Chicken Paillard Sandwich with Bacon and Cheese

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, pounded uniformly thinly
• Lemon-pepper Seasoning
• Pepper Bacon
• Sliced Cheese, monterey jack, swiss, cheddar work well
• 4 Sandwich Buns

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place chicken on a clean plate and blot excess liquid with paper towels. Now place each chicken breast, one at a time, between two sheets of wax paper. Press paper around the edges a little. This will prevent tiny bits of raw chicken from flying across the room and landing in your coffee cup. Now, with the smooth side of a mallet, pound the chicken breast just to even out the thickness. The point is not to pound it to paper-thinness, but to get the chicken breast a uniform thickness so it will cook evenly. Cut the package of bacon in half…and arrange the half-slices in a skillet over medium to medium-low heat. I almost always cut bacon slices in half before cooking; they keep their shape better and cook faster. Cook the bacon until chewy…and drain on paper towels. Then, unless you want to experience excruciating angina tomorrow, pour off all the grease. Put the skillet back on the heat (still medium to medium-low). Add about a tablespoon of bacon fat back to the skillet. Now take the Lemon Pepper…And start sprinkling on both sides of the pounded chicken breasts. Make sure the pan is nice and hot again, then add the chicken breasts to cook. Cook the chicken breasts on one side for about four minutes, or until the edges are no longer pink. After you flip the chicken breasts, begin arranging the cooked bacon slices on the cooked side of the breasts. Now lay slices of cheese on top of the bacon. You can use whatever cheese you like! I think pepper-jack would be great, or cheddar or maybe even Swiss. Now, cover for a few minutes to let the chicken finish cooking and to allow the cheese to melt. Done! Without fail, in the time it takes for the cheese to melt thoroughly, the chicken finishes cooking. Just don’t overdo it or everything (even the cheese) will start to dry out. At this point, if you’d like to forgo the whole bun-sandwich scene, you could just serve it up as is, with maybe a twice-baked potato and a salad. Or just a salad. This makes a yummy, albeit decadent, dinner. Also, I prefer to use bakery-fresh Kaiser rolls rather than those prosaic, mass-produced hamburger buns. I like to put a little Dijon mustard on mine. I have to say, this sandwich is oh so delicious on its own and it doesn’t need much adornment. So go easy on whatever condiment you use.