal other than the traditional corn flakes; as there were no cornflakes in the store, but I had a box of Crunchy Nut which is a much sweeter corn flake variety. Spicy, tangy, and sweet with a salty addition.

What really worked for me was that this is a really great pantry meal. A meal of ingredients you can use from a well-stocked pantry and most items most homes have on hand. Or easy enough to pick up in any local store, big chain or corner.

I used fried onions one picks up in the condiment section of your grocery store. For the roasted unsalted peanuts, I mixed half into the cucumber salad and half into the burger bun assembly.

I don’t think I’ve ever awarded a recipe a ten…until now! Everything about this cornflake chicken sandwich was perfection! You get the amazing crunch of the cornflake coated chicken, coupled with the freshness of the lime and fish sauce marinated cucumber, and the savory fried onions (I used purchased Asian shallots). Now add to that the kick of the gochujang mayo with the herbaceous cilantro and I assure you: perfection! I did not use the peanuts because I didn’t have any, but think it would add yet another delicious flavor layer to this rich and supremely delicious sandwich. I served mine on a Martin’s potato roll and it rivaled any chicken sandwich I’ve ever paid for!

They say food talks to you. Well, in this case it surely did. As we took the first bite of these cornflake chicken sandwiches, the chicken literally said CRUNCH!! Too often fried chicken can be soft, which makes it absorb the oil it’s fried in and doesn’t allow it to stand up to a great sauce. Not in this case.  Here, the chicken had a nice, thick crispy outside that sealed in every juicy bite. This, coupled with the mayo with a kick, served on a rich brioche bun that upped the flavor (as opposed to a drab roll) made this recipe move to my favorites list!

These cornflake chicken sandwiches are a solid recipe for very crispy fried chicken cutlets and could be a basis for any number of riffs or variations.

Despite the somewhat long list of ingredients, the recipe involves just a quick effort and the instructions are explicit with details which makes everything a cinch to follow. Especially if you use store-bought mayo, gochujang, and brioche buns, the recipe can be on the table in about an hour or even less. (I’d recommend making your own crispy fried onions – they are so much better – and if you have a microwave, 5 minutes of cooking on high for a small bowl of sliced shallots and vegetable oil will do the trick superbly!)

The finished sandwich is indeed very crispy, as advertised, and I’ll certainly be redeploying the cornflakes from now on instead of bread crumbs. I think the chicken itself could use a little bit more flavor, so next time I might add more salt, some pepper, and perhaps a garlic seasoning to the flour used in the breading process. 

I’d definitely ditch the dipping of the brioche top in gochujang mayo and peanuts; it was messy to eat and seemed purely decorative and fussy. Instead, I’d toss those peanuts into the cucumber salad, which earns its keep by providing great depth of flavor (all praise fish sauce!) and its cooling counterbalance of the spicy mayo. The crispy onions also make their point just as well when layered into the sandwich. 

To quote my husband, “Now we don’t have to go out anymore to have a fried chicken sandwich this good.” I agree completely.

Even though we like a really good fried chicken sandwich, I am not one to make it at home. I am never totally successful at the dredging in flour, dipping in beaten eggs, and then covering in a coating, whether it be regular bread crumbs, panko, or, as in this case, cornflake crumbs. For some reason, I kept reading these directions and got myself to stay on task, follow what they instructed, and I was rewarded with a perfect coating of cornflake crumbs that did not fall off of the chicken. In addition, the coating was golden brown. It was not burnt, and it was not greasy. A win/win/win. 

To attain cornflake crumbs, I placed 2 heaping cups of cornflakes into a zip lock baggie. I sealed the bag shut, and started crushing the cornflakes with my hands. I discovered that I could do that using just one hand, while holding a glass of sparkling wine, and being able to sip it also, with the other. The best example of multi-tasking I can think of.

We loved the zippiness and acidic tang of the lime zest and lime juice, combined with the chopped scallions, and found that we were spooning it on bites of the sandwich as we were eating.

I am going to make this recipe again soon. Very, very soon. This time, I am going to cook the cornflake chicken cutlets, initially, in our air fryer. Stay tuned. I will report on my success, and add that to this part of the journey.