Fried chicken sandwich

Mix a marinade of buttermilk, salt, hot sauce and dry ranch dressing mix.

Use boneless skinless chicken breasts with the tenderloin removed.

Make three or four shallow slashes each way in the thick end with a sharp knife, so the marinade gets in and the thick end cooks more evenly.

Toss the breasts in the marinade until well coated and submerged.

Refrigerate two to four hours; overnight is called too long.

Make the breading mix: mostly all-purpose flour with a little cornstarch, salt, freshly ground black pepper, plenty of cayenne and the rest of the dry ranch dressing mix.

Make the wash from one egg, some buttermilk and a little splash of regular milk.

Lift a breast out with a fork, let almost all the excess drip off and coat it thoroughly on both sides in the breading.

Shake off the excess, dip it in the wash until saturated, then coat it thoroughly in the flour again; do this twice for a thick irregular surface, using the fork throughout.

Rest the breaded breast on a rack at least 15 minutes so the coating adheres.

Heat the oil to 350 to 375F.

Fry about four to five minutes depending on the size of the breast, flipping halfway, until golden brown, crispy and cooked through.

Drain on crinkled up foil rather than paper towel.

Spread mayo on a lightly buttered toasted hamburger bun, add sliced dill pickles and the chicken breast.

Note on size: eight ounce breasts threw the chicken to breading ratio off and the coating started to separate; four to six ounces is what this sandwich wants.