The Best Cut Of Chicken For Homemade Sandwiches Is Also The Cheapest

We love making chicken sandwiches, but admittedly, sometimes the chicken can be a little dry or bland. We chatted with chef Michelle Wallace, owner and founder of B'tween Sandwich Co, and she had a revelation for us — stop using chicken breast to make homemade chicken sandwiches. The best cut of chicken for this dish is also the cheapest: Chicken thigh. The reason is because it's less costly to process bone-in chicken thigh when compared to chicken breasts. 

Aside from being the cheaper cut of the two, chicken thighs tend to be juicier and easier to not make mistakes with when cooking. "I am a fan of using chicken thighs for chicken sandwiches," Wallace said. "The dark meat tends to be more forgiving to the cook. It stays moist in most cooking methods." White meat tends to get drier quicker, especially when overcooked, due to its lower fat content than thigh meat. Thigh meat remains more appealing in texture, silkier that is, even when if you happen to overcook it. 

Despite being a cheaper and more forgiving cut of chicken to cook, when you try different fast food chicken sandwiches, you'll discover many of them are made with chicken breasts and not thighs. There are exceptions though, including the chicken sandwiches from Nathan's Famous, who uses boneless chicken thigh.

At home, however, we recommend using chicken thigh rather than chicken breast to make your homemade chicken sandwiches. Not only will you be saving money, you'll be able to employ different cooking techniques and enjoy chicken that is juicier and less tough even when overcooked. To save even more money on your chicken, choose bone-in chicken thighs rather than boneless and remove the bones yourself. Again, the less the packager has to process the chicken, the less you have to pay. 

If you're looking for chicken sandwich ideas this week, start with our delicious pan-fried chicken thighs recipe. Leftovers can be made into sandwiches.  Another idea is to make our saucy Korean fried chicken sandwich recipe. Simply swap out the chicken breasts with boneless chicken thigh. 

Finally, be sure to choose the best toppings to add to your chicken sandwiches, like maple syrup or maple butter if you like your chicken sandwiches a little sweet, or spicy condiments like chili crisp or XO sauce — a masterpiece of flavor made with expensive ingredients – if you like them hot.